Rachel Bailey

Rachel Bailey is an Associate Professor in the Department of Public Health at Samford University's School of Public Health, where she has been a faculty member since 2015. She brings extensive international experience from her prior academic work at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David and research engagements across the UK and sub-Saharan Africa.

• PhD in Anthropology, Durham University
• MSc in Anthropology, Durham University
• BA in Chemistry and International Studies, Washington University in St. Louis

Her research focuses on the social and cultural dimensions of health, with particular expertise in risk perception, vaccination decision-making, children's health, poverty, and environmental health impacts. She employs anthropological and qualitative methods to explore how social context shapes health behaviors and outcomes.

Her recent publications span topics such as vaccine hesitancy, child malnutrition in crisis settings, and the social context of healthcare decision-making. The articles reflect a strong interdisciplinary approach, integrating public health, medical anthropology, and social theory, with a recurring emphasis on community engagement, trust, and equity.

She has received multiple research grants and awards, including funding from the Wellcome Trust, National Prevention Research Initiative, and Volunteering England. These projects highlight her leadership in evaluating public health interventions and understanding community responses to health risks.

• Making the Connections Case Study Research, Wales Council for Voluntary Action (£4,980), 2015
• Evaluation of Co-Creating Healthy Change Portfolio, Cardiff Third Sector Council (£55,000), 2014
• Co-Creating Healthy Change: Using Anthropological Methods, Anthropology in Action (£300), 2014
• Volunteering and health: systematic review, Volunteering England (£12,000), 2008
• Recruiting young adults for cardiovascular screening, Primary Care Research Development Centre (£4,500), 2006
• Regional Tobacco Control Boards, National Prevention Research Initiative (£153,726), 2005
• Public Engagement with Science Research Studentship, The Wellcome Trust (£76,000), 2002

Rachel Bailey has advised on public health policy and served on expert panels, including Public Health Wales Child Death Review. She mentors students through service-learning and research opportunities in Birmingham and globally. Her work integrates teaching, research, and community engagement, particularly through her course on Cultural Dimensions of Health. She is actively involved in professional organizations such as the American Public Health Association and the Royal Anthropological Institute.

She leads research on coal-ash storage impacts, summer food programs, and indigenous micro-entrepreneurship in rural Belize, demonstrating a strong commitment to community-based public health solutions.