Medical anthropologist discusses challenges of COVID vaccination with Big Ideas TXST

Staff Reports

SAN MARCOS – During the March episode of Big Ideas TXST’s podcast, Emily K. Brunson, associate professor in the Department of Anthropology at Texas State University, joined to discuss how vaccination hesitancy is complicating the effort to immunize the U.S. population against the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the Texas State Newsroom, Brunson is an applied anthropologist specializing in medical anthropology and received an M.P.H. in epidemiology and a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Washington in Seattle. Her primary research focus is health care access and decision-making, and particularly how policies, social structures (including class and racial inequalities), social networks and personal experience combine to produce health outcomes for individuals.

She is currently developing research plans and conducting policy outreach in relation to COVID-19 vaccination with colleagues from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and working on a study of COVID-19 vaccination knowledge, attitudes and behavior among college students. 

Big Ideas TXST is a monthly podcast from Texas State’s Division of University Advancement that interviews the minds forging innovation, research and creativity at the university. Hosted by Daniel Seed, a lecturer in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, each episode features a thoughtful discussion with leaders developing innovative ideas to make the world a better place.