Maryann Delea, MPH, PhD
Associate Scholar
- Postdoctoral Fellow | Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University
- Ethiopia | India | United States
- & hygiene | Environmental health | Epidemiology | Global water | sanitation | Tropical diseases
Languages: English (native)
Bio statement
Maryann is a social epidemiologist who combines theory with epidemiological methods to elucidate relationships between socio-structural factors and health and development outcomes. She is particularly interested in leveraging such evidence to design effective programming and policy solutions. She aims to: 1) improve health and contribute to development by investigating factors influencing the adoption of improved health behaviors; and 2) employ evidence-based strategies to ensure uptake of findings from evaluations into routine practice to maximize the quality and effectiveness of public health and development programming. Her work has largely focused on WASH, Guinea worm disease, trachoma, soil-transmitted helminths, influenza, and measles.
Recent global health projects
Maryann is currently involved in designing and evaluating a theory-informed and evidence-based intervention that aims to address various factors influencing the cessation of open defecation and the uptake of improved sanitation behaviors in peri-urban India, with a specific focus on norms and network-related factors. Recently, she managed a randomized, controlled trial investigating the impact of an enhanced, demand-side sanitation and hygiene intervention on sustained behavior change and health in Amhara, Ethiopia.
Selected publications
Delea MG, Sclar GD, Woreta M, Haardörfer R, Nagel CN, Caruso BA, Dreibelbis R, Gobezayehu AG, Clasen TF, Freeman MC. Collective Efficacy: Development and Validation of a Measurement Scale for Use in Public Health and Development Programmes. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2018. 15(10): p. 2139.
Delea MG, Solomon H, Solomon AW, Freeman MC. Interventions to maximize facial cleanliness and achieve environmental improvement for trachoma elimination: A review of the grey literature. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2018. 12(1): p. e0006178.
Delea MG, Nagel CN, Thomas EA, Halder AK, Amin N, Shoab AK, et al. Comparison of respondent-reported and sensor-recorded latrine utilization measures in rural Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg, 2017: 1-8.
Goddard FGB, Delea MG, Sclar GD, Woreta M, Zewudie K, Freeman MC. Quantifying user preferences for sanitation construction and use: Application of discrete choice experiments in Amhara, Ethiopia. Tropical Medicine & International Health, 2018. 23(12): 1364-1373.
Sugerman DE, Barskey AE, Delea MG, Ortega-Sanchez, IR, et al. Measles Outbreak in a Highly Vaccinated Population in San Diego, 2008: Role of the Intentionally Undervaccinated. Pediatrics 2010; 125(4).
Last Updated: 27 January 2022