Dr. Astrid Berner-Rodoreda
Post-Doc Researcher
Astrid Berner-Rodoreda joined HIGH in 2018. Her academic background is social anthropology (B.A. Hons., QUB; M.A., SOAS/UCL). Her doctoral thesis examined men’s experience of HIV prevention and treatment in Eswatini and Malawi with a focus on the intersectionality of masculinities, stigma and the life-course. She has been involved in Global Health research ranging from evidence-based health policies and advocating for an outward looking EU in terms of Global Health to developing and applying various qualitative methods (new deliberative interview style; drawings for children’s interviews; shared walks) and design-thinking approaches for tailored interventions. Astrid is interested in applied work and implementation research and the integration of HIV and NCD treatment to strengthen patient and person-oriented approaches. She also teaches in the field of Global Health and Applied Anthropology and coordinates the Human Rights and Health Course in Heidelberg.
Prior to joining the team at Heidelberg, Astrid worked in the NGO-sector– mainly in the field of HIV and gender and as policy advisor, collaborating with NGOs in different parts of the world and advocating for improved access to medicines and diagnostics with governments and the pharmaceutical industry. Between 2007 and 2009 she served on the UNAIDS monitoring and evaluation group; she is a board member of the European Global Health Research and Innovations Network, People’s Health Movement Germany and Friends of the Lighthouse Trust, Malawi.
Contributions
Projects & Grants
- 2024 - 2025 DZPG „Mechanismus-basierte, modulare Psychotherapie für traumatisierte Adoleszente und junge Erwachsene: Eine Machbarkeitsstudie“ (PI Prof. S. Herpertz). Own role: Supervision of qualitative work; training of research assistants; debriefs; support for both main study with psychotherapists and sub-study with patients.
- 2024 DAAD Teaching Exchange Programme. Teaching qualitative methods course at a Jordanian University
- 2022 - 2024 NUM “CollPan – Collateral effects in pandemics: mapping and monitoring of collateral effects (CEs), risks and vulnerabilities” (PI Prof. Till Bärnighausen). Own role: Coordinating work package 1 with 10 participating research institutes – analysis and publication of qualitative study with children and parents on Covid-19; netnography study of a parental internet forum on Covid-19. Analysis and publication
- 2022 – 2023 NUM “CoverChild - Comprehensive multicenter platform for COVID-19 research in children and adolescents” (PI Prof. Till Bärnighausen). Own Role: Planning and Conducting a qualitative study with children and parents on Covid-19 experiences in the state of Baden-Württemberg
- 2019 – 2022 Heidelberg own financing: Mixed methods study in Malawi on men and antiretroviral therapy with follow-on research on design-thinking for tailoring service delivery to men’s needs.
- 2018 – 2021 Wellcome Trust: “The ethics of health policy experiments: a global framework for design and oversight” (PI: Prof. Till Bärnighausen) Own role: Coordination of 4-country team (USA, Tanzania, Bangladesh, Germany), literature and stakeholder research in Germany; deliberative workshop in Bangladesh and online workshops; publications
Publications
Selected Publications:
Innovative Qualitative Tools and Constructs
Qualitative research with children
Berner-Rodoreda A, Baum N, Wachinger J, Zangerl, K et al. 2024. Taking emic and etic to the family level: interlinking parents’ and children’s COVID-19 views and experiences in Germany. BMC Public Health, 24(1), 1595.
Berner-Rodoreda A, Baum N, Zangerl K, Wachinger J et al. 2023. “I couldn’t see my friends; the internet was bad, and I hardly went out”—Insights into children’s and adolescents’ experiences of COVID-19 in Germany. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, 18(1)
Deliberative Interview Style
Berner-Rodoreda A, Bärnighausen T, Eyal N, Sarker M et al. 2021.“‘Thought Provoking’, ‘Interactive’, and ‘More like a Peer Talk’: Testing the Deliberative Interview Style in Germany.” SSM - Qualitative Research in Health 1: 100007. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmqr.2021.100007.
Berner-Rodoreda A, Bärnighausen T, Kennedy C, Brinkmann S et al. From Doxastic to Epistemic: A Typology and Critique of Qualitative Interview Styles. Qualitative Inquiry. 2018 Nov 28:1077800418810724.
Health Policies, Political Declarations and EU Global Health Policy
Berner-Rodoreda A, Bassat Q, Rocamora A, Raviglione M et al. 2024. “Europe needs to urgently implement an outward looking Global Health Strategy”. The Lancet Regional Health–Europe, 45.
Berner-Rodoreda A, Cobelens F, Vandamme A-M, Froeschl G et al. 2024. “Transferable data exclusivity vouchers are not the solution to the antimicrobial drug development crisis: a commentary on the proposed EU pharma regulation”. BMJ Glob Health 9:e014605
Luchuo EB, Berner-Rodoreda A, McMahon SA, Sarker M, et al. 2022. “One Lesson of COVID-19: Conduct More Health Policy Trials.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 119(24): e2119887119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2119887119.
Berner-Rodoreda A, McMahon S, Eyal N, Hossain P et al. 2022. “Consent Requirements for Testing Health Policies: An Intercontinental Comparison of Expert Opinions.” Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics, 17(3):346-361. https://doi.org/10.1177/15562646221076764
Villa S, van Leeuwen R, Gray CC, van der Sande M…Berner-Rodoreda A et al. 2021. HERA: a new era for health emergency preparedness in Europe? The Lancet, 397(10290), 2145-2147.
Berner-Rodoreda A, and Jahn A. 2021. “Commercial Influence on Political Declarations: The Crucial Distinction Between Consultation and Negotiation and the Need for Transparency in Lobbying; Comment on ‘Competing Frames in Global Health Governance: An Analysis of Stakeholder Influence on the Political Declaration on Non-Communicable Diseases.’” International Journal of Health Policy and Management. https://www.ijhpm.com/article_4136.html
Berner-Rodoreda A, Rehfuess EA, Klipstein-Grobusch K, Cobelens F et al. 2019. “Where Is the ‘Global’ in the European Union’s Health Research and Innovation Agenda?” BMJ Global Health 4/5: e001559. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2019-001559
Masculinity and HIV
Berner-Rodoreda A, Vandormael A, Bärnighausen K, Mavuso M, .; Dlamini, P; Matse, S.; Hettema, A.; Bärnighausen, T; and McMahon, S.A. 2023. “Cultural Repertoires and Situated Selections as an Alternative Framework to Hegemonic Masculinities: Findings From Eswatini.” American Journal of Men’s Health 17(1): 15579883231152110. https://doi.org/10.1177/15579883231152110.
Berner-Rodoreda, A.; Ngwira, E., Alhassan, Y; Chione, B.; Dambe, R.; Bärnighausen, T.; Phiri, S.; Taegtmeyer, M. and Neuhann, F. 2021. “‘Deadly’, ‘Fierce’, ‘Shameful’: Notions of Antiretroviral Therapy, Stigma and Masculinities Intersecting Men’s Life-Course in Blantyre, Malawi.” BMC Public Health 21(1): 2247. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-12314-2.
Berner-Rodoreda, A.; Geldsetzer, P.; Bärnighausen K.; Hettema, A.; Bärnighausen, T.; Matse, S. and McMahon, S. A. 2020. “It’s Hard for Us Men to Go to the Clinic. We Naturally Have a Fear of Hospitals.” Men’s Risk Perceptions, Experiences and Program Preferences for PrEP: A Mixed Methods Study in Eswatini“. PLOS ONE 15(9): e0237427.
Berner-Rodoreda A, Neuenroth C. 2016. The Burden of Breadwinning: Transformative Masculinities in the Context of HIV, Violence against Women and Gender Inequality. Berlin: Brot für die Welt.
Improving Implementation of Health Interventions
Bärnighausen K, Berner-Rodoreda A, McGowan M, Reñosa MD et al. 2024. ‘You Can Get That Person on ART but You Can’t Give Them Back Their Social System’: A Qualitative Analysis of Voluntary Assisted Partner Notification for HIV for Marginalised and Vulnerable Populations. Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (JIAPAC), 23, 23259582241272059.
McGowan M, Bärnighausen K, Berner-Rodoreda A, McMahon SA et al. 2024. “The targets…are driving the agenda and that probably needs to change": stakeholder perspectives on HIV partner notification in sub-Saharan Africa. BMC Public Health. 24(1):521.
Kiruthu-Kamamia C, Berner-Rodoreda A, O’Bryan G, Sande O et al. 2024. “We have been so patient because we know where we are coming from” Exploring the acceptability and feasibility of a mobile electronic medical record system designed for community-based antiretroviral therapy in Lilongwe, Malawi. medRxiv.
Orii L, Wilson, KS, Huwa J, Kiruthu-Kamamia, C….Berner-Rodoreda, A et al (2023). “They provide the right kind of support.” A qualitative study of preferences for differentiated service delivery location among recipients of antiretroviral therapy at Lighthouse Trust in Lilongwe, Malawi. medRxiv, 2023-12.
Sy F, Berner-Rodoreda A, Asnake T, Getnet M et al. 2023. “Exploring Computer-Aided Health Decision-Making on Cervical Cancer Interventions through Deliberative Interviews in Ethiopia.” Npj Digital Medicine 6(1): 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-023-00808-9
Berner-Rodoreda A, Casamitjana N, Froeschl G, Kyobutungi C et al. 2023. Equity, Inclusivity, and Diversity as Drivers of Global Health—Recommendations for Global Health Research, Education, and Practice. In Global Health Essentials (pp. 501-505). Cham: Springer Int. Publishing.
Berner-Rodoreda A, Kanyama C, Supady A, & Bärnighausen T. 2023. Cardiovascular Diseases. In Global Health Essentials (pp. 157-162). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Schnieders E, Röhr F, Mbewe M, Shanzi A, Berner-Rodoreda A et al. 2022. “Real-Life Evaluation of an Interactive Versus Noninteractive e-Learning Module on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease for Medical Licentiate Students in Zambia: Web-Based, Mixed Methods Randomized Controlled Trial.” JMIR Medical Education 8, 1: e34751. https://doi.org/10.2196/34751.
Schüle, E, Berner-Rodoreda A. 2010. HIV & AIDS, Gender and Domestic Violence: Implications for Policy and Practice. Brot für die Welt/DIFÄM
For additional publications, see ORCID