T.S. Harvey
Associate Professor of Anthropology | Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN, UNITED STATES
Expert in cross-cultural doctor-patient interactions, public health communications, disaster relief and crisis management.
Biography
With training in medical and linguistic anthropology, Dr. Harvey’s research and interests focus expanding scientific partnerships, developing innovative technologies, and building local capacities to collaboratively tackle large scale global public health and environmental challenges that emerge at the critical intersection of vulnerable populations, health disparities, disease, risk, environmental degradation, water, sanitation, and infrastructure. The evolution of this trans-disciplinary approach is the product of over a decade of funded collaborative research, capacity-building work, and global engagement on a wide range of topics that include but are not limited to: cross-cultural doctor-patient communication, language and culture in global public health, waterborne diseases, enteric illnesses, disaster prevention and relief, neighborhood approaches to risk reduction, crisis management, sustainability, resilience, and environmental protection.
Harvey formed part of the team that created a virtual self-screening tool that will help individuals assess their risk of being infected with COVID-19. The app also offers capabilities for expediting test screening for providers and ultimately giving public health officials real-time anonymized data to identify, map and target interventions where they’re needed most: https://www.virtualcovidscreen.com He also launched the Spanish version of the free Vanderbilt COVID-19 Virtual Self-Screening Tool https://es.virtualcovidscreen.com.
Areas of Expertise (8)
North America
Medical Anthropology
Sanitation
Environmental Protection
Global Public Health
Doctor-Patient Communication
Communication Technology
Central America
Education (2)
Old Dominion University: M.A.
University of Virginia: Ph.D.
Links (2)
Selected Media Appearances (5)
Why Metro Nashville schools must make masks mandatory for unvaccinated children | Opinion
Tennessean online
2021-07-22
Imagine for a moment a thriving city, your city, announcing that in the fall of 2021 it will be shifting its previously held responsibilities for providing safe public drinking water onto its residents, adding that moving forward all water testing and remediation, while highly recommended, will not be required but instead optional and left to the individual choices of residents.
Racial disparity in COVID-19 vaccinations in New York revealed in new data. What to know
Democrat and Chronicle online
2021-02-04
“In an ideal world, we would have already been working on this long before the roll out,” said T.S. Harvey, a risk-communication expert and Vanderbilt University associate professor. “We put all of our eggs in the basket of the vaccine development, and we’ve seen the social science of it as an afterthought; almost as the easy part,” he said. “But there isn’t an example in history that it is the easy part.”
COVID vaccine hesitancy threatens push to end pandemic. How experts say NY can stop it
Utica Observer Dispatch online
2021-01-12
“In an ideal world, we would have already been working on this long before the roll out,” said T.S. Harvey, a risk-communication expert and Vanderbilt University associate professor.
First Vaccinations in US Offer New Hope
Voice of America online
2020-12-15
Doses of the first federally approved coronavirus vaccine were administered to front-line health care workers in the United States Monday. That signals what health officials call a significant turn in the fight against the virus that has claimed more than 300,000 lives in the U.S. alone.
Vanderbilt researchers create virtual self-screening tool for COVID-19
WKRN tv
2020-06-02
Vanderbilt University launched a new virtual self-screening tool this week that will help individuals assess their risk of being infected with COVID-19. In addition, the app could expedite testing and collection of public health data. Both T.S. Harvey, associate professor of anthropology and expert in risk reduction and global public health and Thomas Scherr, a research professor of chemistry and expert in mobile health, are hoping to give people access to resources, understand who COVID-19 is impacting and how it evolves over time.
