Research

Research Interests

Medical Sociology, Healthcare & Biomedical Workforce, Medical Education, Population Health & Health Equity, Race/Class/Gender, Sociology of Professions, Stratification and Inequality, Mental Health, Qualitative Analysis, Mixed Methods Research Design

dissertation

A Mixed Methods Examination of Gender and Racial Stratification in Physician Career Trajectories

My dissertation asked: 

To respond to these questions, I analyze interview data from 89 in-depth interviews that I conducted with current medical students and resident physicians from November 2020 to February 2022. I also analyze a longitudinal dataset of a recent cohort of medical graduates (current resident physicians) provided to me by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). 

Presentations:

Browne, A. “Academic Medical Centers as Gendered and Racialized Organizations: a Qualitative Examination” Panel presentation at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association. Los Angeles, CA. August 2022.

Browne, A. “A Qualitative Examination of Gender and Racial Stratification in Medical Specialization.” Panel presentation at the AAMC Health Workforce Research Conference. Virtual. May 2022.

Browne, A. “Race, gender, and medical specialization.” Panel presentation at the Eastern Sociological Society Mini-Conference on Health Professions Education. Virtual. March 2022.

Browne A. “Exploring Physician Career Trajectories through an Intersectional Lens: A Proposal.” Panel presentation at the Mini-Conference on Health Professions Education. Philadelphia, PA. February 2020.

Select Projects

Study to Examine Physicians' Pandemic Stress (STEPPS)

Understanding Gendered Differences in Mental Health Outcomes among Physicians

Technical Hiring: Interviews with recruiters and employees

This project investigated stress and well-being among physicians providing care for hospitalized COVID-19 patients in New York City, New Orleans, Los Angeles, and Miami. We interviewed 145 physicians.

With Dr. Mara Buchbinder, Dr. Tania Jenkins, Dr. Nancy Berlinger, and Dr. Liza Buchbinder

Drawing from in-depth interviews with 44 physicians, this study leverages feminist theories to investigate the professional mechanisms behind gendered mental health outcomes among physicians. 

With Dr. Tania Jenkins

We conducted interviews with individuals involved in sourcing, evaluating, and/or hiring software engineers (SWEs) to better understand why companies continue to rely on ineffective diversity hiring efforts as "best practices."

With Dr. Koji Chavez

SELECT related Publications

Nguemeni Tiako MJ and Browne A. “How Race, Sex, and Age Interact in Association with COVID-19 Outcomes: An Analysis of Michigan Data.” Accepted at PLOS ONE. 

Buchbinder M, Browne A, Jenkins TM, Berlinger N, and Buchbinder L. 2023. “From Moral Distress to Moral Stress: Clarifying Concepts of Moral Challenges in Clinical Care.”The American Journal of Bioethics

Browne A. Jenkins T, Berlinger N, Buchbinder L, Buchbinder M. 2023. “The Impact of Health Inequities on Physicians’ Occupational Health and Well-being during COVID-19: A Qualitative Analysis From Four US Cities.” In Press at Journal of Hospital Medicine. 


Buchbinder, M., N. Berlinger, A. Browne, L. Buchbinder, and T. M. Jenkins. 2023. Responding to Moral Stress in Hospital-Based Clinical Practice: Summary and Key Recommendations from the Study to Examine Physicians’ Pandemic Stress (STEPPS). UNC-Chapel Hill and the Hastings Center.

Buchbinder M, Browne A, Jenkins TM, Berlinger N, Feinstein S, and Buchbinder L. 2022. Physicians’ Stress and Wellbeing During COVID-19: A Qualitative Analysis from Two US Cities.Journal of General Internal Medicine. 

prior research experience

Prior to graduate school, I spent four years as a Research Assistant at the Guttmacher Institute. In that capacity, I assisted in all phases of the research process, including survey design, training of field staff, data cleaning, analysis, and writing. As the 2014 recipient of the Bixby Professional Development Award, I spent six weeks working alongside our research partners based in Mumbai, India on the implementation of the Unintended Pregnancy and Abortion Incidence study, which produced the most comprehensive estimate of the incidence of abortion in India to date. I returned to the field several more times in the following year to conduct field monitoring and participate in data analysis workshops with our field partners. I maintain a deep interest in topics related to reproductive health and reproductive justice.

Related Publications:

Singh S, Shekhar C, Acharya R, Moore AM, Stillman M, Pradhan MR, Frost JF, Sahoo H, Alagarajan M, Hussain R, Sundaram A, Vlassoff M, Kalyanwala S, Browne A. “The Incidence of Abortion and Unintended Pregnancy in India, 2015.” The Lancet Global Health 6(1):e111–20.

Woog V, Singh S, Browne A, and Philbin, J. “Adolescent Women’s Need for and Use of Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in Developing Countries,” New York: Guttmacher Institute, www.guttmacher.org/pubs/AdolescentSRHS-Need-Developing-Countries.pdf.