Nadia Diamond-Smith, PhD, MS

Assistant Professor, Epidemiology & Biostatistics
Epidemiology & Biostatistics
+1 415 476-5616

Nadia Diamond-Smith is an Associate Professor in the Epidemiology and Biostatistics Department and Institute for Global Health Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco. Her expertise is in maternal and reproductive health in the developing world, with a focus on gender inequality/women's empowerment, family planning and abortion, nutrition, and the preconception, pregnancy and postpartum periods. She is a public health demographer, and did her dissertation research at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health on trends and causes of son preference and uneven child sex ratios in India. Much of her research is in South Asia, although she also works in Africa, elsewhere in Asia, in the US and Latin America. She uses mixed method approaches to research, intervention development, and evaluation.

She currently has 3 R01s in India including (1) an RCT of a group life skills and reproductive health empowerment intervention for newly married women on their ability to avoid unintended pregnancy; (2) studying women's migration to their natal homes in pregnancy and its impact on health care use and outcomes and (3) an RCT of a postpartum mhealth social support intervention. She has also been involved with a number of interventions using social media for data collection and interventions, including among indigenous populations in Guatemala and in California. She teaches courses in Demography; Research Ethics and Practice and Equity Issues in Reproductive Health at UCSF.

Publications: 

Adaptation of the G-NORM (Gender norms scale) in Uganda: An examination of how gender norms are associated with reproductive health decision-making.

PloS one

Sedlander E, Granovsky R, Birabwa C, Amongin D, Wasswa R, Diamond-Smith N, Waiswa P, Holt K, Bingenheimer JB

Individual empowerment and community norm effects of engaging young husbands in reproductive health in rural India: findings from a pilot study.

Reproductive health

Diamond-Smith N, Vaishnav Y, Choudhary U, Sharma P, Kachhwaha A, Panjalingam T, Vallin J, Das D, Gopalakrishnan L

The role of social support in the decision to migrate for childbirth: qualitative evidence from India.

Research square

Patil R, Narang A, El Ayadi AM, Tonde K, Murro R, Khadilkar S, Agarwal D, Juvekar S, Diamond-Smith NG

Individual empowerment and community norm effects of engaging young husbands in reproductive health in rural India: findings from a pilot study.

Research square

Diamond-Smith N, Vaishnav Y, Choudhary U, Sharma P, Kachhwaha A, Panjalingam T, Vallin J, Das D, Gopalakrishnan L

Predictors and experiences of seeking abortion services from pharmacies in Nepal.

PLOS Global Public Health

Harrison L, Puri M, Greene Foster D, Karkia S, Diamond-Smith NG

Impact of being underweight before pregnancy on preterm birth by race/ethnicity and insurance status in California: an analysis of birth records.

The journal of maternal-fetal & neonatal medicine : the official journal of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine, the Federation of Asia and Oceania Perinatal Societies, the International Society of Perinatal Obstetricians

Diamond-Smith N, Baer RJ, Jelliffe-Pawlowski L

Temporary childbirth migration and maternal health care in India.

PloS one

Diamond-Smith N, Gopalakrishnan L, Patil S, Fernald L, Menon P, Walker D, El Ayadi AM

Preliminary impact of an mHealth education and social support intervention on maternal health knowledge and outcomes among postpartum mothers in Punjab, India.

Research square

El Ayadi AM, Diamond-Smith NG, Duggal M, Singh P, Sharma P, Kaur J, Gopalakrishnan L, Gill N, Singh G, Ahuja A, Kumar V, Weil L, Bagga R

Prenatal and postpartum care during the COVID-19 pandemic: An increase in barriers from early to mid-pandemic in the United States.

Birth (Berkeley, Calif.)

Diamond-Smith N, Logan R, Adler A, Gutierrez S, Marshall C, Kerns JL

Can a quality improvement intervention improve person-centred maternity care in Kenya?

Sexual and reproductive health matters

Sudhinaraset M, Giessler KM, Nakphong MK, Munson MM, Golub GM, Diamond-Smith NG, Opot J, Green CE

Intimate partner violence, food insecurity and COVID-19 among newly married women in Nawalparasi district of Nepal: a longitudinal study.

Sexual and reproductive health matters

Puri MC, Maharjan DC, Dahal M, Raifman S, Diamond-Smith N

A qualitative study to understand sociocultural beliefs around perinatal and neonatal health in rural areas of Mohali, Punjab, India.

Frontiers in Global Women's Health

Ahuja A, Duggal M, Liu JY, Sharma P, Hosapatna Basavarajappa D, Bagga R, El Ayadi AM, Kankaria A, Kumar V, Singh P, Diamond-Smith NG

User Acceptability and Perceived Impact of a Mobile Interactive Education and Support Group Intervention to Improve Postnatal Health Care in Northern India: A Qualitative Study.

Research square

Cox V, Sharma P, Verma GS, Gill N, Diamond-Smith NG, Duggal M, Kumar V, Bagga R, Kaur J, Singh P, Ayadi AME

The association between timing in pregnancy of drought and excess rainfall, infant sex, and birthweight: Evidence from Nepal.

Environmental epidemiology (Philadelphia, Pa.)

Diamond-Smith NG, Epstein A, Zlatnik MG, Treleaven E

Feasibility and acceptability of Saheli, a WhatsApp Chatbot, on COVID-19 vaccination among pregnant and breastfeeding women in rural North India.

BMJ Innovations

Alison M El Ayadi, Pushpendra Singh, Mona Duggal, Vijay Kumar, Jasmeet Kaur, Preetika Sharma, Kathryn Bradford Vosburg, Nadia G Diamond-Smith

Impact of Sumadhur intervention on fertility and family planning decision-making norms: a mixed methods study.

Reproductive health

Mitchell A, Puri MC, Dahal M, Cornell A, Upadhyay UD, Diamond-Smith NG

The relationship between the gendered norm of eating last and mental health of newly married women in Nepal: A longitudinal study.

Maternal & child nutrition

Gopalakrishnan L, Diamond-Smith N, Acharya B, Puri M, Bertozzi SM

Denial of legal abortion in Nepal.

PloS one

Puri MC, Raifman S, Daniel S, Karki S, Maharjan DC, Ahlbach C, Diamond-Smith N, Foster DG

The Case for Using a Behavior Change Model to Design Interventions to Promote Respectful Maternal Care.

Global health, science and practice

Diamond-Smith N, Walker D, Afulani PA, Donnay F, Lin SPY, Peca E, Stanton ME

Adapting and Validating the G-NORM (Gender Norms Scale) in Nepal: An Examination of How Gender Norms Are Associated with Agency and Reproductive Health Outcomes.

Studies in family planning

Sedlander E, Dahal M, Bingenheimer JB, Puri MC, Rimal RN, Granovsky R, Diamond-Smith NG

Barriers to COVID-19 vaccine acceptance to improve messages for vaccine uptake in indigenous populations in the central highlands of Guatemala: a participatory qualitative study.

BMJ open

Skinner NA, Sanders K, Lopez E, Sotz Mux MS, Abascal Miguel L, Vosburg KB, Johnston J, Diamond-Smith N, Kraemer Diaz A

Trends of Sex Ratio at Birth and its Association with Sociodemographic Factors Among Asian American Subgroups in the US from 2016 to 2021.

HPHR Journal

Hyelee Kim, Rachel Murro, Jee Eun Park, Yeojin Kim, Youngseon Kim, Patty J. Lee, Hesung Chun Koh, Nadia Diamond-Smith

The supply is there. So why can't pregnant and breastfeeding women in rural India get the COVID-19 vaccine?

PLOS Global Public Health

Diamond-Smith NG, Sharma P, Duggal M, Gill N, Gupta J, Kumar V, Kaur J, Singh P, Vosburg KB, El Ayadi AM

Quality of prenatal and postpartum telehealth visits during COVID-19 and preferences for future care.

AJOG global reports

Marshall C, Gutierrez S, Hecht H, Logan R, Kerns J, Diamond-Smith N

P080Telehealth visits for contraception during the covid-19 pandemic: A national survey.

Contraception

AA Merz, J Kerns, R Logan, S Gutierrez, C Marshall, NG Diamond-Smith

Barriers to maternal and reproductive health care in India due to COVID-19.

Advances in Global Health

Nadia Diamond-Smith, Lakshmi Gopalakrishnan, Sirena Gutierrez, Sarah Francis, Nandita Saikia, Sumeet Patil

A Mobile Education and Social Support Group Intervention for Improving Postpartum Health in Northern India: Development and Usability Study.

JMIR formative research

El Ayadi AM, Duggal M, Bagga R, Singh P, Kumar V, Ahuja A, Kankaria A, Hosapatna Basavarajappa D, Kaur J, Sharma P, Gupta S, Pendse RS, Weil L, Swendeman D, Diamond-Smith NG

Strategies to reduce stigma and discrimination in sexual and reproductive healthcare settings: A mixed-methods systematic review.

PLOS Global Public Health

Bohren MA, Vazquez Corona M, Odiase OJ, Wilson AN, Sudhinaraset M, Diamond-Smith N, Berryman J, Tun?alp ?, Afulani PA

Do changes in women's household status in Nepal improve access to food and nutrition?

Maternal & child nutrition

Diamond-Smith N, Puri M, Neuhaus J, Weiser S, Kadiyala S

Access to and Use of Mobile Phone by Postpartum, Married Women in Punjab, India: Secondary Analysis of mHealth Intervention Pilot Data.

JMIR formative research

Pendse RS, El Ayadi AM, Sharma P, Ahuja A, Hosapatna Basavarajappa D, Duggal M, Kankaria A, Singh P, Kumar V, Bagga R, Diamond-Smith NG

The development and feasibility of a group-based household-level intervention to improve preconception nutrition in Nawalparasi district of Nepal.

BMC public health

Diamond-Smith N, Mitchell A, Cornell A, Dahal M, Gopalakrishnan L, Johnson M, Weiser S, Puri M

Predictors of COVID-19 Vaccination Likelihood Among Reproductive-Aged Women in the United States.

Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974)

Gutierrez S, Logan R, Marshall C, Kerns J, Diamond-Smith N

Is respectful care provided by community health workers associated with infant feeding practices? A cross sectional analysis from India.

BMC health services research

Diamond-Smith N, Gopalakrishnan L, Walker D, Fernald L, Menon P, Patil S

Association between supportive supervision and performance of community health workers in India: a longitudinal multi-level analysis.

Human resources for health

Gopalakrishnan L, Diamond-Smith N, Avula R, Menon P, Fernald L, Walker D, Patil S

Differential treatment in the provision of medication abortion at pharmacies in Uttar Pradesh, India.

AJOG global reports

Percher J, Saxena M, Srivastava A, Diamond-Smith N

COVID-19's impact on contraception experiences: Exacerbation of structural inequities in women's health.

Contraception

Diamond-Smith N, Logan R, Marshall C, Corbetta-Rastelli C, Gutierrez S, Adler A, Kerns J

Existing barriers to utilization of health services for maternal and newborn care in rural Western Kenya.

BMC health services research

Ayodo G, Onyango GO, Wawire S, Diamond-Smith N

The list experiment: An approach to measuring stigmatized behaviours related to sex-selective abortion.

Population studies

Treleaven E, Pham TN, Nguyen AD, Diamond-Smith N

Is there an association between fertility and domestic violence in Nepal?

AJOG global reports

Raifman S, Puri M, Arcara J, Diamond-Smith N

Is there an association between fertility and domestic violence in Nepal?.

Sarah RAIFMAN, PURI Mahesh, Jennet ARCARA, Nadia DIAMOND-SMITH

Anganwadi worker time use in Madhya Pradesh, India: a cross-sectional study.

BMC health services research

Jain A, Walker DM, Avula R, Diamond-Smith N, Gopalakrishnan L, Menon P, Nimmagadda S, Patil SR, Fernald LCH

Preparing for an Increased Need for Abortion Access in India during and after COVID-19: Challenges and Strategies.

Studies in family planning

Chandrasekaran S, Diamond-Smith N, Srinivasan K, Dalvie S

Feasibility and acceptability of mobile phone data collection for longitudinal follow-up among patients treated for obstetric fistula in Uganda.

Health care for women international

El Ayadi AM, Nalubwama H, Barageine JK, Miller S, Obore S, Kakaire O, Korn A, Lester F, Diamond-Smith NG, Mwanje H, Byamugisha J

Marriage-based pilot clean household fuel intervention in India for improved pregnancy outcomes.

BMJ open

Pillarisetti A, Roy S, Diamond-Smith N, Ghorpade M, Dhongade A, Balakrishnan K, Sambandam S, Patil R, Levine DI, Juvekar S, Smith KR

Development and validation of a person-centered abortion scale: the experiences of care in private facilities in Kenya.

BMC women's health

Sudhinaraset M, Landrian A, Afulani PA, Phillips B, Diamond-Smith N, Cotter S

Perceived Conflicting Desires to Delay the First Birth: A Household-Level Exploration in Nepal.

International perspectives on sexual and reproductive health

Diamond-Smith N, Plaza N, Puri M, Dahal M, Weiser SD, Harper CC

Examining the Impact of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus and Pandemic-Related Hardship on Adverse Pregnancy and Infant Outcomes: Design and Launch of the HOPE COVID-19 Study.

The Journal of reproductive medicine

Laura L. Jelliffe-Pawlowski, Scott P. Oltman, Larry Rand, Karen A. Scott, Miriam Kuppermann, Rebecca Baer, April Bell, Gretchen Bandoli, Jean Costello, Nadia Diamond-Smith, Elissa Epel, Rebecca Jackson, Fei Jiang, Deborah A. Karasek, Christina Lindan, Allison O’Leary, Jeffrey Olgin, Matt Pantell, Alison Paquette, Nisha Parikh, Noah Peyser, Xianhua Piao, Aric Prather, George Rutherford, Kelli K. Ryckman, Martina Steurer-Muller, Jodi Stookey, Ganapati Srinivasa, Hollis Wright, Charles E. McCulloch, Brian Piening, Elizabeth E. Rogers, Christina Chambers

Can Person-Centered Interactions with Community Health Care Workers Improve Women's Breastfeeding and Infant Feeding Practices in India?.

Current developments in nutrition

Nadia Diamond-Smith, Lakshmi Gopalakrishnan, Purnima Menon, Sneha Nimmagadda, Dilys Walker, Sumeet Patil

Factors Influencing Roll-Out of an m-Health Intervention in India: Results from a Dynamic and Responsive Process Evaluation.

Current developments in nutrition

Rasmi Avula, Purnima Menon, Sumati Bajaj, Sneha Mani, Nitya George, Lakshmi Gopalakrishnan, Sumeet Patil, Sneha Nimmagadda, Nadia Diamond-Smith, Lia Fernald, Dilys Walker

M-Health Intervention Has the Potential to Alleviate Constraints in Using Administrative Data Systems for Improving Service Delivery in India.

Current developments in nutrition

Rasmi Avula, Purnima Menon, Sumati Bajaj, Malvika Saxena, Shilpa Deshpande, Lakshmi Gopalakrishnan, Sumeet Patil, Sneha Nimmagadda, Nadia Diamond-Smith, Lia Fernald, Dilys Walker

Mobile Technology Integrated into a Large-Scale Nutrition Program Enables Age-Appropriate Home Visits and Counseling for Mothers of Infants in India.

Current developments in nutrition

Sumeet Patil, Sneha Nimmagadda, Lakshmi Gopalakrishnan, Rasmi Avula, Sumati Bajaj, Nadia Diamond-Smith, Lia Fernald, Purnima Menon, Dilys Walker

The Impact of Changes In Women's Status on Eating Patterns Among Newly Married Women In Nepal.

Current developments in nutrition

Nadia Diamond-Smith, Mahesh Puri, Sheri Weiser, John Neuhaus

Using mHealth to improve health care delivery in India: A qualitative examination of the perspectives of community health workers and beneficiaries.

PloS one

Gopalakrishnan L, Buback L, Fernald L, Walker D, Diamond-Smith N, in addition to The CAS Evaluation Consortium

Do quality improvement interventions for person-centered family planning work? Evidence from Kenya.

Gates Open Research

Nadia Diamond-Smith, Katie Giessler, Meghan Munson, Cathy Green

Association between person-centered maternity care and newborn complications in Kenya.

International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics

Sudhinaraset M, Landrian A, Afulani PA, Diamond-Smith N, Golub G

An intervention to improve the quality of medication abortion knowledge among pharmacists in India.

International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics

Diamond-Smith N, Phillips B, Percher J, Saxena M, Dwivedi P, Srivastava A

Facebook Powered Measurement and Evaluation for Iron Folic Acid Health Intervention in India.

Gates Open Research

Bernard D, McCullough C, Francis S, Holton A, Diamond-Smith N

Knowledge, provision of information and barriers to high quality medication abortion provision by pharmacists in Uttar Pradesh, India.

BMC health services research

Diamond-Smith N, Percher J, Saxena M, Dwivedi P, Srivastava A

Food insecurity and intimate partner violence among married women in Nepal.

Journal of global health

Diamond-Smith N, Conroy AA, Tsai AC, Nekkanti M, Weiser SD

Effects of an mHealth intervention for community health workers on maternal and child nutrition and health service delivery in India: protocol for a quasi-experimental mixed-methods evaluation.

BMJ open

Nimmagadda S, Gopalakrishnan L, Avula R, Dhar D, Diamond-Smith N, Fernald L, Jain A, Mani S, Menon P, Nguyen PH, Park H, Patil SR, Singh P, Walker D

Measuring what matters for maternal and newborn health.

The Lancet. Global health

Diamond-Smith N, Afulani P

Facebook Powered Measurement and Evaluation for Iron Folic Acid Health Intervention in India.

Gates Open Research

Drew Bernard, Chris McCullough, Sarah Francis, Avery Holton, Nadia Diamond-Smith

Validation of the person-centered maternity care scale in India.

Reproductive health

Afulani PA, Diamond-Smith N, Phillips B, Singhal S, Sudhinaraset M

Development of a Person-Centered Family Planning Scale in India and Kenya.

Studies in family planning

Sudhinaraset M, Afulani PA, Diamond-Smith N, Golub G, Srivastava A

Introducing the subcutaneous depot medroxyprogesterone acetate injectable contraceptive via social marketing: lessons learned from Nigeria's private sector.

Contraception

Liu J, Schatzkin E, Omoluabi E, Fajemisin M, Onuoha C, Erinfolami T, Ayodeji K, Ogunmola S, Shen J, Diamond-Smith N, Sieverding M

The List Experiment for Measuring Abortion: What We Know and What We Need.

Studies in family planning

Moseson H, Treleaven E, Gerdts C, Diamond-Smith N

Advancing a conceptual model to improve maternal health quality: The Person-Centered Care Framework for Reproductive Health Equity.

Gates Open Research

Sudhinaraset M, Afulani P, Diamond-Smith N, Bhattacharyya S, Donnay F, Montagu D

Where women go to deliver: understanding the changing landscape of childbirth in Africa and Asia.

Health policy and planning

Montagu D, Sudhinaraset M, Diamond-Smith N, Campbell O, Gabrysch S, Freedman L, Kruk ME, Donnay F

Young women’s experience of side effects and contraceptive discontinuation.

Contraception

AM El Ayadi, N Diamond-Smith, C Harper, JE Kohn, C Rocca

Experiences of Neonatal Deaths Among Urban Poor in Metropolitan Delhi: Commination, Poor Quality, and Overwhelmed System.

Journal of Social Inclusion Studies

Nandita Saikia, Shruti Sehgal, Jayanta Kumar Bora, Nadia Diamond-Smith

The contribution of age-specific mortality towards male and female life expectancy differentials in India and selected States, 1970-2013.

Asia-Pacific Population Journal

Vladimir Canudas-Romo, Nandita Saikia, Nadia Diamond-Smith

Gender disparities in child health care seeking in northern Vietnam.

Asian Population Studies

Emily Treleaven, Toan Ngoc Pham, Duy Ngoc Le, Nadia Diamond-Smith, J. Colin Partridge, Hai Thanh Le

Assessing Rates of Inadequate Feeding Practices Among Children 12-24 months: Results from a Cross-Sectional Survey in Myanmar.

Maternal and child health journal

Thet MM, Richards LM, Sudhinaraset M, Paw NE, Diamond-Smith N

Decision-making for delivery location and quality of care among slum-dwellers: a qualitative study in Uttar Pradesh, India.

BMC pregnancy and childbirth

Sudhinaraset M, Beyeler N, Barge S, Diamond-Smith N

Cross-border ties and the reproductive health of India's internal migrant women.

SSM - population health

Sudhinaraset M, Melo J, Diamond-Smith N

The Climate Change Challenge and Barriers to the Exercise of Foresight Intelligence.

BioScience

Lee Ross, Kenneth Arrow, Robert Cialdini, Nadia Diamond-Smith, Joan Diamond, Jennifer Dunne, Marcus Feldman, Robert Horn, Donald Kennedy, Craig Murphy, Dennis Pirages, Kirk Smith, Richard York, Paul Ehrlich

The climate change challenge and barriers to the exercise of foresight intelligence

BioScience

Ross L, Arrow K, Cialdini R, Diamond-Smith N, Diamond J, Dunne J, Feldman M, Horn R, Kennedy D, Murphy C, Pirages D, Smith K, York R, Ehrlich P.

Inter-generational co-residence and women's work and leisure time in Egypt.

Demographic Research

Nadia Diamond-Smith, David Bishai, Omaima El Gibaly

Inter-generational Co-residence and Women’s Work and Leisure in Egypt

Demographic Research

Diamond-Smith, N., O. El-Gibaly, and Bishai, D.

Economic evaluation of smoke alarm distribution methods in Baltimore, Maryland.

Injury prevention : journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention

Diamond-Smith N, Bishai D, Perry E, Shields W, Gielen A

Misinformation and fear of side-effects of family planning.

Culture, health & sexuality

Diamond-Smith N, Campbell M, Madan S

A woman cannot die from a pregnancy she does not have.

International perspectives on sexual and reproductive health

Diamond-Smith N, Potts M

Climate change and population in the Muslim world.

International Journal of Environmental Studies

Nadia Diamond-Smith, Kirk R. Smith, Nuriye Nalan Sahin Hodoglugil

Hepatitis B and hepatocellular carcinoma screening among Asian Americans: survey of safety net healthcare providers.

Digestive diseases and sciences

Khalili M, Guy J, Yu A, Li A, Diamond-Smith N, Stewart S, Chen M, Nguyen T

Are the population policies of India and China responsible for the fertility decline?.

International Journal of Environmental Studies

Nadia Diamond-Smith, Malcolm Potts

Are the population policies of India and China responsible for the fertility decline?

International Journal of Environmental Studies

Diamond-Smith, N. and Potts, M.

Climate Change and Population in the Muslim World

International Journal of Environmental Studies

Diamond-Smith, N., Smith, K. and Sahin Hodoglugil, N.

Estimating the burden of malaria in pregnancy: a case study from rural Madhya Pradesh, India.

Malaria journal

Diamond-Smith N, Singh N, Gupta RK, Dash A, Thimasarn K, Campbell OM, Chandramohan D

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