Iccha Basnyat

Iccha Basnyat

Iccha Basnyat

Associate Professor

Culture, gender and health inequalities; critical health communication; global health communication; health equity; South and South East Asia

Iccha Basnyat is an Associate Professor in the Global Affairs Program and holds a joint appointment in the Department of Communication. Dr. Basnyat received her B.A. in Communication from the University of Utah, MPH from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and Ph.D. in Communication from Purdue University. Before joining Mason, Dr. Basnyat taught in the Department of Communication & New Media at the National University of Singapore for a decade and in the School of Communication at James Madison University. 

Dr. Basnyat's primary area of research examines the intersections of gender, culture, and health inequalities in transnational contexts through an interdisciplinary approach. Specifically, she explores structural limitations/access, structural violence, stigma, social support, power, gender roles, race/class injustices, and inequalities surrounding marginalized and vulnerable women's health and health risks. As secondary research areas, she examines (i) health information seeking, exchange, and dissemination and (ii) the impact of pandemic on health behaviors, information seeking, and health messaging. 

Dr. Basnyat is an associate editor for the Journal of International and Intercultural Communication and Frontiers in Communication: Health Communication section. She recently co-edited the 5-volume Wiley International Encyclopedia of Health Communication. She serves on the editorial boards of Communication Monographs, Health Communication, and Journal of Applied Communication Research. She served as the first Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) Chair in the Health Communication Division of the National Communication Association (NCA). She currently serves a three-year term on the Research Council for NCA and the Applied/Public Policy Research Awards Committee for the International Communication Association (ICA). Recently, she was invited as an external expert for the World Health Organization's (WHO) guidance development on Learning and Capacity Building in Health Emergencies.  

Selected Publications

Edited Book
Ho, E. Y., Bylund, C. L., van Weert, J., Basnyat, I., Bol, N., & Dean M. (Five Volume Eds.). (2023). The International Encyclopedia of Health Communication. Wiley-Blackwell.

Selected Journal Publications
Zhao, X., & Basnyat, I. (2022). Gendered social practices in reproductive health: A qualitative study exploring lived experiences of unwed single mothers in China. Sociology of Health & Illness, 43, 1237-1253. DOI: 10.1111/1467-9566.13292

Basnyat, I., & Chang, L. (2021) Barriers of seeking and receiving family support for caregivers of people with Dementia in Singapore. Dementia. 20, 2278-2293. DOI: 10.1177/1471301221990567

Zhao, X., & Basnyat, I. (2021) Lived Experiences of Unwed Single Mothers: Exploring the Relationship between Structural Violence and Agency in the Context of Chinese Reproductive Health Discourse. Health Communication. 36, 293-302. DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2019.1683953

Basnyat, I. (2020) Exploring Interlinkages of Gender, Power & Health in the Entertainment Establishment Based Bars and Restaurant Settings in Kathmandu Nepal. Qualitative Health Research, 30, 1409–1418, DOI: 10.1177/1049732320913854.  

Basnyat, I. (2020). Stigma, Agency & Motherhood: Exploring the Performativity of Dual Mother-Female Sex Workers Identities in Kathmandu, Nepal. Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, 13, 98-113. DOI: 10.1080/17513057.2020.1735486.

Basnyat, I. (2017). Theorizing the Relationship between Gender and Health through a Case Study of Nepalese Street-Based Female Sex Workers. Communication Theory, 27, 388-406. DOI:10.1111/comt.12114.

Basnyat, I. & Chang, L. (2017). Examining Live-in Foreign Domestic Helpers as Coping Resource for Family Caregivers of People with Dementia in Singapore. Health Communication, 32, 1171-1179, DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2016.1220346.

Chang, L., & Basnyat, I. (2017). Exploring Family Support for older Chinese Singaporean women in a Confucian society. Health Communication. 32, 603-611. DOI. 10.1080/10410236.2016.1146568.

Basnyat, I. (2017). Structural Violence in HealthCare: Lived Experience of Street-based Female Commercial Sex Workers in Kathmandu. Qualitative Health Research. 27, 191-203. DOI. 10.1177/1049732315601665.

Basnyat, I. (2014). Lived Experiences of Street-based Female Sex Workers in Kathmandu: Implications for Health Intervention Strategies. Culture, Health & Sexuality. 16:9, 1040-1051. DOI: 10.1080/13691058.2014.922620.

 

Expanded Publication List

Gender, Culture and Health
49. Riddick, B*., Kaur-Gill, S., Basnyat, I. Co-scripted Autoethnographies of (Re)thinking the Current Reproductive Justice Discourse in the United States. (2023). In T. M. Robinson., S. Singh., C.M. Joseph (Eds.). A Culturally-Centered and Intersectional Approach to Reproductive Justice: An Edited Collection. Lexington Publishing.  

48. Basnyat, I., & Chang, L. (2021). Tensions in support for family caregivers of people with dementia in Singapore: A qualitative study. Dementia. 20, 2278-2293. DOI: 10.1177/1471301221990567

47. Zhao, X., & Basnyat, I. (2021). Gendered social practices in reproductive health: A qualitative study exploring lived experiences of unwed single mothers in China. Sociology of Health & Illness, 43, 1237-1253. DOI: 10.1111/1467-9566.13292

46. Zhao, X., & Basnyat, I. (2021) Lived Experiences of Unwed Single Mothers: Exploring the Relationship between Structural Violence and Agency in the Context of Chinese Reproductive Health Discourse. Health Communication. 36, 293-302. DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2019.1683953.

45. Basnyat, I. (2020) Exploring Interlinkages of Gender, Power & Health in the Entertainment Establishment Based Bars and Restaurant Settings in Kathmandu Nepal. Qualitative Health Research, 30, 1409–1418, DOI: 10.1177/1049732320913854.

44. Basnyat, I. (2020). Stigma, Agency & Motherhood: Exploring the Performativity of Dual Mother-Female Sex Workers Identities in Kathmandu, Nepal. Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, 13, 98-113. DOI: 10.1080/17513057.2020.1735486.

43. Zhao, X*., & Basnyat, I. (2018). Online Social Support for “Danqin Mama”: A Case Study of Parenting Discussion Forum for Unwed Single Mothers in China. Computers in Human Behavior, 80, 12-21. DOI: 10. 1016/j.chb.2017.10.045.

42. Basnyat, I. & Chang, L. (2017). Examining Live-in Foreign Domestic Helpers as Coping Resource for Family Caregivers of People with Dementia in Singapore. Health Communication, 32, 1171-1179, DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2016.1220346.

41. Basnyat, I. (2017). Theorizing the Relationship between Gender and Health through a Case Study of Nepalese Street-Based Female Sex Workers. Communication Theory, 27, 388-406. DOI:10.1111/comt.12114.

40. Basnyat, I., & Lim, C.** (2018). Perspectives of Young Chinese Singaporean Women on Seeking and Processing Information to Decide about Vaccinating against Human Papillomavirus (HPV), Women & Health, 58, 806-821. DOI: 10.1080/03630242.2017.1342741.

39. Basnyat, I. (2018). Self-reflexivity for Social Change: The researcher, I, and the researched, Female Street Based Commercial Sex Workers’, Gendered Contexts. In Dutta, M. and Zapata, D. (Eds.), Communicating for Social Change: Intersection of Theory and Praxis. Palgrave-McMillan, Singapore. 

38. Chang, L., & Basnyat, I. (2017). Exploring Family Support for older Chinese Singaporean women in a Confucian society. Health Communication. 32, 603-611. DOI. 10.1080/10410236.2016.1146568.

37. Basnyat, I. (2017). Structural Violence in HealthCare: Lived Experience of Street-based Female Commercial Sex Workers in Kathmandu. Qualitative Health Research. 27, 191-203. DOI. 10.1177/1049732315601665.

36. Chang, L., & Basnyat, I. (2015). Negotiating biomedical and traditional Chinese medicine treatments among elderly Chinese Singaporean women. Qualitative Health Research, 25, 241-252. DOI: 10.1177/1049732314551991.

35. Basnyat, I. (2014). Lived Experiences of Street-based Female Sex Workers in Kathmandu: Implications for Health Intervention Strategies. Culture, Health & Sexuality. 16:9, 1040-1051. DOI: 10.1080/13691058.2014.922620.

34. Basnyat, I. & Dutta, M. (2012). Reframing motherhood through the culture-centered approach: Articulations of agency among young Nepalese women, Health Communication, 27, 273-283. DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2011.585444.

33. Basnyat, I. & Dutta, M. (2011). Family Planning (re)Defined: How Young Nepalese Women Understand & Negotiate Contraceptive Choices, Asian Journal of Communication, 21, 338-354. DOI: 10.1080/01292986.2011.574711.

32. Basnyat, I. (2011). Beyond Bio-Medicine: Health through Social and Cultural Understanding, Nursing Inquiry, 18, 123–134. DOI: 10.1111/j.1440-1800.2011.00518.x.

Health Information: Seeking, Exchange and Dissemination
31. Mohammadifirouzeh, M*., O, K.M., Basnyat, I. & Gimm, G. (Online First). Factors Associated with Professional Mental Help-Seeking Among U.S. Immigrants: A Systematic Review. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. DOI: 10.1007/s10903-023-01475-4

30. Jiang, S., Basnyat, I., & Liu, P. (2021). Factors Influencing Internet Health Information Seeking in India: An Application of the Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking. International Journal of Communication. 15, 22.

29. Richards, S., & Basnyat, I. (2021). A qualitative examination of women’s experiences with risk information exchange during pregnancy: Similarities in experiences across a multi-state U.S. based sample. Journal of Communication in Healthcare Strategies, Media and Engagement in Global Health. 14, 324-332. DOI: 10.1080/17538068.2021.1947095

28. Basnyat, I., Nekmat, E., Jiang, S., & Lin J.  (2018). Applying the Modified Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking to Online Health Information Seeking in the Context of India. Journal of Health Communication, 23, 563–572. DOI: 10.1080/10810730.2018.1493058.

27. Chang, L., Basnyat, I., & Teo, D.** (2014). Seeking and Processing Information for Health Decisions among Elderly Chinese Singaporean Women. Journal of Women & Aging, 26 (3), 1-23. DOI: 10.1080/08952841.2014.888881.

26. Dutta, M., & Basnyat I. (2010). The Radio Communication Project in Nepal: Culture, Power, and Meaning in Constructions of Health. In. K.K. Liew. (Ed.). Liberalizing, Feminizing and Popularizing Health Communications in Asia, Surrey, UK: Ashgate.

25. Dutta, M., & Basnyat, I. (2008). Interrogating the Radio Communication Project in Nepal: The Participatory Framing of Colonization. In H. Zoller & M. Dutta. (Eds.). Emerging Perspectives in Health Communication: Interpretive, Critical, and Cultural Approaches, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum

24.Dutta, M. & Basnyat, I. (2008) The Case of the Radio Communication Project in Nepal: A Culture-Centered, Rejoinder. Health Education & Behavior, 35, 445-460. DOI: 10.1177/1090198106296009.

23. Dutta, M. & Basnyat, I. (2008). The Radio Communication Project in Nepal: A Culture Centered Approach to Participation. Health Education & Behavior, 35, 442-454. DOI: 10.1177/1090198106287450.

Pandemic Related Research 
22. Kim, Y., Meganck, S. & Basnyat, I. (Accepted). Effects of Internal Crisis Communication During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Employee Perceptions of Communication Quality, Leadership, and Relational Outcomes. Corporate Communication. DOI: 10.1108/CCIJ-09-2022-0110

21. Sun, Y., Wang, P., & Basnyat, I. (2023). Voluntary or mandatory protective policy? The health behavior changes during the COVID-19 Wuhan lockdown. Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health. 35, 200-203. DOI: 10.1177/10105395231158865

20. Kim, Y., Basnyat, I. & Meganck, S. (2023). The Role of Basic Crisis Response and Dialogic Competency: Employee Response to COVID-19 Internal Crisis Communication. Journal of Public Relations Research, 35, 37-61.DOI: 10.1080/1062726X.2022.2148673

19. Zhao, X., & Basnyat, I. (2022). Online Information and Support Seeking during COVID-19 Lockdown in Wuhan: Implications for Health Promotion. Health Promotion International, 37, 1-11. DOI: 10.1093/heapro/daac057

18. Sun, Y., Hu, Q., Grossman, S., Basnyat, I., & Wang. P. (2021). Comparison of COVID-19 Information Seeking, Trust of Information Sources, and Protective Behaviors in China and the US. Journal of Health Communication. 26, 657-666. DOI: 10.1080/10810730.2021.

17. Zhao, X., Fan, J., Basnyat, I., & Hu, B.* (2020). Social Media in Times of Crisis: Online Health Information Seeking using “#COVID-19 Patient Seeking Help” on Weibo in Wuhan, China. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 22, e22910. DOI: 10.2196/22910.

16. Basnyat, I., & Lee, S.T. (2015). Framing of Influenza A (H1N1) Pandemic in a Singaporean Newspaper. Health Promotion International, 30 (4), 942-953. DOI: 10.1093/heapro/dau028.

15. Lee, S.T. & Basnyat, I. (2013). From Press Release to News: Mapping the Framing of the 2009 H1N1 A Influenza Pandemic. Health Communication, 28, 119-132. DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2012.65855

Other collaborative research
14. Basnyat, I., & Zhao, X. Structural Violence (2023). In Ho, E., Bylund, C., van Weert, J., Basnyat, I., Bol, N., & Dean M. (Eds.). The International Encyclopedia of Health Communication. (Wiley Publishing).

13. Burns, J*., & Basnyat, I. (2023). Feminist Approaches to Health Communication. In Ho, E., Bylund, C., van Weert, J., Basnyat, I., Bol, N., & Dean M. (Eds.). The International Encyclopedia of Health Communication. Wiley Publishing.

12. Lantz, J., Liu, J.C., & Basnyat, I. (2022). Piloting Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Facilitate Online Discussion in Large Online Classes: A Case Study. In Cases on Innovative and Successful Uses of Digital Resources for Online Learning (pp. 204-222). IGI Global.

11. Kuang, K., Zhao, X., Basnyat, I., Tianping H.* (2022). From Offline to Online: Understanding Chinese Single Mothers’ Uncertainty Management in Interpersonal and Online Contexts. Frontiers in Psychology. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.845760)

10. Dutta, M., Ramasubramanian, S., Barrett, M., Elers, C., Sarwatay, D., Raghunath, P., Tallam, E., Roy, S., Sorriano, C., Kaur, S., Dutta, D., Johnson, G.M., Mandal, I, Dutta, U, Basnyat, I., Ganesh, S., Pavarala, V., Sreekumar, T.T. (2021). Decolonizing Open Science: Southern interventions. Journal of Communication, 71, 803-826. (IF 7.270). DOI: 10.1093/joc/jqab027

9. Quah, P. L., Fries, L. R., Chan, M. J., Fogel, A., McCrickerd, K., Goh, A. T., Airs, I.M., Lee, Y.S., Pang, W.W., Basnyat, I …. & Wee, H. L. (2019). Validation of the Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire in 5 and 6 year-old children: The GUSTO cohort study. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 824. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00824.

8. Lim, S.S., & Basnyat, I. (2016). Face and Online Social Networking. In In Lim, S.S. & Soriano, C. (Eds.) Asian Perspectives on Digital Culture: Emerging Phenomena, Enduring Concepts. Routledge International Media Studies series.

7. Basnyat, I. (2014). Nepal. In T. Thompson (Ed.) SAGE Encyclopedia of Health Communication. Sage Reference.

6. Basnyat, I., & Chang, L. (2014).  Are you a "woman"? Representation of femininity in two women's magazines in Singapore, Cleo and Her World. Communication Research Reports, 31, 82-91.  DOI: 10.1080/08824096.2013.845815.

5. Lim, S. S., Basnyat, I., Vadrevu, S.* & Chan, Y. H.* (2013). Critical Literacy, Self-Protection and Delinquency: The Challenges of Participatory Media for Youths At-Risk. Learning, Media and Technology, 38, 154-160. DOI: 10.1080/17439884.2013.756515

4. Lim, S. S., Chan, Y. H*., Vadrevu, S*. & Basnyat, I. (2013). Online and offline networks: Investigating the relationship between peer interaction and juvenile delinquency. Computers in Human Behavior, 29, 8-15. DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2012.04.025.

3. Lim, S., Vadrevu, S.*, Chan, Y.H.*, & Basnyat, I. (2012) Facework on Facebook: The online publicness of juvenile delinquents and youths-at-risk. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 56, 346-361. DOI: 10.1080/08838151.2012.705198.

2. DeSouza, R., Basu, A., Kim, I., Basnyat, I., & Dutta, M. (2008). The Paradox of Fair Trade: The Influence of Neoliberal Trade Agreements on Food Security and Health. In H. Zoller & M. Dutta. (Eds.). Emerging Perspectives in Health Communication: Interpretive, Critical, and Cultural Approaches, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

1. Mattson, M., & Basnyat, I. (2007). Infusing HIV Test Counseling Practice with Harm Reduction Theory:  An Integrated Model for Voluntary Counseling and Testing. In T. Edgar., S. Noar., V. Freimuth (Eds.). Communication Perspectives for HIV/AIDS in the 21st Century. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum.

*Graduate or ** undergraduate student collaborator at the time of writing. 

 

 

 

Courses Taught

GLOA 388: Global Health and Development

GLOA 450/COMM 304: Foundations of Health Communication

GLOA 599/COMM 620: Health Communication

GLOA 600: Global Competencies
          Fall Topic: Globalization
          Spring Topic: Global Health & Globalization

GLOA 615/COMM 690/COMM 890: Critical Perspectives on Health Communication 

GLOA 720: Capstone Research Seminar