Building a framework for health research with learnings from Anthropological methodologies: Empirical research from program to policy and intervention as continuum | Prof. Nita Mawar | AIF Distinguished Lecture | 26 June 2025

On 26th June 2025, Dr. Nita Mawar delivered a guest lecture entitled “Building a framework for health research with learnings from anthropological methodologies: Empirical research from program to policy and intervention as a continuum”as part of Anthropos India Foundation’s Distinguished Guest Lecture series. Within her lecture, Dr. Mawar situated empirical anthropological research in health with reference to suggestive frameworks for integration and methodological constraints while elucidating upon experiential applied cases that highlighted how anthropological research can bridge cultural gaps, formulate equitable policies and design productive programs.

The lecture focused on anthropological research within medical anthropology, enabling researchers to examine health and wellness through cultural, political, social, and economic lenses. Dr. Mawar emphasized the importance of cultural context in empirical research, highlighting the role of narrative-driven qualitative data and a holistic understanding of factors shaping healthcare awareness, access, and accountability. She introduced key frameworks like biocultural anthropology, popular epidemiology, biosocial perspectives, and social cognitive theories of mass media as structured approaches to health analysis. Biocultural anthropology, in particular, was presented as a paradigm exploring how cultural practices influence health behaviours and socio-environmental factors drive interlinked epidemics. The lecture also covered integrated methodological approaches, including immersive ethnography, qualitative and quantitative tools like surveys, FGDs, IDIs, KIIs, participatory methods, and systems-level analysis.

Dr. Mawar’s lecture was conceptually driven by chronologically arranged case studies, investigating domains of youth sexuality and sexual behavioural trends, Community Health Volunteer (CHV) programs, the prevalence and experience of sexually transmitted disease (STD’s), disease mitigation strategies, menstrual health and health seeking behaviours among ethno-cultural groups.

These integrative methods ensure that health research is responsive to community realities, improving the adaptability and resilience of policy interventions. However, Dr. Mawar also elucidated the challenges associated with the smaller sample sizes in ethnographic research, addressing generalizability inadequacies through mixed method triangulation and the usage of biomedical parameters. Dr. Mawar further expanded the discourse by elaborating upon how anthropological integration in health research must translate into empirical findings by contextualizing policies specific to local beliefs and practices, enhancing accountability through community based participatory research and policy advocacy. Furthermore, the necessity of applying anthropological evaluative methods such as qualitative evaluation, feedback mechanisms and strategies for adaptability to ensure prolonged success and reliability was emphasized.

Nearing the conclusion of her lecture, Dr. Mawar encapsulated the implications of a stakeholder-centric paradigm in health research that addresses the communities, collaborators, institutional authorities and ethical committees. By acknowledging socio-demographic realities, particularly in the realm of gendered vulnerabilities; Dr. Mawar explained how anthropological integration with medical research is also beneficial in remedying structural issues of growth and development, becoming pertinent in attaining national and international Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s).

The session was attended by approximately 36 researchers, scientists, faculty members, and students via Zoom, and 37 more joined through YouTube Live. Participants represented institutions such as Delhi University, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry University, North-Eastern Hill University, Assam University, Lucknow University, University of Allahabad, Banaras Hindu University, University of Kashmir, the National Institute of Naturopathy, the Population Research Centre, and Loughborough University, among others. The lecture concluded with an engaging question-and-answer session, where both students and anthropologists contributed meaningfully to the discourse on the role of anthropology in medical research, making it an enlightening and enriching experience.