Francis Barchi
Assistant professor in the School of Social Work; and member of the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research, Rutgers University
Francis Barchi is assistant professor in the School of Social Work and a member of the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research at Rutgers University. Prior to joining the faculty at Rutgers, she was a senior fellow in the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania where she continues to develop training programs in clinical and research ethics for health professionals and members of ethics review committees in developing countries. Current programs include training activities for clinicians in Tanzania and Guatemala, and the development of a clinical ethics curriculum for nursing faculty and students in Botswana. In addition, Dr. Barchi is an associated faculty member of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Public Policy and Planning at Rutgers and a member of the Center for African Studies.
Dr. Barchi’s personal research focuses on global health ethics as well as the social and behavioral factors that influence women’s health in southern Africa. In 2009, she completed the first major quantitative study on women’s autonomy and gender-based violence in northern Botswana, the findings from which identified strong associations between alcohol, violence, and poor health outcomes. She is currently studying comprehension and voluntariness among HIV-positive women being screened for cervical cancer at a government clinic in Botswana’s capital city and examining the extent to which understanding may impact a woman’s adherence to recommended treatment and timely return to follow-up care. In addition, she is heading an NIH-funded effort through the Penn Center for AIDS Research to explore IRB perspectives in Botswana on the collection, use, and storage of biological specimens for HIV research.
At Rutgers, Dr. Barchi currently teaches a doctoral course on research ethics and integrity in the social sciences and an undergraduate introductory course on global health. She also regularly visits Botswana where she leads training initiatives in research ethics for university faculty, members of ethics review committees, and community advisory groups.
Dr. Barchi holds a PhD in Social Welfare from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and Masters degrees in Bioethics and Non-Profit Leadership from the same institution. She completed her undergraduate degree at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts.