Bio          

Kathleen Broussard earned her doctorate in sociology from the University of Texas at Austin (2022), where she specialized in demography as a Fellow at the Population Research Center. Prior to this, she received an MA from the University of Chicago.

Her work appears in Social Science & Medicine, Population Studies, Demographic Research, JAMA Network Open, American Journal of Public Health, Contraception, and Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, among others. It has also been featured across major news outlets, including The New York Times and The Atlantic and has been cited in two U.S. Supreme Court Amicus briefs, June Medical Services v. Russo and Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. In support of her work, she has received funding from the NIH and the Society of Family Planning and recognized with awards from the American Sociological Association and the Eastern Sociological Society. She is currently Assistant Professor of Sociology at USC, an Affiliate Faculty of the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies, and an external affiliate of the Carolina Population Center at UNC Chapel Hill.

Research

Substantive research interests: sexual and reproductive health, social demography, fertility, gender, medicine, and healthcare

 Department cluster: Population and Health; Inequalities and Institutions.

Research overview: Broussard’s core research agenda describes the individual, social, and structural determinants of reproductive health desires, behaviors, and outcomes. She employs a diverse set of methods, including surveys, interviews, and content analysis, to explore people’s experiences navigating reproduction and reproductive health. Her research seeks to understand how people make meaning of sexual and reproductive health events in their lives and how social institutions and technologies shape their experiences.

 Current projects:  Broussard’s current work draws from survey data and in-depth interviews with women living near the U.S.-Mexico border who attempted to end a pregnancy outside of the formal healthcare setting. In addition to describing the characteristics, motivations, and experiences of this often-hidden population, she analyzes how women navigate their social networks to gain access to health-related information and resources in restrictive contexts. This project is supported by a grant from the Society of Family Planning. 

A second branch of Broussard’s research examines fertility desires and intentions within a reproductive justice framework. She is especially interested in the causes and consequences of unrealized fertility (when people have fewer children than they desire). In the coming years, she plans document the prevalence of unrealized fertility in the U.S. and develop new measures that illuminate the biopsychosocial factors that constrain people’s ability to determine whether and when to become parents.

Teaching

• Sociology 316: Reproductive Governance and Resistance
• Sociology 398: Reproductive Health and Rights
• Sociology 391: Research Methods

Selected Publications

Aiken, Abigail, Alejandra Tello-Pérez, Melissa Madera, Jennifer E. Starling, Dana Johnson, Kathleen Broussard, Elisa Padron, Carol Armelle Ze-Noah, and James Scott. "Factors Associated with Knowledge and Experience of Self-Managed Abortion Among Patients Seeking Care at 49 U.S. Abortion Clinics" JAMA Network Open, 6(4):e238701.

Broussard, Kathleen and Andréa Becker. 2021. “Self-Removal of Long-Acting Reversible Contraception: A Content Analysis of YouTube Videos” Contraception, 104(6):654-658.

Broussard, Kathleen. 2020. “The Changing Landscape of Abortion Care: Embodied Experiences of Structural Stigma in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland” Social Science & Medicine 245:1-9.

Broussard, Kathleen and Abigail Weitzman. 2020. “Sibling Mortality and Fertility Ideals from the High-Mortality Context of Peru” Population Studies, 74(2):179-195.

Aiken, Abigail R. A., Kathleen Broussard, Dana Johnson, Elisa Padron, Jennifer E. Starling, and James G. Scott. 2020. “Knowledge, interest, and motivations surrounding self-managed medication abortion among patients at three Texas clinics” American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 223(2):238.e1-238.e10.

Broussard, Kathleen, Payal Hathi, and Diane Coffey. 2019. “Assessing public awareness and use of medical abortion via mobile phone survey in India” Contraception, 100(6):457-463.

Aiken, Abigail R.A., Kathleen Broussard, Dana Johnson, and Elisa Padron. 2018. “Motivations and Experiences of People Seeking Medication Abortion Online in the United States” Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 50(4):157-163.