Kathleen Broussard

Hi there! I am Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of South Carolina. My research interests include medical sociology, sexual and reproductive health, social demography, fertility desires and behaviors, and health policy.

My recent work examines people's experiences seeking abortion outside of the formal healthcare system. I situate self-managed abortion along the continuum of medicalization, highlighting how medical technology and healthcare provision influence perceptions and beliefs about pain, the body, and the environment where care is received. I also examine how people strategically navigate their social networks to confront and evade stigma and surveillance from their communities, the state, and the formal health care system. For this work, I received honorable mention for the 2024 James S. Coleman Award for Outstanding Article from ASA's Section on Decision-Making, Social Networks, and Society.

My research appears in Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Social Science & Medicine, Population Studies, JAMA Network Open, Contraception, American Journal of Public Health, Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, and other peer-reviewed publications. It has also been featured across major news outlets, including The New York Times and The Atlantic. In support of my research, I have received funding from the Society of Family Planning, the NICHD, and private foundations.

Prior to joining USC, I completed my Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of Texas at Austin, where I was a fellow at the Population Research Center.