Amy Dao, PhD

Graduation Year:  2018

Degree/Concentration: PhD/Anthropology
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Anthropology, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

WHERE DO YOU CURRENTLY WORK AND WHAT TYPE OF WORK DO YOU DO THERE?

I received my PhD in Sociomedical Sciences in May 2018, and began working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography and Anthropology at Cal Poly Pomona shortly thereafter. My research focuses on how concepts of health and care shape economic life. My current project examines what I call “the social life of health insurance,” which examines the cultural and historical factors that influence the way people organize and understand health insurance.

WHAT MADE YOU INTERESTED IN PURSUING THIS WORK? WHY DO YOU ENJOY IT?

I was inspired to study health insurance when debates about the Affordable Care Act started in the US. It made me realize there are so many ways Americans view health insurance; many see it as individual contracts between them and their insurers, while others see it as a form of social control. President Obama was encouraging people to sign up for insurance as a way for the young and healthy to care for the sick and elderly. Meanwhile, Mitt Romney was able to push for universal coverage in Massachusetts by arguing it as a way for the uninsured to pay for themselves, since their bills were being covered by tax payers. So while Obama viewed insurance as promoting social solidary, Romney’s approach focused on asserting individual personal responsibility. It was fascinating how something so familiar suddenly became so strange. 

At the same time, international organizations like the World Health Organization and World Bank were endorsing “universal health coverage” as a concept for implementing different styles of health financing in countries where people mostly pay for health care out of pocket. Ultimately, I decided to carry out my research on health reform in Vietnam because I wanted a cross-cultural perspective. Since insurance—as a way of pre-paying and sharing the costs of health care—was fairly new and being heavily promoted in areas with low participation, I wanted to see how people in a different cultural context understood health insurance. What kind of stories about insurance were being told to help people get a grip on its meaning and purpose? How did insurance get incorporated (or not) into their financial habits and repertoires? The answers to these sorts of questions are important for seeing how insurance is understood and how people use it.

HOW HAS THE "SMS LENS" (SEEING PUBLIC HEALTH AS EMBEDDED IN SOCIAL/CULTURAL/ECONOMIC/POLITICAL CONTEXTS) INFLUENCED YOUR PROFESSIONAL ATTITUDES AND APPROACHES IN ADDRESSING ISSUES IN YOUR WORK? 

It greatly influences my work. There are so many individual factors that go into making decisions about health insurance such as past experience, cognitive biases, and moral commitments. But what I found as most important were the structural factors as people searched for ways to make a living in a globalized economy. My research was with an agricultural population whose health care options were greatly affected by global trade agreements, strong kinship obligations, cultural history, and the political commitments of the government. These are invisible forces that an “SMS lens” helps you to see, and they are often the most impactful in terms of being able to help people. Instead of treating the symptoms, you are getting at the root causes. 

HOW HAVE YOU APPLIED THE SKILLS YOU LEARNED IN YOUR SMS COURSES TO YOUR CURRENT WORK?

I took a mixture of public health and anthropology courses as an SMS student. From my public health classes, I learned about how health inequalities are a product of unequal power relationships. My anthropology courses taught me that understanding people’s realities requires accompaniment—or being present with people in their journey to really see how policies affect them on the everyday level. As a teacher-scholar, I incorporate this perspective into my courses and try to have my students engage with their immediate communities as much as possible.

HOW HAVE YOUR INTERESTS IN PUBLIC HEALTH CHANGED (OR NOT) SINCE YOU WERE AT MAILMAN?

My interest in public not changed. I will always have an interest in public health because it is an important foundation for a good society. It is a good measure for how well we are caring for each other. 

WHAT DO YOU FORESEE IN THE NEXT 50 YEARS OF PUBLIC HEALTH?

I am always wary of speculation, but I hope public health continues to address health inequalities using structural approaches that support the public good. I would love to keep the conversation going. Follow me on Twitter @AmyDao.