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Claudia  Ordóñez

Adjunct Asst Professor

Adjunct Assistant Professor

Adjunct or Visiting, Global Health

I was born and raised in Colombia, South America, where I completed my anthropological training. My academic training has also taken place in the US in the areas of intercultural relations and health and human rights. Broadly speaking, my professional work is about finding ways to improve human interaction in the context of healthcare through qualitative and mixed-methods research and by implementing evidence-informed practices, with the ultimate goal to improve human health and achieve health equity for underserved and marginalized populations. 

Using the lenses of medical and applied anthropology, my research interests include HIV/AIDS, plural health systems, traditional African medicine, and health equity with a focus on community engaged research approaches, interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary research collaborations, implementation science, and intercultural proficiency conceptualization, evaluation, and training.

I teach courses in the Community Health and Development concentration and I maintain a flourishing set of ongoing biomedical and public health research collaborations with colleagues in South Africa and in the United States. Currently, I make part of a multi-national (South Africa/USA/Europe) biomedical and public health research team conducting implementation science in South Africa, as well as the NIH sponsored GEORGIAL CEAL project, which is conducted in collaboration with Morehouse School of Medicine, Southside Medical Center, and DeKalb County Board of Health. 

Current Positions:

Chair - Community Engagement Subcommittee NIH's HLB-SIMPLe Alliance

Adjunct Faculty Representative, Rollins School of Public Health Faculty Council

Recent & Selected Publications: 

NEW Article!  Community-Centered Assessment to Inform Pandemic Response in Georgia (US) - GEORGIA CEAL Project 

Article: Addressing coloniality of power to improve HIV care in South Africa and other LMIC. https://doi.org/10.3389/frph.2023.1116813

Article: "Public Health Needs Liberation Theology"

Article: "Not Race, Raicism: Concerns of COVID-19 Affecting African Americans"

News and Social Media: "Academic freedom, free speech on campus"“Addressing power dynamics requires more than adhering to a policy of trigger warnings or creating ‘safe spaces,’” Ordonez said. “How can we create true academic freedom and free speech among students who feel powerless?” Conference Coverage, Emory News

For a complete list of publications see:

Google Scholar Page

Claudia E. Ordóñez, antropóloga de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Bogotá) e interculturalista de Lesley University (USA).  Aplicando la perspectiva antropológica a las ciencias de la salud y a través de una estrategia transdisciplinaria en colaboraciones para la investigación, su trabajo académico busca desarrollar aplicaciones teóricas y prácticas para mejorar servicios de atención a la salud con el fin de aportar al mejoramiento del bienestar humano. En un marco de colaboraciones investigativas entre las ciencias biomédicas y sociales, su trabajo se ha enfocado en discernir y explicar los aspectos socioculturales de la epidemia de VIH y SIDA en la provincia de KwaZulu-Natal en Sudáfrica y en la región suroriental de los Estados Unidos, así como también la integración de servicios salud para VIH con servicios para enfermedades crónicas en el sistema de salud pública en África. 

Utilizando las ópticas de la antropología médica y aplicada, su labor académica en el campo del VIH y SIDA incluye investigación en temas relacionados con medicina tradicional africana, sistemas médicos plurales, relaciones de género y poder en el contexto de factores de riesgo para VIH, participación comunitaria en las ciencias de la implementación, y consciencia y sensibilidad intercultural en el ejercicio de las ciencias de la salud. 

La profesora Ordóñez también dedica parte de su trabajo profesional a la enseñanza a nivel de posgrado, dictando cursos en el área de desarrollo y salud comunitarios del programa de maestría de la Escuela de Salud Pública de Rollins en la Universidad de Emory, USA. Su trabajo con estudiantes de Emory ha incluido la mentoría a numerosos estudiantes y dirección de tesis de posgrado.  

Contact Information

1518 Clifton Road, Hubert Department of Global Health, CNR Building

Atlanta , GA 30302

Email: claudia.ordonez@emory.edu

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Areas of Interest

  • Community Based Research
  • Community Health & Development
  • Global Health
  • Healthcare Systems
  • HIV/AIDS Prevention
  • Implementation Science
  • Infectious Disease
  • Latino Health
  • Research Methods
  • Social Determinants of Health

Education

  • Intercultural Relations 2003, Lesley University
  • Anthropology 1999, Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Affiliations & Activities

Affiliations:

- Member American Anthropological Society (AAA), Medical Anthropology Society 

- Member Network of Evaluation and Implementation Sciences at Emory (NEISE)

Research Projects:

iHEART-SA  

GA CEAL

Courses Taught:

GH-572 Community Transformation (2 credits). Offered: fall break and January preterm

GH-586 Community Health Assessment (3 credits) Offered: fall semester