April  Ballard

Dr. April M. Ballard is an environmental health scientist. Her work is on health disparities and equity related to water, sanitation, and hygiene. She employs mixed methods approaches to understand how social (e.g., stigma, poverty) and environmental (e.g., resource distribution, water quality) conditions influence behaviors and health outcomes, with a specific focus on children, women/girls, and those experiencing houselessness.

Dr. Ballard applies advanced statistical modeling, qualitative methods, measurement development, and theory-driven approaches. She emphasizes the translation of research for public health policy and practice in her work. She is particularly interested in the development and implementation of human-centered, pragmatic programs to address inequities. She has worked in public health research for close to a decade, and has led rural- and urban-based projects in the United States (Appalachian Kentucky, Central Kentucky, metro-Atlanta) and Ecuador.

Dr. Ballard earned her PhD in Environmental Health Sciences from Emory University and her MPH in Environmental Health and Epidemiology from the University of Kentucky. During her PhD, she was a fellow in the Center for Global Safe Water and the Center of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health. In 2021, she was recognized as an Agents of Change in Environmental Justice Fellow.

Select recent publications are below. Please see Google Scholar for additional work.