Alexander C Tsai

Biographic Data

ID341857
NAMEAlexander C Tsai
GIVEN NAMESAlexander C
FAMILY NAMETsai
SIGNATURETSAI A C
AFFILIATIONSHarvard University
ORCID0000-0001-6397-7917
VERIFIEDYes
TOTAL WORKS161
TOTAL CITATIONS232
AUTHOR COUNT152
EDITOR COUNT9
FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR2005
LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR2026
H-INDEX8

  • Inside the meat locker

    Open AccessAlexander C TsaiARTICLESSM - Mental Health2026

    The U.S. federal grant terminations of 2025 have had a chilling effect on American science. Grantees whose awards have been renegotiated under threat of termination must now determine how the revised terms constrain the language they use when reporting their findings in peer-reviewed publications. Standing in the meat locker of anticipatory compliance, scientists face strong incentives to adopt conservative interpretations of what the revised ter…

  • Perspectives of Traditional Healers, Religious Leaders, and Biomedical Providers on Depression and HIV Care in Rural Uganda

    Open AccessJohanna C Hvalić-Mwase, Olivia Brill et al.ARTICLEAIDS and Behavior2026

  • Psychosocial Mechanisms Linking Intersecting Stigmas and Condomless Anal Sex Among Transgender Women in India

    Open AccessVenkatesan Chakrapani, Jasvir Kaur et al.ARTICLEAIDS and Behavior2026

  • Pathways to suicide attempts in rural Uganda

    Open AccessYang Jae Lee, Mildred Asasira et al.ARTICLEInternational Journal of Mental…2026

  • Parenting under the triple burden of violence, depression, and poor diet quality

    Open AccessLuissa Vahedi, Ilana Seff et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2026

    Parenting while experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV), depression, and poor diet quality can contribute to child health inequities. Syndemic theory offers a framework to understand how maternal conditions can lead to inequitable child health outcomes, such as diarrheal disease: a risk factor for childhood mortality and stunting. This study uses the 2022 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey to test an intergenerational syndemic model address…

  • Defining a shift estimand on forgivingness without domesticating forgiveness

    Open AccessAlexander C TsaiARTICLESSM - Mental Health2026

    This commentary responds to Cowden et al.'s (2026) careful epidemiologic study of the population-wide changes in well-being that might follow from two explicitly defined "shift" scenarios applied to a three-item forgivingness measure. I value the paper's candor about its counterfactual aim: it is not asking whether forgiveness is good in the abstract, but what could plausibly happen if the distribution of measured forgivingness were moved in spec…

  • Design of a mobile mental health stigma reduction application for depression and anxiety

    Open AccessAderonke Bamgbose Pederson, Ashley A Knapp et al.ARTICLESSM - Mental Health2026

  • What breaks when federal commitments break

    Open AccessAlexander C TsaiARTICLESSM - Mental Health2026

    In this commentary on Beccia et al.'s mapping of the 2025 first-wave mental health and substance use-related federal grant terminations, I interpret what happened as a stress test of the U.S. postwar research funding compact. The damage was amplified because the U.S. scientific research enterprise is structurally fragile, characterized by debt-financed institutional growth premised on ever-rising federal budgets; heavy reliance on "soft money" sa…

  • Experienced stigma related to common mental illness and alcohol use disorder in rural Uganda

    Open AccessYang Jae Lee, Benjamin Miller et al.ARTICLESSM - Mental Health2026

    Background: Stigma remains a major barrier to mental health care in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), yet little is known about how stigma operates for common mental illnesses (CMIs) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) in rural Uganda. Methods: We conducted 80 in-depth interviews (IDIs) with individuals and family members affected by CMIs (n=34) or AUD (n=46) in Buyende District, Uganda. Interviews were analyzed inductively using the framework…

  • Psychosocial problems, sexual violence victimization, and substance use among sexual and gender minorities in India

    Open AccessVenkatesan Chakrapani, Ayden I Scheim et al.ARTICLESocial Science & Medicine2026

  • Social influence on women's contraceptive use

    Open AccessAlison B Comfort, Sarah E Piombo et al.ARTICLESocial Science & Medicine2026

    Myriad barriers impede women's access to contraception in Uganda and affect their reproductive autonomy. Almost half of married women of reproductive age in Uganda want to avoid pregnancy and one-third are undecided, yet only 38% use modern contraception. Interventions harnessing the influence of women's social networks may help to overcome these barriers and support desired contraceptive use. Using population-based longitudinal, socio-centric ne…

  • Experiences of adults who survived suicide attempts in rural Uganda

    Open AccessYang Jae Lee, Mildred Asasira et al.ARTICLECambridge Prisms Global Mental…2026

    Suicide disproportionately burdens low- and middle-income countries. In Uganda, attempt survivors encounter intense stigma, minimal mental-health services and social exclusion, elevating their risk of future attempts. Rural African data on post-attempt experiences are scarce. From June to August 2023, we conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews in Buyende District with 18 attempt survivors, 17 relatives, 10 healthcare workers and 9 communit…

  • Mixed Methods to Advance Global Health Research on Gender-Based Violence Syndemics

    Open AccessLuissa Vahedi, Ilana Seff et al.ARTICLEJournal of Mixed Methods Research2026References: 9

    Emerging studies from low-and-middle-income countries (LMIC) have applied mixed methods to investigate gender-based violence (GBV) syndemics. There is currently no guidance on how to appropriately combine qualitative and quantitative methods when testing syndemic theory. This research introduces a mixed methods framework for testing GBV syndemics in LMIC. A multi-step approach was used for framework development. The framework centers on the disti…

  • Clarification of policy on retractions

    Open AccessAlexander C Tsai, B A Kohrt et al.ARTICLESSM - Mental Health2025

  • ‘We would look at the chickens as a source of security’

    Open AccessJustus Kananura, Bridget F O Burns et al.ARTICLEJournal of Global Health2025

    Background: Development interventions may promote sustainable livelihoods among participants via improved income generation, health, education, and quality of life. Within the development literature, microfinance institutions (MFIs) provide individuals with funds and/or start-up capital to develop small businesses. However, the evidence on whether MFIs are successful in ensuring sustainable livelihoods is mixed. In this study, we assessed partici…

  • A qualitative study of abortion decision-making trajectories among pregnant women at their first antenatal care visit in Kampala, Uganda

    Open AccessBlake Erhardt‐Ohren, Blake Erhardt-Ohren et al.ARTICLEJournal of Global Health2025

    Background: In Uganda, only about half of women who want to avoid pregnancy are using modern contraceptives, leading to high numbers of unintended pregnancies and elevated maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. In this study, we aimed to learn more about women's abortion decision-making before continuing to carry a pregnancy. Methods: We utilised a qualitative study design and interviewed 31 purposively selected single and partnered pregn…

  • The Role of Health Networks in Disseminating Knowledge about Infant HIV Testing in Rural Uganda

    Open AccessAlison B Comfort, J Moody et al.ARTICLEAIDS and Behavior2025

    Early testing of infants exposed to HIV can significantly decrease mortality for those linked to HIV treatment. Infants exposed to HIV should first be tested at 6 weeks of age, but only 60% are tested as recommended. Little research has focused on the role of social networks in disseminating information about infant HIV testing. We conducted a cross-sectional, sociocentric network study of all adults living in a rural parish in Uganda (N=1,383) a…

  • Factor Structure, Reliability, and Validity of the 10-Item HIV Stigma Scale for Adolescents and Youth Living with HIV in Rural, Southwestern Uganda

    Open AccessScholastic Ashaba, Alain Favina et al.ARTICLEAIDS and Behavior2025

  • Gender-based violence syndemics in global health

    Open AccessLuissa Vahedi, Ilana Seff et al.ARTICLESocial Science & Medicine2025

  • The Place Where Danger Waits”

    Open AccessParis B Adkins-Jackson, Ariana N Gobaud et al.ARTICLEJournal of Urban Health2025References: 3

  • Perspectives of traditional healers, faith healers, and biomedical providers about mental illness treatment

    Open AccessYang Jae Lee, Mary Coleman et al.ARTICLECambridge Prisms Global Mental…2025References: 36

    Most people with mental illness in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) do not receive biomedical treatment, though many seek care from traditional healers and faith healers. We conducted a qualitative study in Buyende District, Uganda, using framework analysis. Data collection included interviews with 24 traditional healers, 20 faith healers, and 23 biomedical providers, plus 4 focus group discussions. Interviews explored treatment approaches…

  • Longitudinal Trends in Physical Activity Among Older Adults With and Without HIV in Uganda

    Open AccessAneeka Ratnayake, Yao Tong et al.ARTICLEJournal of Aging and Health2025References: 4

    Introduction Physical Activity (PA) and its links to frailty, quality of life (QoL), and other comorbidities in older Ugandans living with HIV remain under-explored. Methods We analyzed data from three annual assessments of older people living with HIV (PLWH) and age- and sex-similar people not living with HIV (PnLWH). We fitted linear generalized estimating equations (GEE) regression models to estimate the correlates of PA, including demographic…

  • Correlates of HIV treatment adherence self-efficacy among adolescents and young adults living with HIV in southwestern Uganda

    Open AccessScholastic Ashaba, Charles Baguma et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2024

    Adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) among adolescents and young adults living with HIV (AYLHIV) in sub-Saharan Africa is sub-optimal compared to younger children and older adults. Adherence self-efficacy is one of the intrapersonal factors most strongly correlated with ART adherence. The role of adherence self-efficacy in ART adherence among AYLHIV is not well studied in Uganda. We enrolled 300 AYLHIV between October and December 2021 from …

  • A qualitative analysis of self-management needs of adolescents and young adults living with perinatally acquired HIV in rural, southwestern Uganda

    Open AccessScholastic Ashaba, Charles Baguma et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2024

    The number of adolescents living with HIV remains high in sub-Saharan Africa with poorer HIV treatment outcomes among adolescents and young adults compared to individuals in other age groups. For adolescents and young adults living with perinatally acquired HIV (AYLPHIV), the transition from pediatric to adult HIV care is a particularly high-risk period. We conducted a qualitative study to understand self-management needs of AYLPHIV in rural, sou…

  • Setting research priorities for global pandemic preparedness

    Open AccessPeige Song, Davies Adeloye et al.ARTICLEJournal of Global Health2024

    Background: In this priority-setting exercise, we sought to identify leading research priorities needed for strengthening future pandemic preparedness and response across countries. Methods: The International Society of Global Health (ISoGH) used the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) method to identify research priorities for future pandemic preparedness. Eighty experts in global health, translational and clinical research id…