Irina Todorova
Biographic Data
| ID | 113641 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Irina Todorova |
| GIVEN NAMES | Irina |
| FAMILY NAME | Todorova |
| SIGNATURE | TODOROVA I |
| AFFILIATIONS | Northeastern University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-9765-8949 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 20 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 87 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 20 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1994 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Cervical cancer in Bulgaria since EU accession in 2007: A struggle in the face of political instability
BACKGROUND: Bulgaria has one of the highest cervical cancer incidence rates in the EU, driven by persistently low screening uptake and HPV vaccination coverage. Despite the preventable nature of the disease, efforts to implement effective prevention strategies have been undermined by political instability, fragmented governance, and systemic health system weaknesses. REFORM CONTENT: Since EU accession in 2007, Bulgaria has launched several initia…
Stories of life during the Covid-19 pandemic: Personal growth among individuals living in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland
Multiple influences such as climate change, environmental, and social factors, have been increasing the incidence of infectious disease outbreaks. Therefore, it is imperative to understand how people make sense of such events. Our study focuses on 100 Swiss-Italian participants during the initial COVID-19 pandemic wave, investigating how they navigated this period. We collected "Stories of Life," personal narratives about their experience and ana…
“Everything has changed: ” Functionally diverse older adults’ experiences with Hurricane María in Puerto Rico
A humanitarian crisis emerged when Hurricane María hit Puerto Rico in 2017, demonstrating the urgency in addressing the needs of older adults and people with access and functional needs. The study uses in-depth interviews with functionally diverse older adults in rural and urban regions of Puerto Rico (n = 14), aged 67 to 88 (M = 76.7), of which 11 were women, to explore their lived experiences preparing for the hurricane, during the storm, and i…
Stresses of Covid-19 and Expectations for the Future Among Women: A Cross Cultural Analysis According to the Femininity/Masculinity Dimension
The COVID-19 pandemic created stressors and uncertainty, particularly for women. This international study explored whether the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women’s stressful experiences and future expectations is associated with Hofstede’s cultural dimension of femininity/masculinity, which refers to the cultural constructions of gender role differences. In total, 1218 women from 15 countries varying in cultural femininity/masculinity provi…
Stories of Life during the First Wave of the Covid-19 Pandemic in Italy: A Qualitative Study
The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed on people the need to find meaning in many unprecedented ways. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore how the general Italian population dealt with government restrictions and to understand personal experiences connected with the first wave of the pandemic in light of the personal construct theory (PCT) framework. One hundred and sixteen people (over 18 years old) completed an online survey between May …
Taking responsibility for my health: Health system barriers and women's attitudes toward cervical cancer screening in Romania and Bulgaria
The study used mixed-methods to illustrate the complexity of the interplay between the contexts in Bulgaria and Romania and women's attitudes and behaviors related to screening. A secondary analysis of quantitative data from Romanian (n = 1053) and Bulgarian (n = 1099) women and qualitative interviews ( n = 30 Romanian, n = 35 Bulgarian) was performed. Low rates of screening attendance were found in both countries. Regression analysis illustrates…
Harmonizing Beliefs With Realities: Social Support Among Older Puerto Ricans With Disabilities
Older Puerto Ricans of the diaspora live with evident health and socioeconomic disparities, heightening their need for support. They also provide a unique transnational case in which to explore the exchange of support. This study aims to understand the informal social support experiences of older Puerto Ricans with disabilities. Data are based on the translated transcripts of 25 interviews with Spanish-speaking, Island-born Puerto Ricans living i…
I Do It With Love”: Engagement in Caring for People With Dementia
For caregivers, the impacts of caring for their loved ones with dementia at home are complex. The purpose of this study was to gain understanding of the meaning and experience of engagement for caregivers of individuals with dementia living in the community. Participants are from a culturally diverse population of low-income caregivers and care recipients in the northeastern United States. We conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with car…
Resonating Sentiments on Puerto Rican Identity Through Poetry: Voices of the Diaspora
Identity among Puerto Ricans of the diaspora on the U.S. mainland is fluid, fragmented, multifocal, and nuanced. We explore Puerto Rican identity through the use of poetry, by presenting I-poems of adult Puerto Ricans living in the Greater Boston area, which we extract from qualitative interviews from the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study. I-poems are presented in conjunction with published poetry of Puerto Rican poets, with the aim of underscorin…
Puerto Rican Victimization and Crime on the Mainland: The Role of Acculturation
This study addresses criminal victimization and contact with police among older Puerto Ricans living in Northeastern United States. Framing their experiences within the context of immigration, we assess the role that acculturation and perceived stress play on Puerto Rican crime and victimization. Data from the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study (BPRHS; N = 1,504) were analyzed using multiple logistic regressions. The experience of criminal victimiz…
Gratitude and longing: Meanings of health in aging for Puerto Rican adults in the mainland
Puerto Rican adults in the United States mainland live with socioeconomic and health disparities. To understand their contextual experience of aging, we interviewed participants in the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study. Through a Thematic Analysis we identify themes and tensions: normalization and acceptance of aging; gratitude; the importance of aging within social networks; longing to return to Puerto Rico at older age. We address the tensions b…
The problem here is that they want to solve everything with pills: Medication use and identity among Mainland Puerto Ricans
Taking medications are complex symbolic acts, infused with diverse meanings regarding body and identity. This article focuses on the meanings of medications for older Puerto Ricans living on the United States mainland, a population experiencing stark health disparities. We aim to gain an understanding of the way multiple cultural and personal meanings of medications are related to and integrated in identity, and to understand how they are situate…
Reasoning and personal epistemology: A critical reconstruction
This article aims to initiate a critical reconstruction of theory and research on reasoning and personal epistemology prompted by socio-philosophical critiques of rationalism and by a theoretical perspective according to which both discourses of knowledge and modes of thought are constituted in a power-infused sociocultural order structured materially and discursively by gender, ‘race,’ and socioeconomic class. A new qualitative methodology is in…
Determinants of self-rated health and the role of acculturation: Implications for health inequalities
The strongest predictors of poor SRH were the number of existing medical conditions, functional problems, allostatic load and depressive symptoms. Poor SRH was also associated with being female, fewer years of education, heavy alcohol use, smoking, poverty, and low emotional support. More acculturated Puerto Rican adults rated their health more positively, which corresponded to better indicators of physical and psychological health. Additionally,…
Perceived discrimination, psychological distress and health
Racism and discrimination can have significant implications for health, through complex biopsychosocial interactions. Latino groups, and particularly Puerto Ricans, are an understudied population in the United States in terms of the prevalence of discrimination and its relevance to health. Participants in our study were 45- to 75-year-old (N = 1122) Puerto Ricans. The measures were perceived discrimination, depressive symptomatology (CES-D), perc…
Learning a New Land: Immigrant Students in American Society
Providers' constructions of the role of women in cervical cancer screening in Bulgaria and Romania
Social discourses, women's resistive voices: Facing involuntary childlessness in bulgaria
Making Up For Lost Time: The Experience of Separation and Reunification Among Immigrant Families
In the United States today, one-fifth of the nation's children are growing up in immigrant homes. In the process of migration, families undergo profound transformations that are often complicated by extended periods of separation between loved ones--not only from extended family members, but also from the nuclear family. Though many families are involved in these transnational formulations, there has heretofore been little sense of the prevalence…
Patterns of Priority in Careers among Managerial and Professional Women in Bulgaria: Costs of the Mommy Track
This study examined correlates of patterns of priority in careers, anchored at the extremes by career-primary and career-family orientations, among 218 managerial and professional women in Bulgaria. Data were collected using anonymously completed questionnaires to replicate similar research conducted in Canada. Career-family women were more likely to be married, have more children, work fewer extra hours per week, been with a present employer for…
Perceived discrimination, psychological distress and health
Racism and discrimination can have significant implications for health, through complex biopsychosocial interactions. Latino groups, and particularly Puerto Ricans, are an understudied population in the United States in terms of the prevalence of discrimination and its relevance to health. Participants in our study were 45- to 75-year-old (N = 1122) Puerto Ricans. The measures were perceived discrimination, depressive symptomatology (CES-D), perc…
Determinants of self-rated health and the role of acculturation: Implications for health inequalities
The strongest predictors of poor SRH were the number of existing medical conditions, functional problems, allostatic load and depressive symptoms. Poor SRH was also associated with being female, fewer years of education, heavy alcohol use, smoking, poverty, and low emotional support. More acculturated Puerto Rican adults rated their health more positively, which corresponded to better indicators of physical and psychological health. Additionally,…
Providers' constructions of the role of women in cervical cancer screening in Bulgaria and Romania
Gratitude and longing: Meanings of health in aging for Puerto Rican adults in the mainland
Puerto Rican adults in the United States mainland live with socioeconomic and health disparities. To understand their contextual experience of aging, we interviewed participants in the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study. Through a Thematic Analysis we identify themes and tensions: normalization and acceptance of aging; gratitude; the importance of aging within social networks; longing to return to Puerto Rico at older age. We address the tensions b…
Social discourses, women's resistive voices: Facing involuntary childlessness in bulgaria
The problem here is that they want to solve everything with pills: Medication use and identity among Mainland Puerto Ricans
Taking medications are complex symbolic acts, infused with diverse meanings regarding body and identity. This article focuses on the meanings of medications for older Puerto Ricans living on the United States mainland, a population experiencing stark health disparities. We aim to gain an understanding of the way multiple cultural and personal meanings of medications are related to and integrated in identity, and to understand how they are situate…
Taking responsibility for my health: Health system barriers and women's attitudes toward cervical cancer screening in Romania and Bulgaria
The study used mixed-methods to illustrate the complexity of the interplay between the contexts in Bulgaria and Romania and women's attitudes and behaviors related to screening. A secondary analysis of quantitative data from Romanian (n = 1053) and Bulgarian (n = 1099) women and qualitative interviews ( n = 30 Romanian, n = 35 Bulgarian) was performed. Low rates of screening attendance were found in both countries. Regression analysis illustrates…
Resonating Sentiments on Puerto Rican Identity Through Poetry: Voices of the Diaspora
Identity among Puerto Ricans of the diaspora on the U.S. mainland is fluid, fragmented, multifocal, and nuanced. We explore Puerto Rican identity through the use of poetry, by presenting I-poems of adult Puerto Ricans living in the Greater Boston area, which we extract from qualitative interviews from the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study. I-poems are presented in conjunction with published poetry of Puerto Rican poets, with the aim of underscorin…
Puerto Rican Victimization and Crime on the Mainland: The Role of Acculturation
This study addresses criminal victimization and contact with police among older Puerto Ricans living in Northeastern United States. Framing their experiences within the context of immigration, we assess the role that acculturation and perceived stress play on Puerto Rican crime and victimization. Data from the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study (BPRHS; N = 1,504) were analyzed using multiple logistic regressions. The experience of criminal victimiz…
Patterns of Priority in Careers among Managerial and Professional Women in Bulgaria: Costs of the Mommy Track
This study examined correlates of patterns of priority in careers, anchored at the extremes by career-primary and career-family orientations, among 218 managerial and professional women in Bulgaria. Data were collected using anonymously completed questionnaires to replicate similar research conducted in Canada. Career-family women were more likely to be married, have more children, work fewer extra hours per week, been with a present employer for…
Making Up For Lost Time: The Experience of Separation and Reunification Among Immigrant Families
In the United States today, one-fifth of the nation's children are growing up in immigrant homes. In the process of migration, families undergo profound transformations that are often complicated by extended periods of separation between loved ones--not only from extended family members, but also from the nuclear family. Though many families are involved in these transnational formulations, there has heretofore been little sense of the prevalence…
Social discourses, women's resistive voices: Facing involuntary childlessness in bulgaria
Providers' constructions of the role of women in cervical cancer screening in Bulgaria and Romania
Learning a New Land: Immigrant Students in American Society
Perceived discrimination, psychological distress and health
Racism and discrimination can have significant implications for health, through complex biopsychosocial interactions. Latino groups, and particularly Puerto Ricans, are an understudied population in the United States in terms of the prevalence of discrimination and its relevance to health. Participants in our study were 45- to 75-year-old (N = 1122) Puerto Ricans. The measures were perceived discrimination, depressive symptomatology (CES-D), perc…
Reasoning and personal epistemology: A critical reconstruction
This article aims to initiate a critical reconstruction of theory and research on reasoning and personal epistemology prompted by socio-philosophical critiques of rationalism and by a theoretical perspective according to which both discourses of knowledge and modes of thought are constituted in a power-infused sociocultural order structured materially and discursively by gender, ‘race,’ and socioeconomic class. A new qualitative methodology is in…
Determinants of self-rated health and the role of acculturation: Implications for health inequalities
The strongest predictors of poor SRH were the number of existing medical conditions, functional problems, allostatic load and depressive symptoms. Poor SRH was also associated with being female, fewer years of education, heavy alcohol use, smoking, poverty, and low emotional support. More acculturated Puerto Rican adults rated their health more positively, which corresponded to better indicators of physical and psychological health. Additionally,…
Puerto Rican Victimization and Crime on the Mainland: The Role of Acculturation
This study addresses criminal victimization and contact with police among older Puerto Ricans living in Northeastern United States. Framing their experiences within the context of immigration, we assess the role that acculturation and perceived stress play on Puerto Rican crime and victimization. Data from the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study (BPRHS; N = 1,504) were analyzed using multiple logistic regressions. The experience of criminal victimiz…
Gratitude and longing: Meanings of health in aging for Puerto Rican adults in the mainland
Puerto Rican adults in the United States mainland live with socioeconomic and health disparities. To understand their contextual experience of aging, we interviewed participants in the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study. Through a Thematic Analysis we identify themes and tensions: normalization and acceptance of aging; gratitude; the importance of aging within social networks; longing to return to Puerto Rico at older age. We address the tensions b…
The problem here is that they want to solve everything with pills: Medication use and identity among Mainland Puerto Ricans
Taking medications are complex symbolic acts, infused with diverse meanings regarding body and identity. This article focuses on the meanings of medications for older Puerto Ricans living on the United States mainland, a population experiencing stark health disparities. We aim to gain an understanding of the way multiple cultural and personal meanings of medications are related to and integrated in identity, and to understand how they are situate…
I Do It With Love”: Engagement in Caring for People With Dementia
For caregivers, the impacts of caring for their loved ones with dementia at home are complex. The purpose of this study was to gain understanding of the meaning and experience of engagement for caregivers of individuals with dementia living in the community. Participants are from a culturally diverse population of low-income caregivers and care recipients in the northeastern United States. We conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with car…
Resonating Sentiments on Puerto Rican Identity Through Poetry: Voices of the Diaspora
Identity among Puerto Ricans of the diaspora on the U.S. mainland is fluid, fragmented, multifocal, and nuanced. We explore Puerto Rican identity through the use of poetry, by presenting I-poems of adult Puerto Ricans living in the Greater Boston area, which we extract from qualitative interviews from the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study. I-poems are presented in conjunction with published poetry of Puerto Rican poets, with the aim of underscorin…
Harmonizing Beliefs With Realities: Social Support Among Older Puerto Ricans With Disabilities
Older Puerto Ricans of the diaspora live with evident health and socioeconomic disparities, heightening their need for support. They also provide a unique transnational case in which to explore the exchange of support. This study aims to understand the informal social support experiences of older Puerto Ricans with disabilities. Data are based on the translated transcripts of 25 interviews with Spanish-speaking, Island-born Puerto Ricans living i…
Taking responsibility for my health: Health system barriers and women's attitudes toward cervical cancer screening in Romania and Bulgaria
The study used mixed-methods to illustrate the complexity of the interplay between the contexts in Bulgaria and Romania and women's attitudes and behaviors related to screening. A secondary analysis of quantitative data from Romanian (n = 1053) and Bulgarian (n = 1099) women and qualitative interviews ( n = 30 Romanian, n = 35 Bulgarian) was performed. Low rates of screening attendance were found in both countries. Regression analysis illustrates…
Stories of Life during the First Wave of the Covid-19 Pandemic in Italy: A Qualitative Study
The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed on people the need to find meaning in many unprecedented ways. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore how the general Italian population dealt with government restrictions and to understand personal experiences connected with the first wave of the pandemic in light of the personal construct theory (PCT) framework. One hundred and sixteen people (over 18 years old) completed an online survey between May …
“Everything has changed: ” Functionally diverse older adults’ experiences with Hurricane María in Puerto Rico
A humanitarian crisis emerged when Hurricane María hit Puerto Rico in 2017, demonstrating the urgency in addressing the needs of older adults and people with access and functional needs. The study uses in-depth interviews with functionally diverse older adults in rural and urban regions of Puerto Rico (n = 14), aged 67 to 88 (M = 76.7), of which 11 were women, to explore their lived experiences preparing for the hurricane, during the storm, and i…
Stresses of Covid-19 and Expectations for the Future Among Women: A Cross Cultural Analysis According to the Femininity/Masculinity Dimension
The COVID-19 pandemic created stressors and uncertainty, particularly for women. This international study explored whether the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women’s stressful experiences and future expectations is associated with Hofstede’s cultural dimension of femininity/masculinity, which refers to the cultural constructions of gender role differences. In total, 1218 women from 15 countries varying in cultural femininity/masculinity provi…
Stories of life during the Covid-19 pandemic: Personal growth among individuals living in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland
Multiple influences such as climate change, environmental, and social factors, have been increasing the incidence of infectious disease outbreaks. Therefore, it is imperative to understand how people make sense of such events. Our study focuses on 100 Swiss-Italian participants during the initial COVID-19 pandemic wave, investigating how they navigated this period. We collected "Stories of Life," personal narratives about their experience and ana…
Cervical cancer in Bulgaria since EU accession in 2007: A struggle in the face of political instability
BACKGROUND: Bulgaria has one of the highest cervical cancer incidence rates in the EU, driven by persistently low screening uptake and HPV vaccination coverage. Despite the preventable nature of the disease, efforts to implement effective prevention strategies have been undermined by political instability, fragmented governance, and systemic health system weaknesses. REFORM CONTENT: Since EU accession in 2007, Bulgaria has launched several initia…
Psychology (14 works) · Sociology (13 works) · Medicine (12 works) · Social Psychology (9 works) · Qualitative research (8 works) · Social Psychology (8 works) · Geography (7 works) · Thematic analysis (7 works) · Gender Studies (6 works) · Developmental psychology (5 works)