Faculty/Staff Carol L. McAllister, PhD
Associate Professor
Graduate School of Public Health
220 Parran Hall
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
Phone: 412-624-7778
Fax: 412-624-5510
E-mail: allister@pitt.edu
My research interests include social and cultural aspects of public health; economic, community, and cultural contexts of children's and women's health; and international developments and global health. I have expertise in ethnographic/qualitative methodologies, mixed-methods research, program evaluation, and community-based participatory research. While I continue my international research interests in Southeast Asia and Latin America, much of my recent work has involved the application of ethnographic and participatory research methods to the study of public health issues in the Pittsburgh region, particularly among children and families living in low-income communities. I am the principal investigator of the Pennsylvania component of the multisite national evaluation of Early Head Start, a new federal initiative in early childhood health and development. I also serve as research partner with a local Early Head Start program, investigating issues such as family risk and infant mental health.
TEACHING
I teach courses on ethnographic and qualitative methods, as well as on women, international development, and global health.
SERVICE
Many of my service activities are related to my work with Early Head Start. I am an active member of the Early Head Start National Research Consortium, which provides consultation to the Head Start Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Locally, I serve on the Early Head Start Health Advisory Board and provide consultation to the Allegheny County Family Support Policy Board. In the Graduate School of Public Health, I am a member of the educational policies and curriculum committee and the Community Research Advisory Board in the Center for Minority Health. I serve on the Department of Behavioral and Community and Health Sciences' doctoral committee and also coordinate the Master of Public Health/doctorate in anthropology program. I am part of an Association of Schools of Public Health task force that is examining the inclusion of women and gender in public health curricula. I provide consultation to researchers and practitioners in the local healthcare and early childhood fields on qualitative research methods and issues of cultural diversity.
MOST RECENT PUBLICATIONS
- McAllister CL, Wilson PC, Green BL, Baldwin JL. “Come and Take a Walk”: Listening to Early Head Start Parents on School Readiness as a Matter of Child, Family and Community Health. American Journal of Public Health, in press.
- McAllister CL, Wilson PC, Burton J. From Sports Fans to Nurturers: An Early Head Start Program’s Evolution Toward Father Involvement. Fathering: A Journal of Theory, Research, and Practice About Men as Fathers. Vol. 2, No. 1, 2004, pp. 31-59.
- McAllister CL, Green BL, Terry MA, Herman V, Mulvey L. Parents, Practitioners, and Researchers: Community Based Participatory Research with Early Head Start. American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 93, No. 10, 2003, pp. 1672-1679.
- Green BL, McAllister CL, Tarte J. The Strengths-Based Practices Inventory: A Tool for Measuring Strengths-Based Service Delivery in Early Childhood and Family Support Programs. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services. Vol. 85. No. 3, 2004, pp. 326-334.