Dr. Swahn is an alcohol/violence epidemiologist in the Institute of Public Health and the Partnership for Urban Health Research at Georgia State University. She has extensive experience conducting a range of studies and analyzing complex databases to better understand issues related to underage alcohol use and alcohol-related violence and self-harm. She has led several studies examining the risk factors for early alcohol use initiation as well as the correlates and predictors of alcohol use and of early alcohol use as a risk factor for violence and other adverse outcomes among adolescents and young adults. She serves as a consultant and content expert for projects conducted by academic institutions, community organizations, and health departments/organizations in the U.S. and internationally. She also serves as the Associate Director for Research for the Emory Center for Injury Control. More recently Dr. Swahn has expanded her research focus to examine international patterns related to the role of alcohol use in other health-risk behaviors and also of the role that alcohol marketing has among youth in Sub-Saharan Africa. She serves as an advisor to the World Health Organization’s Regional Office in Africa on their Monitoring Alcohol Marketing in Africa Project among students in 7 African countries. Moreover, Dr. Swahn also conducted a study in Kampala, Uganda in 2011 to determine the prevalence of risk behaviors, alcohol marketing, alcohol use as well as HIV status among youth who live in the slums. Her research has been funded by the CDC and private foundations. Dr. Swahn received her Ph.D. in epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Swahn teaches in the areas of epidemiology, adolescent health risk behaviors, social determinants of health, and violence prevention.
Articles
Correlates of Suicide Ideation and Attempt among Youth Living in the Slums of Kampala (with Jane B. Palmier, Rogers Kasirye, and Huang Yao), Public Health Faculty Publications (2012)
While suicidal behavior is recognized as a growing public health problem world-wide, little is known...
Self-Harm and Suicide Attempts among High-Risk, Urban Youth in the U.S.: Shared and Unique Risk and Protective Factors (with Bina Ali, Robert M. Bossarte, Manfred Van Dulmen, Alex Crosby, Angela C. Jones, and Katherine C. Schinka), Public Health Faculty Publications (2012)
The extent to which self-harm and suicidal behavior overlap in community samples of vulnerable youth...
Early Alcohol Use and Problem Drinking Among Students in Zambia and Uganda (with Bina Ali, Jane Palmier, Nazarius Mbona Tumwesigye, George Sikazwe, Jeremiahs Twa-Twa, and Kasirye Rogers), Public Health Faculty Publications (2011)
Excessive alcohol use is a serious public health concern worldwide, but less attention has been...
Associations between Electronic Media Use and Involvement in Violence, Alcohol and Drug Use among United States High School Students (with Maxine M. Denniston, Marci Feldman Hertz, and Lisa M. Romero), Public Health Faculty Publications (2011)
Objective: We identified associations between time spent watching television and time spent playing video or...
Pre-Teen Alcohol Use as a Risk Factor for Victimization and Perpetration of Bullying among Middle and High School Students in Georgia (with Volkan Topalli, Bina Ali, Sheryl M. Strasser, Jeffrey S. Ashby, and Joel Meyers), Public Health Faculty Publications (2011)
Objective: We examined the association between pre-teen alcohol use initiation and the victimization and perpetration...
Faculty Advisor of Student Research
Does the Gender Inequality Index Explain the Variation in State Prevalence Rates of Physical Teen Dating Violence Victimization? (2012)
Purpose: When the prevalence of physical teen dating violence (TDV) victimization is examined at the...
Maternal Mortality in Cambodia: Efforts to Meet the Millennium Development Goal for Maternal Health (2011)
Recent estimates of global maternal mortality indicate that for the first time since the Safe...
Prevalence and Correlates of Suicidal Ideation Among Students in sub-Saharan Africa (2011)
Objectives: To compare the prevalence and correlates of suicidal ideation among youth in sub-Saharan Africa...
Bullying in Georgia Schools: Demographic Profiles and Psychosocial Correlates of Students Who Would Intervene in a Bullying Situation (2011)
While researchers have assessed the prevalence and health impact of bullying, there are still relatively...
Maternal Barriers to Childhood Vaccinations in Tanzania: An Examination of the 2004-2005 Demongrphic and Health Survey (2010)
anzania, one of many nations in Africa with high infant mortality to preventable diseases, continues...