Arima Mishra
Areas of Interest & Expertise
- Medical Anthropology
- Health Systems Policies and Practices
- Qualitative Research Methodology
Biography
Arima Mishra has taught at the University of Delhi, and worked in IC-HEALTH, Delhi {an initiative of World Health Organisation (WHO) and Global Forum for Health Research (GFHR)} and Institute of Public Health (IPH), Bengaluru. She has more than two decades of research and teaching experience. Her research is located at the interface between anthropology and public health.
She has been engaged in ethnographic work on social determinants of health and equity, notions of ‘evidence’ in medicine and public health, medical pluralism, public health ethics, and health system policies and practices. She has specifically engaged with work around health system governance, tribal health, maternal and child health, chronic illness, local health traditions, community health workers, and urban health.
She is trained in Sociology from Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi. She had been an academic visitor to several universities including University of Minnesota, USA, Glasgow Caledonian University, University of Edinburgh in UK, and University of Oslo, Norway.
She is a recipient of the M N Srinivas Memorial Prize for the best article in social anthropology published in Economic and Political Weekly, and the Charles Wallace Fellowship, University of Edinburgh, Scotland.
Courses
Social Research Methods in Health: Generating Qualitative Evidence in Health
Understand the relevance of qualitative evidence for making informed public health actions.
Health as Social Phenomena
What are the social factors that affect health of individuals and a community?
What is Public Health? Perspectives, Ethics, and Values
This course aims at introducing students to understanding and examining public health by interrogating what is ‘public’ and ‘health’.
Qualitative Research Inquiry in Development Practice
Training in qualitative research and analysis to enhance skills and confidence to produce and analyse qualitative evidence.
Health, Medicine and Society
A multidisciplinary understanding of public health through multiple perspectives on health, disease and medicine.
Sociology of Modern India
Sociological approaches to modern India.
Certificate Courses
Ethics in Public Health Practices
A 5-day course on ethical frameworks, dilemmas and resolutions in all aspects of public health practice including policy and program design, implementation and evaluation, communication, advocacy, research and training.
Reports
Health Care Equity in Urban India
Arima Mishra, Adithya Pradyumna, Edward Premdas Pinto (2023)'Aren’t we frontline warriors?' Experiences of grassroots health workers during COVID-19
Arima Mishra (2023)
Publications
Books
- Putturaj, M., Mishra, A., Das, K., Bagchi, S., Basu, B.,Ghanashyam, B., Gyselinck, K., & Belle, E.V. (2022). Sailing below the waves: Sketching the 20-year journey of strengthening local health systems in India. ITG Press. http://dspace.itg.be/bitstream/handle/10390/11293/24511.pdf?sequence=2
- Mishra, A. (Ed.). (2019). Local health traditions: Plurality and marginality in South Asia. Orient BlackSwan. https://orientblackswan.com/details?id=9789352876617
- Mishra, A., & Subbiah, K. (Eds.). (2018). Ethics in public health practice in India. Springer Nature. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978 – 981-13 – 2450‑5
- Mishra, A. (Ed.). (2013). Anthropology and Public Health. Indian Anthropological Association.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256195835_Anthropology_and_public_health_special_issue_Indian_Anthropologist
- Mishra, A., & Chatterjee, S.C. (Eds.). (2013). Multiple stories and voices: Narratives of Health and Illness. Orient BlackSwan. https://www.orientblackswan.com/details?id=9788125053798
- Bhojani, U., Mishra, A., Prasanth, N.S., & Soors, W. (Eds.). (2012). Bringing evidence into public health policy. BMC Proceedings, Springer Nature. https://bmcproc.biomedcentral.com/articles/supplements/volume-6-supplement‑5
- Mishra, A. (Ed.). (2010). Health, illness and medicine: Ethnographic readings. Orient BlackSwan. https://www.orientblackswan.com/details?id=9788125039785
- Mishra, A. (2010). Hunger and famine in Kalahandi: An anthropological study. Pearson Education India.
Chapters in Edited Books
- Mishra, A. (2020). Listening to accounts of health and illness: What do narratives tell us? In S. Choudhury Lahiri (Ed.), Doing Social Research: Qualitative Methods in Sociology (pp. 66 – 89). Orient Blackswan.
- Storeng, K., Prince, R. & Mishra, A. (2019). The politics of health system strengthening. In R. Parker and J. Garcia (Ed.), Routledge Handbook on the Politics of Global Health (pp.114 – 121). Routledge.
- Mishra, A. (2018). Now we feel ethics is everywhere: Reflections on teaching a course on ethics in public health practice in India. In A. Mishra and K. Subbiah (Eds.), Ethics in Public Health Practice in India. (pp.175 – 189). Springer.
- Mishra, A. (2018). Bringing the ‘social’ back in: Social Determinants of health as a methodological lens. In D. Nambiar and A. Muralidharan (Eds.), Social Determinants of Health: Concepts, Theories and Practice. (pp.21 – 34). Springer Nature.
- Mishra, A., & Roalkvam, S. (2014). The reproductive body and the state: Engaging with the National Rural Health Mission in tribal Odisha. In K. Bielsen, & A. Waldrop (Eds.), Women, Gender and Everyday Social Transformation in India. (pp.123 – 138). Anthem Press.
- Mishra, A., Flikke, R., Nordfeldt, C., & Nyirenda, L. (2013). ‘Immunization is good for your children’: Local immunization practices in India and Malawi. In S. Roalkvam, S. Blume, & D. McNeill (Eds.), Protecting the World’s Children: Immunization Policies and Practices. (pp.149 – 186). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199666447.003.0006
- Mishra, A., Hasija, S., & Roalkvam, S. (2013). Numerical narratives: Accounts of lay health workers in Odisha. In A. Mishra, & S. C. Chatterjee (Eds.), Multiple Voices and Stories: Narratives of Health and Illness. (pp.121 – 140). Orient BlackSwan.
- Mishra, A. (2010). Deconstructing self-care in biomedical and public health discourses. In A. Mishra (Ed.), Health, Illness and Medicine: Ethnographic Readings. Orient Blackswan.
- Mishra, A. (2008). Insiders and outsiders: Studying ‘tribal Kandha villages’. In G. Pfeffer & D. Behera (Eds.), Contemporary Society: Tribal Studies Series, 7. Concept Publishing House.
- Mishra, A. (2006). The Everyday life in a slum in Delhi: View of the children, In Deepak Behera (ed) (2006) Childhoods in South Asia. Pearson Longman.
- Mishra, A. (2006). Between the visible and invisible: Gender relations in a tribe in India. In J. Lowry & K. K. Misra (Eds.), Current Researches on Indian Women. Rawat.
- Mishra, A. (2005). Kado Bikri: Informal process of land transfer among the Kutia Kandhas. In G. Pfeffer & D. Behera (Eds.), Contemporary Society: Tribal Studies Series, 6. Concept Publishing House.
Journal Articles
- Mishra, A., Elias, M., & Sriram, V. (2021). A draconian law: Examination of the navigation of coalition politics and policy reform by health provider associations in Karnataka, India. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 46(4), 703 – 730. https://doi.org/10.1215/03616878 – 8970895
- Pradyumna, A., Mishra, A., Utzinger, J. & Winkler, M.S. (2021). Health in food systems policies in India: A document review. International Journal of Health Policy Management, 11(7), 1158 – 1171. https://dx.doi.org/10.34172/ijhpm.2021.18
- Topp, S.M., Schaaf, M.,Sriram, V., Scott, K., Daglish, S., Nelson, E., Rajasulochana, M.R., Mishra, A., et al. (2021).Power analysis in health policy and systems research: A guide to research conceptualization. BMJ Global Health, 6(11). http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2021 – 007268
- Pradyumna, A., Mishra, A., Utzinger, J. & Winkler, M.S. (2020). Perceived health impacts of watershed development projects in Southern India: A qualitative study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 17(10), 3448. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17103448
- Minocha, V.R., & Mishra, A. (2019). Euthanasia: Ethical challenges of shift from “Right to Die” to “Objective Decision”. Ann Natl Acad Med Sci., 55 (02), 110 – 116. 10.1055/s‑0039 – 1698362
- Nambiar, D. & Mishra, A. (2019). ‘A light inside a pot’: Sites and sources of power emerging from an ethnography of traditional healing in South India. Global Public Health, 14(4), 515 –527. 10.1080/17441692.2018.1564349
- Mishra, A., & Nambiar, D. (2018). On the unravelling of ‘revitalization of local health traditions’: An ethnographic inquiry. International Journal for Equity in Health, 17,175. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-018‑0890‑1
- Mishra, A., Nambiar, D. & Madhavan, H. (2018). Revitalization or marginalization? The making of ‘local health traditions’ in India. Economic and Political Weekly, 53(30), 41 – 49. https://www.epw.in/journal/2018/30/special-articles/making-local-health-traditions-india.html
- Sriram, V., Topp, S.M., Schaaf, M., Mishra, A., Flores, W., Rajasulochana, S.R., Scott, K. (2018). 10 best resources on power in health policy and systems in low- and middle-income countries, Health Policy and Planning, 33(4), 611 – 621. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czy008
- Chattopadhyay, S., Mishra, A., & Jacob, S. (2017). Safe yet violent? Women’s experiences with obstetric violence during hospital births in rural north-east India. Culture, Health, and Sexuality, 20(7), 815 – 829. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2017.1384572
- Behera, A., Mishra, A., & Chattopadhyay, S. (2016). A real man: Photo narrative on maternal health. Global Health in Action, 34140. https://doi.org/10.3402/gha.v9.34140
- Mishra, A., & Seshadri, S.R. (2015). Unpacking the discourse on universal health coverage in India. Social Medicine, 9(2), 86 – 92. https://www.socialmedicine.info/index.php/socialmedicine/article/view/774
- Storeng, K.T., & Mishra, A. (2014). Politics and practices of global health: Critical ethnographies of health systems. Global Public Health, 9(8), 858 – 864. https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2014.941901
- Mishra, A. (2014). ‘Trust and teamwork matter’: Community health workers’ experiences in integrated service delivery in India. Global Public Health, 9(8), 960 – 974. https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2014.934877
- Bhojani, U., Devedasan, N., Mishra, A., Henauw, S.D., Kolsteren, P., & Criel, B. (2014). Health system challenges in organizing quality diabetes care for urban poor in South India. PLOS One, 9(9), e106522. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0106522
- Bhojani, U., Mishra, A., Amruthavalli, S., Devadasan, N., Kolsteren, P., Henauw, D.S., Criel, B. (2013). Constraints faced by urban poor in managing diabetes care: Perspectives from South India, Global Health Action, 6(1), 22258. https://doi.org/10.3402/gha.v6i0.22258
- Mishra, A., & Sarma, S. (2011). Understanding health and illness among the tribal communities in Orissa. Indian Anthropologist, 41(1), 1 – 14. https://journals.scholarsportal.info/details/09700927/v41i0001/1_uhaiatcio.xml
- Mishra, A. (2011). Engaging with the discourse on lifestyle modifications: Evidence from India. Health Culture and Society, 1(1), 1 – 22. https://hcs.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/hcs/article/view/28
- Minocha, A., Mishra, A., & Minocha, V.R. (2011). Euthanasia: A social science perspective. Economic and Political Weekly, 46(49), 25 – 28. https://www.epw.in/journal/2011/49/commentary/euthanasia-social-science-perspective.html
- Mishra, A. (2007). Teaching medical anthropology in India. Anthropology News, 48(3), 28 – 29. https://doi.org/10.1525/an.2007.48.3.28
- Mishra, A., Arora, M., Stigler, M.H., Komro, K.A., Lytle, L.A., Reddy, K.S., Perry, C.L. (2005). Indian youth speak about tobacco: Results of focus group discussions among school students. Health Education and Behavior, 33(4), 363 – 79. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198104272332
- Mishra, A. (2005). Local perceptions of famine: Study of a village in Orissa. Economic and Political Weekly, 40(6), 572–578. https://www.epw.in/journal/2005/06/special-articles/local-perceptions-famine.html
- Goenka, S., Mishra, A., & Reddy, K.S. (2003). Diabetes in developing countries. A “real world” view. Heartbeat, 3. https://ccdcindia.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Heartbeat-2003 – 1.pdf
- Mishra, A. (2000). Reviewing the impoverishment process: The Great Bengal Famine of 1943. Indian Historical Review, 27(1), 79–93. https://doi.org/10.1177/037698360002700106
Report
- Mishra, A., Seshadri, S.R., Pradyumna, A., Pinto, E.P., Bhattacharya, A., Saligram, P. (2021). Health care equity in Urban India. Azim Premji University. https://cdn.azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/apuc3/media/publications/downloads/Health-Care-Equity-in-Urban-India.pdf
Monograph
- Mishra, A. & Santosh, S. (2022). ‘Aren’t we frontline warriors?’ Experiences of grassroots health workers during Covid-19, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru. https://azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/faculty-research/arent-we-frontline-warriors-experiences-of-grassroots-health-workers-during-covid-19
Book Reviews
- Mishra, A. (2018, July). Politics and practices of health in India, [Review of the book Health beyond medicine: Some reflections on the sociology and politics of health in India, by V. Bajpao and A. Saraya]. Medico Friend Circle (MFC) Bulletin, 15 – 16. http://www.mfcindia.org/mfcpdfs/MFC379.pdf
- Mishra, A. (2015, December 8). V. Sujatha, Sociology of health and medicine: New perspectives, [Review of the book Sociology of Health and Medicine: New Perspectives, by V. Sujatha]. History and Sociology of South Asia, 10(1), 109 – 110.
- Mishra, A. (2010). Recipes for immortality: Medicine, religion and community in South India, Richard S. Weiss, [Review of the book Recipes for immortality: Medicine, religion and community in South India, by R.S. Weiss]. Medical Anthropology Quarterly, 24(2), 274 – 276. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1548 – 1387.2010.01102.x
- Mishra, A. (2008). Made in China: Women factory workers in a global workplace by Pun Ngai,[Review of the book Made in China: Women factory workers in a global workplace, by P.Ngai]. Journal of Intercultural Studies. 29(2), 197 – 212.
- Mishra, A. (2008). Knowledge and society: Situating sociology and social anthropology in India by T K Oommen, [Review of the book Knowledge and society: Situating sociology and social anthropology in India by T.K. Oommen]. Sociological Bulletin, 57(1), 143 – 146.
Newspaper Articles
- Sriram, V., Mishra, A., & Baru, R. (2021, December 31). Workers or warriors? Resident doctors’ protests and health governance in India. The Wire. https://science.thewire.in/health/resident-doctors-protests-rights-health-governance-medical-entrance-exams/
- Mishra, A. (2020, April 24). COVID 19: Reinstating public health values. The Hans India. https://www.thehansindia.com/news/national/covid-19-reinstating-public-health-values-618984
- Mishra, A., & Nambiar, D. (2017, January 28). Revitalising local health traditions. Deccan Herald. https://www.deccanherald.com/content/593503/revitalising-local-health-traditions.html
Online Articles
- Gundi, M., & Mishra, A. (2023, April 07). All of us together in‘Health for All’. ET Healthworld. https://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/all-of-us-together-in-health-for-all/99304710
- Kotte, S., & Mishra, A. (2020, June 20). Beyond public Vs private: Need for strong public oriented health systems in India. The Critical Mirror. http://thecriticalmirror.com/analysis/beyond-public-vs-private-need-for-strong-public-oriented-health-systems-in-india/2020/06/22/
- Mishra, A., & Nambiar, D. (2017). In defense of traditional healers: Not what they’re quacked up to be. eSSay (esocialsciences). https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Arima-Mishra/publication/320009334_Revitalization_of_local_health_traditions/links/59c777eda6fdccc71923cd81/Revitalization-of-local-health-traditions.pdf
Blog Posts
- Mishra, A., Bandewar, S., Gautham, S. (2020, July 15). Being at the frontline of COVID 19: Conversations with grassroots health care workers. Indian Journal of Medical Ethics. https://fmesinstitute.org/blog-13-heal-institute-ijme-covid-19-insights-july-15 – 2020/#.Y0PpdXZBzIW
- Mishra, A., & Kotta, S. (2014, May 02). Where does the healthcare of Indian people figure in political parties’ election manifestos? BMJ Opinion.
- https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2014/05/02/arima-mishra-and-sandesh-kotte-where-does-the-healthcare-of-the-people-in-india-figure-in-political-parties-election-manifestos/
- Mishra, A. (2015, June 1). Changing moves: Missioning health in India. International Health Policies. https://www.internationalhealthpolicies.org/blogs/changing-moves-missioning-health-in-india/
Policy Briefs
- Mishra, A., & Devadasan, N. (2012). Averting maternal deaths: Ensuring 24×7 emergency obstetric care. HESVIC/IPH Policy Brief 2012⁄1. Institute of Public Health, Bengaluru. https://iphindia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Averting-maternal-deaths-Ensuring-247-emergency-obstetric-care.-Health-System-Stewardship-and-Regulation-in-Vietnam-India-and-China-HESVIC..pdf
- Mishra, A., & Devadasan, N. (2012). Improving access to safe abortions services in rural Karnataka. HESVIC/IPH Policy Brief 2012⁄2. Institute of Public Health, Bengaluru. https://iphindia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Improving-access-to-safe-abortion-services-in-rural-Karnataka.-Health-System-Stewardship-and-Regulation-in-Vietnam-India-and-China-HESVIC.-Policy-Brief.pdf
Video
- Mishra, A. (Presenter). (2022, February 22). Health Vulnerabilities in Urban India — Arima Mishra [Video]. Azim Premji University. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYmjpAq0OEw