About

Chris Colvin is a professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Virginia, with a Ph.D. from UVA obtained in 2004. His research has primarily focused on applying anthropology within a public health context in South Africa, particularly exploring responses to post-apartheid reconciliation and the use of psychotherapeutic discourse in personal, social, and political repair after apartheid-era violence. His work includes a book on traumatic storytelling among victims of apartheid violence, examining its psychological, social, moral, cultural, political, and economic dimensions. After his fieldwork in South Africa, Colvin developed an interest in public health, earning an MPH in epidemiology, and worked at the University of Cape Town’s School of Public Health. His research has covered various gender, sexual, and reproductive health topics, with a recent focus on men, masculinity, and HIV, employing a critical feminist masculinity-studies lens. His work investigates how gender rights activism and global health initiatives influence local practices and identities, emphasizing community-engaged research and policy implications. Additionally, Colvin has contributed to the development of qualitative evidence syntheses for global health policymaking and critically examined the evolving role of social science research in global health. His broader interests include health activism, moral and political economies of care, and the social suffering related to climate change and ecosocial imaginaries. In 2017, he transitioned back to UVA, working in the Department of Public Health Sciences before his appointment to the Department of Anthropology in 2025, where he also serves as the Director of UVA’s Global Studies Program.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Internal medicine
• Immunology
• Nursing
• Anesthesia
• Surgery
• Family medicine

Selected publications

• Peer support groups as a participatory development principle

  Development in Practice · 2025-04-24

  article

  This paper reimagines peer support groups by centring a community’s worldviews. We engage with Iliso Lamakhosikazi, a women’s peer support group in South Africa, through an eight-week qualitative study embedded within nearly a decade of collaborative research. This study, using participatory observations, interviews, and focus groups, reveals how Iliso Lamakhosikazi reimagines peer support groups in terms of sociality, focus, and operational structure. The findings show that embedding development efforts within community worldviews can emphasise collective well-being, enhance relationality, and support broader health and wellness goals. Future efforts should apply empowered participation to reimagine other participatory development principles, such as community gardens and mutual aid groups, grounded in a community’s ways of knowing.

  PublisherDOI

• 15 Crisis, Complexity, Ambivalence: Te Limits and Lived Experiences of Gender-Transformation Interventions

  University of British Columbia Press eBooks · 2025-05-21

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Navigating love, romance and sexual health

  2025-04-09 · 1 citations

  book-chapterSenior author

  Emphasis on the adverse outcomes of engaging in sexual activity has inadvertently overshadowed a focus on romantic relationships amongst young men in South Africa. This chapter explores adolescent boys’ approach to the initiation of romantic heterosexual relationships through their experiences with pursuing romantic partners and new technologies that shape these relationship dynamics. The findings suggest the practice of courtship remains highly gendered, positioning boys as active pursuers and girls as objects of the male gaze. Even so, a shift in masculine norms in the negotiation of sex and sexual decision-making is observed, with social media emerging as an important instrument in these shifts. The findings suggest that although some masculine norms in the initiation and maintenance of romantic relationships prevail, there may be some progressive shifts in the negotiation of love, intimacy and sex, and this might have positive implications for the design of more focused sexual health and related interventions.

  PublisherDOI

• Price and Diet Quality Comparison of Ultra-Processed and Minimally Processed Menus

  Current Developments in Nutrition · 2024-06-29

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Objectives: A recently published menu that contained >80% of energy from ultra-processed foods (UPF) yet met recommendations in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) suggested it may be feasible to achieve a high diet quality with UPFs; however, further analysis of price and diet quality is warranted. The price and diet quality amongst two menus aligned with the Dietary Guidelines of Americans (DGA) but differing in level of ultra-processed foods (UPF) were investigated. Methods: Items from a previously published 7-day menu containing ≥80% kcal from UPF (NOVA category 4) but meeting DGA recommendations were priced using national supermarket websites. To create a minimally processed version of the same menu, UPF food items were substituted with as minimally processed as possible (e.g. NOVA 1=minimally processed, but NOVA 2 and 3 alternatives were used when NOVA 1 was not available) equivalents within NOVA categories 1-3 (validated by Registered Dietitians) and priced using supermarket websites. Food equivalents were found on the Food Patterns Equivalents Database to calculate diet quality using the Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI). Results: In the MPF menu, 81% of food items were classified as NOVA 1-3. HEI scores were similar between menus (MPF 89/100, UPF 86/100). Both menus had optimal scores for HEI categories apart from whole grains (MPF 7/10, UPF 6/10), sodium (MPF 7/10, UPF 0/10), ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acid (MPF 6/10, UPF 10/10), and refined grains (MPF 9/10, UPF 10/10). Across the 7 days, the MPF menu total purchase cost was $309.76 and the UPF menu cost $299.63. The price of food servings eaten was $94.26 and $87.72 for the MPF and UPF menu, respectively. In contrast, the average “liberal” weekly food serving spending for a 1-person US household is $80.05 according to the US Department of Agriculture. Conclusions: Compared to a UPF menu, an item-matched MPF menu received scores closer to optimal for whole grains and sodium, and lower scores for unsaturated to saturated fatty acid ratio and refined grains. With a cost difference between menus within 4% and both 10-17% more expensive than the US average, the UPF menu did not improve feasibility from a cost perspective versus a matched MPF menu. Funding Sources: Intramural Research Program of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institute of Health.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Applying GRADE-CERQual to Interpretive Review Findings: Reflections From a Cochrane meta-ethnography on Childhood Vaccination Acceptance

  International Journal of Qualitative Methods · 2024-01-01 · 2 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  GRADE-CERQual (Confidence in the Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative research) was developed to support the use of evidence from qualitative reviews within policy- and decision-making. To date, the approach has been applied predominantly to aggregative synthesis methodologies and descriptive review findings. GRADE-CERQual guidance recommends the approach be tested on more diverse review methodologies and outputs to support its evolution. This paper contributes to this evolution by reflecting on our experiences of applying GRADE-CERQual to findings that emerged from a recent Cochrane meta-ethnography on childhood vaccination. Specifically, we describe the similarities and differences, challenges and dilemmas we experienced applying the approach to more interpretive versus more descriptive review findings. We found that we were able to apply the core criteria and principles of GRADE-CERQual in ways that were congruent with the methodologies and epistemologies of a meta-ethnography and its findings. We also found that the practical application processes were similar across review finding types. The main differences related to the level of demand placed on the evidence and the level of complexity involved with the decisions. Compared to more descriptive findings, more interpretive findings required evidence that was richer, thicker, more contextually situated and methodologically stronger for us to have the same level of confidence in them. Making the assessments for these findings also involved more complicated forms of judgement. We provide practical examples to illustrate these complexities and how we approached them, which others applying GRADE-CERQual to more interpretive review findings could draw upon. We also highlight areas requiring further discussion, in the hope that this will offer a platform for engagement and the potential future refinement of the approach. Ultimately, this could enhance the usability of GRADE-CERQual for a larger range of qualitative review findings and in turn expand the kinds of knowledges that count within decision-making.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Belief About App Effectiveness Is a Significant Predictor of App Interest, but Not Use, in Oncology Dietitians in Oncology Dietitians

  Current Developments in Nutrition · 2024-06-29

  articleOpen access

  dairy milk.Many plant-based cheeses clustered near dairy cheese and the grain and protein food groups.Most plant-based meats clustered within the grain foods and near the animal protein foods, while other plant-based meats clustered tightly with beans, peas, and lentils and near nuts and seeds.Conclusions: A data-driven approach has the potential be useful when aiming to define the appropriate food group category for plant-based alternative products.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• P13-040-23 Clinician Needs and Preference Assessment for Oncology Mobile Health Apps

  Current Developments in Nutrition · 2023-07-01

  articleOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• P14-012-23 Sociodemographic Predictors of Eating Patterns Associated With Higher Quality Diets

  Current Developments in Nutrition · 2023-07-01

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Traditional and biomedical health practices of adolescent boys and young men living with perinatally-acquired HIV in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa

  Global Public Health · 2023-01-02 · 5 citations

  articleOpen access

  Men are less vulnerable to HIV acquisition than women, but have poorer HIV-related health outcomes. They access HIV services less, and are more likely to die on antiretroviral therapy. The adolescent epidemic presents further challenges, and AIDS-related illness is the leading cause of death among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa. We explored the health practices of adolescent boys and young men (aged 13–22) living with perinatally-acquired HIV and the processes through which these practices are formed and sustained. We engaged health-focused life history narratives (n = 35), semi-structured interviews (n = 32) and analysis of health facility files (n = 41), alongside semi-structured interviews with traditional and biomedical health practitioners (n = 14) in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Participants did not access traditional products and services for HIV, a finding that deviates from much of the literature. Findings suggest that health practices are mediated not only by gender and culture, but also childhood experiences of growing up deeply embedded in the biomedical health system.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Health policies must consider gender, including men

  The Lancet Global Health · 2023-11-14 · 11 citations

  articleOpen access

  Health policies that do not consider gendered patterns in health continue to undermine efforts to improve global health and wellbeing.1Clark J Horton R A coming of age for gender in global health.Lancet. 2019; 393: 2367-2369Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (20) Google Scholar When health policies do include gender considerations, gender is almost always used to refer to women and women's health. Greater progress on women's health is a crucial and unfinished project, but the concept of gender should take an all-encompassing view to understand how gendered norms and practices across society shape health problems that require gender-responsive solutions that benefit everyone. Currently, men are largely absent from health policy as a group in need of gender-specific support. There is clear evidence of unnecessarily poor health outcomes for men. Men have a higher probability of premature death from non-communicable diseases than women, in all WHO regions.2WHOWorld Health Statistics 2023: monitoring health for the SDGs, sustainable development goals. World Health Organization, Geneva2023Google Scholar Globally, men consume nearly 4 times more pure alcohol than women and are almost 5 times more likely to use tobacco. There has been a rapid rise in male obesity since 2000 and hypertension is more prevalent in men in three WHO regions (the region of the Americas, the European region, and the Western Pacific region). Globally, men and boys account for 80%, 75%, and 69% of deaths due to homicide, road traffic injuries, and suicide, respectively. COVID-19 has exacted a particularly heavy toll on men—they have lost almost 200 million life-years, 42% more than women.2WHOWorld Health Statistics 2023: monitoring health for the SDGs, sustainable development goals. World Health Organization, Geneva2023Google Scholar Although some of these differences might be shaped by biology, socio-cultural factors (ie, gender) rather than biology is the principal driver of these inequities (as it is for many of the health problems for which women have the greater burden than men). Men have been subject to systematic neglect in terms of global policy and funding, despite their disproportionate morbidity and mortality burdens from a wide range of gendered health problems.3Horton KC White RG Houben RMGJ Systematic neglect of men as a key population in tuberculosis.Tuberculosis. 2018; 113: 249-253Crossref PubMed Scopus (0) Google Scholar When there have been gender-specific recommendations, the target beneficiary group has been women. National women's health policies have been introduced for England and Scotland, in August 2022, and August 2021, respectively, but there are currently no plans to introduce equivalent policies for men. A review of interventions, services, and programmes in sub-Saharan Africa found that men's specific needs are neglected and their engagement with health services is not encouraged unless the aim is to improve women's health, for example in relation to HIV or sexual and reproductive health issues.4Beia T Kielmann K Diaconu K Changing men or changing health systems? A scoping review of interventions, services and programmes targeting men's health in sub-Saharan Africa.Int J Equity Health. 2021; 31: 87Crossref Scopus (9) Google Scholar A recent Global Action on Men's Health report paid particular attention to how men are treated in global cancer policies.5Leon N Colvin C Gone missing: the treatment of men in global cancer policy. Global Action on Men's Health, London2023Google Scholar Cancer is the second leading cause of non-communicable disease deaths in men worldwide. The authors examined 28 policy-related reports from WHO, the EU, and other global, regional, and national organisations and found that even though men have much higher levels of cancer incidence and mortality than women,6Sung H Ferlay J Siegel RL et al.Global cancer statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries.CA Cancer J Clin. 2021; 71: 209-249Crossref PubMed Scopus (41789) Google Scholar they are largely absent from global and regional cancer-related policies. Most documents provided no sex-disaggregated data at all, and many that did gave disaggregated information on just a few outcomes and with little further interpretation. References to gender were few and even more scarce was attention to the specific gendered dynamics of men and cancer. Men's outcomes from cancer, as well as from many other diseases, can be improved through gender-targeted interventions on prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and care. There is now increasing and robust evidence of what works in men's health.7Baker P Delivering men's health: a guide for policymakers and service providers. Global Action on Men's Health, London2021Google Scholar In the case of cancer, an increasing number of countries are adopting gender-neutral human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination to prevent cancers in both sexes (in the USA, up to 40% of HPV-related cancers are in men).8Liao CI Francoeur AA Kapp DS Caesar MAP Huh WK Chan JK Trends in human papillomavirus-associated cancers, demographic characteristics, and vaccinations in the US, 2001–2017.JAMA Netw Open. 2022; 5e222530 Crossref Scopus (37) Google Scholar Gender-neutral vaccination is likewise recommended in the EU's Beating Cancer Plan. The EU has also proposed the introduction of prostate cancer screening and funded PRAISE-U, a project to encourage early detection and diagnosis of prostate cancer through customised and risk-based screening. Change must be driven by policy at the international, national, and local levels. An essential next step is for global health organisations and funders to acknowledge fully the health needs of men and boys and to develop policies that use gender as a conceptual framework for health that applies to everyone. Given the attention being paid to the Sustainable Development Goals, now is the time to act and incorporate a gendered perspective that includes men. This action will not only improve men's health and wellbeing for their own sake but also contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Although men's power and privilege must be acknowledged and mitigated in health policy, so too should their distinct gendered vulnerabilities and the potential that exists for improving their health outcomes. The use of gender in health policy does not require a zero-sum choice between the binary of men and women. What is needed is an approach to policy, practice, and research that takes full account of all aspects of gender, as well as their intersection with other equity issues, such as class, race, and sexuality. PB is paid consultancy fees for his work as Director of Global Action on Men's Health. All other authors declare no competing interests.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Partnerships for the Next Generation of HIV Social Science in South Africa

  NIH · $1.9M · 2013–2019

• Using Information to Align Services and Link and Retain Men in the HIV Cascade

  NIH · $2.1M · 2015–2021

Frequent coauthors

• Alison Swartz

  St George's, University of London

  68 shared

• Ruth J. Prince

  University of Oslo

  64 shared

• Bjørn Holte

  University of Copenhagen

  64 shared

• Birgitte Bruun

  University of Copenhagen

  64 shared

• Susan L. Erikson

  Simon Fraser University

  64 shared

• Michael Jennings

  64 shared

• Natalie Leon

  Jewish General Hospital

  52 shared

• Mark N. Lurie

  Providence College

  50 shared

Education

• Master of Public Health, School of Public Health and Family Medicine

  University of Cape Town

  2007