Research spotlight: Rachel Reimer

Dr. Rachel Reimer is an assistant professor in the masters of public health program at Des Moines University. She received her Ph.D. in social psychology at Iowa State University in 2009. Her research is focused on the social psychology of health decisions. She is particularly interested in the social, cultural, and environmental factors that affect people’s decisions. Her current areas of focus include examining how disparities in HPV vaccination behaviors, knowledge, and attitudes may contribute to the documented disparity in cervical cancer rates between white and latina women. Specifically, she is examining how factors such as religiosity, parent-child communication about sex, and perceptions of norms affect willingness to receive the HPV vaccine. In addition she is involved in a multi-state, experimentally designed childhood obesity prevention program. She is currently examining the effects of parental mediation of screen time on child wellness.