Megan M. Reynolds portrait
  • Associate Professor, Sociology Department
801-581-6153

Publications

  • Reynolds MM (2024). Income Support Policy Packages and Birth Outcomes in U.S. States: An Ecological Analysis. Population research and policy review. Vol. 42. Published, 02/01/2024.
  • Ruhnke SA & Reynolds MM (2022). A healthy migrant effect? Estimating health outcomes of the undocumented immigrant population in the United States using machine learning. Social science & medicine (1982). Vol. 307, 115177115177. Published, 08/01/2022.
  • Fox, Ashley M. & Megan M. Reynolds (2022). “Insider-Outsider Politics and Support for Universal Health Coverage in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Evidence from Afrobarometer Surveys.” . Sociology of Development. Published, 08/2022.
  • Fox, Ashley M. & Megan M. Reynolds and Wenhui Feng (2022). "The Effect of Administrative Burden on State Safety-Net Participation: Evidence from SNAP, TANF and Medicaid". Public Administration Review. Published, 05/2022.
  • Megan M. Reynolds (2021). "Health Power Resources Theory: A Relational Approach to the Study of Health Inequalities”. Journal of Health and Social Behavior. Published, 12/2021.
  • Megan M. Reynolds, Ashley M. Fox & Yvette Young (2021). "State-Level Social Safety-Nets for Families Coping with Job Loss". Poverty & Public Policy. Published, 06/2021.
  • Megan M. Reynolds & Buffel V (2020). "Organized Labor and Depression in Europe: Making Power Explicit in the Political Economy of Health". Journal of Health and Social Behavior. Vol. 61, 342-358. Published, 11/01/2020.
  • Megan M. Reynolds & Trenita Childers (2020). "Cardiovascular Disease Screening Among Immigrants from Eight World Regions". Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. Vol. 4, 820-829. Published, 04/2020.
  • Kelin Li, Ming Wen, Megan M. Reynolds & Qi Zhang (2019). “WIC Participation and Breastfeeding after the 2009 WIC Revision: A Propensity Score Approach.” July(16) 2645. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Vol. 16, 26-45. Published, 07/01/2019.
  • Megan M. Reynolds & Trenita Childers (2019). "Preventive Health Screening Disparities among Immigrants: Exploring Barriers to Care". Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. 1-9. Published, 04/01/2019.
  • Peter Meunnig, Megan M. Reynolds, David S. Fink, Zafar Zafari, Boshen Jiao & Arline T. Geronimus (2018). "America’s Declining Well-Being, Health, and Life Expectancy: Not Just a White Problem". AJPH. Vol. 108, 1626– 1631. Published, 12/2018.
  • Peter Meunnig, Roman Pabayo & Megan M. Reynolds (2018). "Why is Infant Mortality in the United States So Comparatively Bad? Some Possible Answers". Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law. Published, 10/2018.
  • Wade Cole & Megan M. Reynolds (2018). "We Comply with a Little Help from Our Friends: Human Rights, Development Aid, and Wellbeing". Social Forces. online ahead of print. Published, 08/2018.
    https://academic.oup.com/sf/advance-article/doi/10...
  • Megan M. Reynolds (2018). "Compensation Appraisals and Labor Union Membership". New Solutions: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy. Vol. 28, 539–552. Published, 08/2018.
  • Fernando Riosmena, Hiram Beltrán-Sánchez, Megan M. Reynolds & Justin Vinneau (2018). "The Actual and Potential Implications of Rising Immigration Enforcement and Anti-immigrant Sentiment on the Health of the Mexican-origin Population on Both Sides of the Border". University of California Press, Equitable Globalization? Migration, Trade and Race in US-Mexico Relations edited by Edward Telles and Raúl Hinojosa-Ojeda. Accepted, 08/01/2018.
  • Megan M. Reynolds & Trenita Childers (2018). "Cardiovascular Disease Screening Among Immigrants from Eight World Regions". Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. online ahead of print. Published, 07/2018.
    https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10903...
  • Claudia Geist & Megan M. Reynolds (2018). "Men’s and Women’s Marriage and Cohabitation Earnings Gaps in Comparative Perspective". Journal of Comparative Family Studies. Vol. 49, 203-230. Published, 05/2018.
  • Megan M. Reynolds (2018). "Health Care Public Sector Share and the U.S. Life Expectancy Lag: A Country-level Longitudinal Study". International Journal of Health Services. Published, 01/2018.
  • Megan M. Reynolds, Alla Chernenko & Jen'nan Read (2017). "Region of Origin Diversity in Immigrant Health: Moving Beyond the Mexican Case". Social Science and Medicine. Vol. 166, 102-109. Published, 10/2017.
  • Claudia Geist, Megan M. Reynolds & Marie Sarita Gaytan (2017). "Unfinished Business: Disentangling Sex, Gender, and Sexuality in Sociological Research on Gender Stratification". Sociology Compass. Vol. 11. Published, 04/2017.
  • Brady, David, Gordon Gauchat, Susanne Marquardt & Megan Reynolds (2016). "Path Dependency and the Politics of Socialized Health Care". Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law 41(3):355-92. Vol. 41, 355-92. Published, 02/26/2016.
  • Read, Jen’nan Ghazal and Megan M. Reynolds. 2012. "Gender and Health among Mexican and Middle-Eastern Immigrants." in Health Care and Immigration: Understanding the Connections, edited by Alejandro Portes and Patricia Fernandez-Kelly. Oxford: Routledge-Taylor Francis Group. Published, 01/01/2012.
  • Read, Jen’nan Ghazal and Megan M. Reynolds. 2012. "Gender Differences in Immigrant Health: The Case of Mexican and Middle Eastern Immigrants." Journal of Health and Social Behavior 53: 99-123. Published, 01/01/2012.
  • Reynolds, Megan M. and David Brady. 2012. "Bringing You More Than the Weekend: Union Membership and Self-Rated Health in the U.S, 1973-2006." Social Forces 90: 1023-1049. Published, 01/01/2012.
  • Brady, David, Katelin Isaacs, Martha Reeves, Rebekah Burroway and Megan Reynolds. 2011. "Sector, Size, Stability and Scandal: Explaining the Presence of Female Executives in Fortune 500 Firms." Gender in Management 1: 84-104. Published, 01/01/2011.
  • Ahlkvist, Jarl, Peter Spitzform, Emily Jones and Megan Reynolds. 2005. "Making Race Matter on Campus: Teaching and Learning about Race in the ‘Whitest State in the Union’" pp. 54-71 in Challenges in Multicultural Education: Teaching and Taking Diversity Courses, edited by Norah Peters-Davis and Jeffrey Shultz. Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers. Published, 01/01/2005.

Research Statement

My principal research agenda explores the three-way relationships among health and illness, inequalities and politics and policy. My interest in health is motivated by a view of health as an important measure of life chances that is influenced heavily by political, as well as social, factors. While my work addresses the independent contribution of individual characteristics such as sex and nativity status, I seek to broaden the understanding of health to include the state-level factors that may affect health at the individual and population levels. Investigating a range of health outcomes (self-rated health, morbidity, infant mortality, life expectancy), I attempt to gain traction on more general questions of stratification and inequality. I have thus far examined health inequalities in work, gender and nativity/ethnicity. My research and teaching interests broadly encompass the areas of stratification, medical sociology, labor and labor relations, work and occupations, political sociology and social policy. Drawing on theories of power relations, institutions, social policy, gender and immigration, I use cross-sectional and longitudinal data within and across countries at both the individual and country levels to illuminate the processes whereby different social and political contexts affect health. My work is informed by writings in the areas of political sociology (Evelyne Huber and John Stephens, Walter Korpi), medical sociology (Bruce Link and Jo Phelan, Leonard Pearlin), work & labor (Charles Tilly, Judith Stepan-Norris) and stratification/inequality (Erik Olin Wright, Bruce Western). 

Research Keywords

  • Working Environment/Conditions
  • Social Policy/Welfare States
  • Social Determinants of Health
  • Sex/Gender
  • Population Health
  • Political Economics or Economy
  • Organized Labor
  • Immigration/Nativity
  • Health Inequalities/Disparities

Presentations

  • “Exploring the Role of Power Distributions in Structural Approaches to Immigrant Health.” 2023 Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science Annual Meeting. Conference Paper, Presented, 10/01/2023.
  • “What Kind of Research Is Needed in the Field Of SDOH?” 2023 Presentation of International Journal of Social Determinants of Health and Health Services. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 05/01/2023.
  • "Co-Ethnic Concentration, Immigration Policy Climates, and Hispanic/Latino Population Health.". Conference Paper, Presented, 10/01/2022.
  • "Cross-Level Effects of Union Membership and Density on Depression in Europe." Population Association of America. Conference Paper, Presented, 04/01/2021.
  • “Area-Level Healthcare Barriers and Immigrant Well-being.” Population Association of America Annual Meeting. Conference Paper, Presented, 04/01/2021.
  • "Power to the People: Power Resources and the Health of States.” Population Association of America Annual Meeting. Conference Paper, Presented, 04/01/2021.
  • "Income Support Policies and Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Low Birth Weight in U.S. States." Population Association of America . Conference Paper, Accepted, 12/2020.
  • "Cross-Level Effects of Union Membership and Density on Depression in Europe." Population Association of America. Conference Paper, Accepted, 12/2020.
  • "Area-Level Healthcare Barriers and Immigrant Well-being." Population Association of America. Conference Paper, Accepted, 12/2020.
  • "Power to the People: Power Resources and the Health of States." Population Association of America. Conference Paper, Accepted, 12/2020.
  • "Income Support Policies and Birth Outcomes in U.S. States." Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science. Conference Paper, Presented, 10/2019.
  • "Income Support Policies and Birth Outcomes In U.S. States." 2019 Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science Annual Meeting. Panel, Presented, 10/01/2019.
  • "Changes in Health-Related Selectivity and Modes of Incorporation of Mexican Migrants since the Beginning of the 21st Century." Population Association of America. Conference Paper, Presented, 04/2019.
  • State-Level Welfare Generosity Effects on Child Wellbeing. Population Association of America. Conference Paper, Presented, 04/2019.
  • "Changes in Health-Related Selectivity and Modes of Incorporation of Mexican Migrants since the Beginning of the 21st Century." 2019 Population Association of American Annual Meeting. Panel, Presented, 04/01/2019.
  • "State-Level Welfare Generosity Effects on Child Wellbeing." 2019 Population Association of American Annual Meeting. Panel, Presented, 04/01/2019.
  • "Area-Level Healthcare Barriers and Immigrant Well-being." 2018 University of Colorado-Boulder Institute of Behavioral Science Seminar Series. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 10/2018.
  • "Is Less More? Examining the Relationship Between Food Assistance Generosity and Childhood Obesity." 2018 Panel Study of Income Dynamics User Conference. Poster, Presented, 10/2018.
  • "We Comply with a Little Help from Our Friends: Human Rights, Development Aid, and Wellbeing." Population Association of America. Panel, Presented, 04/2018.
  • "Why Is Infant Mortality in the United States so Comparatively Bad? Some Possible Answers." Population Association of America. Panel, Presented, 04/2018.
  • "Is Less More? Examining the Relationship between Food Assistance Generosity and Childhood Obesity." Population Association of America. Panel, Presented, 04/2018.
  • "Health Screening Disparities among Immigrants from Seven World Regions." American Sociological Association. Conference Paper, Presented, 03/2018.
  • "Bringing Unionization and Labor Union Membership into the Study of (Mental) Health." American Sociological Association. Conference Paper, Presented, 02/2018.
  • "Why Is Infant Mortality in the United States so Comparatively Bad? Some Possible Answers." Translational Science. Poster, Presented, 02/2018.
  • "Healthcare Public Sector Share and the US Life Expectancy Lag: A Country-Level Longitudinal Study." Population Association of America. Conference Paper, Presented, 11/2017.
  • "Social Policy as Health Policy: Social Expenditures and Life Expectancy Gains in the US and 19 Other High‐Income Countries." Comparing Health Across Societies, Ghent University, Belgium. Conference Paper, Presented, 06/2017.
  • "Region of Origin Diversity in Immigrant Health: Moving beyond the Mexican Case." Population Association of America Annual Meeting. Panel, Presented, 04/2017.
  • "Social Policy as Health Policy: Social Expenditures and Life Expectancy Gains." American Sociological Association Annual Meeting. Conference Paper, Accepted, 03/2017.
  • "Region of Origin Diversity in Immigrant Health: Moving beyond the Mexican Case." American Sociological Association Annual Meeting. Conference Paper, Accepted, 03/2017.
  • "Welfare State Transfers and Population Health in Rich Democracies, 1960-2010." American Sociological Association Annual Meeting. Panel, Presented, 08/22/2015.
  • US-UK Medical Sociology Conference, Health Inequalities Workgroup Facilitator. Other, Presented, 06/20/2015.
  • Megan M Reynolds and Alla Chernenko. 2015. “Are Immigrant Health Theories Universal? An Investigation of Multiple Immigrant Groups.” University of Utah Department of Sociology Brownbag Series. Presentation, Presented, 04/2015.

Research Groups

  • Behavioral Research Brainstorming Group, Other. 02/2018 - 04/2019.
  • Consortium for Families & Health Research, Other. 01/01/2015 - present. http://www.utah.edu/faculty/c-fahr/. Awards/Scholarships/Stipends: Faculty Pilot Grant (10,000).

Grants, Contracts & Research Gifts

  • “Hispanic Health in an Era of Rising Immigration Enforcement and Anti-immigrant Sentiment” . PI: Fernando Riosmena. Demography Faculty Development Grant, University of Colorado Population Center, 03/01/2018 - 03/01/2019. Total project budget to date: $10,000.00
  • Social Protection and Health. PI: Megan M. Reynolds. National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences/Primary Children's Hospital Foundation, 10/2016 - 09/2018. Total project budget to date: $200,000.00
  • Innovative measurements of socio-economic status and maternal health in pregnancy. PI: Elizabeth Conradt. Interdisciplinary Research Pilot Program Seed Grant, 10/01/2015 - present. Total project budget to date: $9,200.00
  • Does Family Caretaking Inflate the Gender and Immigrant Health Gaps? PI: Megan M. Reynolds. Co-PI(s): Norman Waitzman. Consortium for Families & Health Research (C-FAHR), 05/01/2015 - 05/01/2016. Total project budget to date: $10,000.00

Geographical Regions of Interest

  • Europe
    Countries of the OECD.