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Riti Chandrashekhar
Riti Chandrashekhar
Current Position: Student at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Professional Experience
Professional Experience
Addictions and Mental Health Worker
Health Sciences North, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
Short-Term Safe Beds Program, (October 2024 -Present)
Supported clients with short-term residential crisis on account of mental health struggles, substance use disorders or a combination thereof.
Worked with individuals who are in conflict with the law and have a substance use history.
Supported clients with their initial crisis and connected them with community partners for long-term recovery support.
Withdrawal Management Services, (July 2024 -Present)
Monitored clients during acute intoxication.
Observed clients through multiple phases of withdrawal for a spectrum of substance use.
Provided education to clients on harm reduction and the variety of treatment options available to them.
Rapid Access Addictions Medicine (RAAM) Clinic, Internship (May 2024 – June 2024)
Worked under the supervision of the RAMM Clinic team which consisted of the Program Navigator, the Registered Nurse and the Registered Nurse Practitioner.
Shadowed the program navigator and colleagues during walk-ins, clinical assessments and follow-up visits.
Reviewed and learned new strategies of harm-reduction, rapport formation and therapeutic approaches in clinical settings.
Professional Experience
Professional Experience
Public Health and Research Assistant, August 2022 – Present
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Project title: Special Journal Issue: The Global Health of Orphaned and Disadvantaged Children (April 2023 – Present)
Worked as a Topic Coordinator for the special issue of Frontiers: “The Global Health of Orphaned and Disadvantaged Children”.
Worked under the guidance of faculty from the International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Coordinated and assisted contributing authors to understand the scope of the special issue.
Led weekly calls with faculty at IVAC and T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Project title: Meta-analysis focusing on Adversity in Childhood (ACEs) and all-cause mortality (June 2022 – Present)
Worked under the guidance of faculty from the Department of Mental Health (DMH).
Screened and segregated studies for data extraction and analysis.
Led weekly calls with faculty at DMH to discuss study updates.
Contributed to manuscript development.
Project title: National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) Research Project (August 2021 – Present)
Worked under the guidance of faculty from the Department of Mental Health (DMH) in developing methodology to study the trends in cases of death by suicide among incarcerated individuals in the US to inform prevention policies.
Contributed to data cleaning.
Lead role in analysis of quantitative and qualitative data.
Professional Experience
Professional Experience
Short Term Consultancy, November 2022 – April 2023
Family Health International 360 (FHI360), Washington D.C., USA
Project title: GAVI Pro-Equity Intervention Evidence Synthesis; Short-term Consultancy)
Worked under the guidance of FHI360 team on rapid reviews for GAVI.
Led data screening and extraction for rapid reviews focusing on financial and non-financial incentives for health care providers in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) with a focus on childhood immunization.
Led data screening and extraction for rapid reviews focusing on financial and non-financial user incentives in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) with a focus on childhood immunization.
Professional Experience
Professional Experience
Research Associate, March 2018 – May 2021
Bal Umang Drishya Sanstha (BUDS), New Delhi, India
Project title: Vaccine Impact on Cognition and Schooling (VICS) (June 2019 – May 2021)
Worked under the guidance of faculty from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH) in conducting focused group discussions in rural Mewat.
Recruited participants for the focused group discussions.
Facilitated five focus group discussions. The five participant groups included: pregnant women, fathers of children under five years of age, ASHA and anganwadi workers, community influencers and mothers-in-law of pregnant women.
Lead role in qualitative grounded theory analysis
Prepared the application for the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of BUDS for the second phase titled: “Vaccine Impact on Cognition and Schooling (VICS)” of the study.
Prepared the application for the Health Ministry's Screening Committee (HMSC) of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for enabling a collaborative research project between an Indian (BUDS) and a foreign (JHSPH) organization.
Piloted three cognitive tests– Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Fourth Edition, Stanford Binet Intelligence Scale Fifth Ed. for Early Childhood (SB5 Early). Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Fourth Edition, India (WISC-IVINDIA)- for enabling adaptation for children in rural Haryana.
Adapted cognitive tests based on the inputs gathered from the pilot testing and existing literature on adapting cognitive tests for making testing relevant in Indian rural settings.
Collected data using case report forms covering physical assessments including anthropometry, socio-economic status of the participant, schooling, and vaccination history.
Assessed participants using cognitive tests– Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Fourth Edition, Stanford Binet Intelligence Scale Fifth Ed. for Early Childhood (SB5 Early). Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Fourth Edition, India (WISC-IVINDIA)-
Conducted In-Depth interviews to understand perceptions of primary caregivers with respect to vaccination.
Project title: Frontline Health Workers (FHWs) and recognition of Child Abuse and Neglect (May 2019 – May 2021)
Developed methodology and collected data to evaluate the extent to which BUDS frontline health workers (FHWs) can recognise instances of child abuse and neglect
Prepared the application for the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of BUDS for the study.
Designed a research poster titled: "Frontline Health Workers (FHW) narratives of violence against children and Prevention and Response to Child Abuse and Neglect in marginalized communities".
Presented findings at the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) conference held in Muscat, Oman in September 2019.
Led collaboration with Child and Family Training based out of United Kingdom.
Led translation of modules focusing on the modification of abusive and neglectful parenting.
Ensured the Child and Family Training will provide free training to the BUDS FHW to (1) identify instances of child abuse and neglect better and (2) intervene effectively to aid parents in marginalized communities to better attend to the needs of their children.
Project title: Children with disability in rural Mewat (August 2019 – May 2021)
Developed methodology to understand caregiver perceptions of their child's disability, categorization of the disability based on a government scheme “Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK)”.
Developed methodology to understand the knowledge of RBSK program amongst caregivers of disabled children
Prepared the application for the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of BUDS for the study.
Trained interns to collect data in the field.
Led data management
Constructed a system by which disabled children are able to improve access to medical care, by developing an appropriate referral system.
Project title: Social justice for children and young people: India country qualitative case study (August 2018 – September 2020)
Developed the methodology to understand how state laws have failed to attend to the needs of orphaned and vulnerable children.
Developed a qualitative approach to showcase the struggles of a child who is failed by the laws and existing systems of childcare.
Prepared the application for the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of BUDS for the study.
Collected data and documented the timeline of abuse and neglect of the participants and documented instances where the two participants were failed by the state in accessing alternative childcare systems during their childhood.
Lead role in writing and compiling the paper. The findings were compiled in a chapter for the book titled: Social Justice for Children and Young People: International Perspectives published by the Cambridge University Press.
Project title: Social Determinants of Child Marriage in Rural India (June 2018 – December 2018)
Developed a qualitative study to enable a better understanding of how child marriage is not only a social evil, but it also is a public health issue.
Prepared the application for the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of BUDS for the study.
Documented the social determinants leading to the acceptance of the practice of child marriage in rural Mewat
Lead role in writing and compiling the paper. The findings were compiled in the paper titled: Social Determinants of Child Marriage in Rural India and published in the Ochsner Journal.
Professional Experience
Professional Experience
Research Associate, March 2018 – May 2021
Indian Child Abuse Neglect and Child Labour (ICANCL) Group; New Delhi, India
Project title: Trauma Informed Care Modules (May 2020 - May 2021)
In response to the prevalence of abuse and exploitation in the form of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) and Child Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking the Trauma Informed Care (TIC), led the development of training modules for medical and allied professionals.
The TIC modules focus on the understanding that trauma can have a range of physical, mental health and behavioral consequences.
Collaborated with the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC) and National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) to conceptualize and develop modules on Trauma Informed Care (TIC) for medical and allied professionals.
Edited the scripts for the TIC modules.
Prepared framework for disseminating the information among medical professionals for collecting feedback.
Project title: Protocol for Child Abuse and Neglect during Covid19 (July 2020 - May 2021)
Compiled and analyzed literature on the trends of child abuse and neglect (CAN) in the months preceding the lockdown on account of the Covid19 pandemic and while the pandemic in the Indian setup.
Developed and piloted tools for screening for child abuse and neglect in collaboration with National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) in clinical settings for pediatricians.
Collaborated with pediatricians across the country to gather feedback on the screening tool for CAN.
Assisted in compiling the protocols for medical professionals in attending to CAN during Covid19.
Project title: Indian Child Protection Medical Professionals' Network (ICPMPN) (May 2018 - May 2021)
Evaluated the impact of training of the medical professionals with respect to child sexual abuse cases based on the pre-test and post test conducted on the physicians.
Analyzed the impact of the workshops to provide feedback to the trainers.
Presented the results at the ISPCAN Congress in the form of a poster presentation.
Supervised trained physicians on collecting data regarding the closest one stop centres (OSCs), Juvenile Police units, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) working for children who survived sexual abuse in the local areas.
Compiled the information collected by physicians in a report for future network providers.
Project title: Child Abuse Recognition and Response Handbook for medical professionals (June 2018 – January 2020)
Collected data from interactions with medical experts during three consultations with the collaboration of UNICEF
The consultations focused on the information medical professionals should have - in the form of a handbook- with respect to child abuse and neglect while attending to children in hospital/clinic setups.
Compiled data collected from each of the consultations
Played key role in compiling the handbook titled: Child Abuse: Recognition and Response
Professional Experience
Professional Experience
Research Associate, July 2017 – March 2018
Udayan Care, New Delhi, India
Developed methodology by focusing on narratives of young adults regarding their struggles during their transition into adulthood from government and private childcare institutions in the National Capital Region (NCR) of India the study was funded by the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights.
Evaluated the access of young adults to aftercare services, identifying and interviewing young adults in aftercare programs, and those deprived of aftercare services.
Led analysis of the data collected.
Conducted a literature review on challenges of Orphaned and Vulnerable Children transitioning into adulthood globally and focused on practices followed in South Asia.
Studied the extent of violation of the Indian Juvenile Justice Act, which guarantees that every abandoned, separated, or orphaned individual between the age of 18-21 has the right to avail aftercare services.
Assessed youth exiting alternative care organizations across parameters including mentalhealth, accessibility, quality of aftercare services received, and human rights violations.
Administered standardized tests such as: WHOQOL-100, Satisfaction with Life Scale and Flourishing Scale.
Publications
Publications
Journal Articles
Chandrashekhar, R., Dhaliwal, B. K., Rattani, A., Seth, R., Guruprasad, S., Khanna, H., & Shet, A. (2024). Adapting Child Development Assessment Tools to the Rural Indian Context. Children, 11(9), 1115. https://doi.org/10.3390/children11091115
Dhaliwal, B. K., Rattani, A., Chandrashekhar, R., Bloom, D. E., Shet, A., & Seth, R. (2022). Caregiver perceptions of the broader societal benefits of vaccination: A path toward sustainable vaccine advocacy in India. SSM - Qualitative Research in Health, 2, 100156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmqr.2022.100156
Dhaliwal, B. K., Chandrashekhar, R., Rattani, A., Seth, R., Closser, S., Jain, A., Bloom, D. E., & Shet, A. (2021). Community perceptions of vaccination among influential stakeholders: Qualitative research in rural India. BMC Public Health, 21(1), 2122. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-12188-4
Seth, R., Galagali, P., Greenbaum, J., Chandrashekhar, R., Khadse, S., Nayak, U., & Seshadri, S. (2021). Child Protection in Context of COVID-19 Pandemic: Practice Guidelines for Pediatricians. 4, 32–43.
Kozhumam, A. S., Chandrashekhar, R., Rattani, A., & Ariely, S. G. (2020). Multiple Attachments of OSCs in Residential Care. Institutionalised Children Explorations and Beyond, 7(2), 191–206. https://doi.org/10.1177/2349300320930900
Seth, R., Bose, V., Qaiyum, Y., Chandrashekhar, R., Kansal, S., Taneja, I., & Seth, T. (2018). Social Determinants of Child Marriage in Rural India. Ochsner Journal, 18(4), 390–394. https://doi.org/10.31486/toj.18.0104
Bhargava, R., Chandrashekhar, R., Kansal, S., & Modi, K. (2018). Young Adults Transitioning from Institutional Care to Independent Living: The Role of Aftercare Support and Services. Institutionalised Children Explorations and Beyond, 5(2), 168–187. https://doi.org/10.1177/2349301120180207
Atluri, N., Pogula, M., Chandrashekar, R., & Gupta Ariely, S. (2018). Mental and Emotional Health Needs of Orphaned and Separated Youth in New Delhi, India during Transition into Adulthood. Institutionalised Children Explorations and Beyond, 5(2), 188–207. https://doi.org/10.1177/2349301120180208
Bensley, A., Ahuja, C., Modi, K., Chandrashekhar, R., & Gupta-Ariely, S. (2017). Depression within an OSC Environment: Children, Young Adults and Caregivers in Delhi, India. Institutionalised Children Explorations and Beyond, 4(2), 128–139. https://doi.org/10.1177/2349301120170204
Chandrashekhar, R., McKinsey, K., & Mancassola, G. (2017). The Practice of Foster Care in the SAARC Countries. Institutionalised Children Explorations and Beyond, 4(1), 62–73. https://doi.org/10.1177/2349301120170108
Chapters
Chandrashekhar, R. (2023a). Collaborative Care Models: Improving Mental Health Access Where There is No Psychiatrist. In A. Walker, A. Agarwal, Y. Jain, & M. E. Hochman (Eds.), 50 Studies Every Global Health Provider Should Know (1st ed.). Oxford University PressNew York. https://doi.org/10.1093/med/9780197548721.001.0001
Chandrashekhar, R. (2023b). Cultural Relativism. In T. K. Shackelford (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Sexual Psychology and Behavior (pp. 1–2). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08956-5_765-1
Chandrashekhar, R. (2023c). Freud, Sigmund. In T. K. Shackelford (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Domestic Violence (pp. 1–3). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85493-5_638-1
Seth, R., Chandrashekhar, R., Kansal, S., & Bose, V. (2020). A Qualitative Case Study of India. In C. S. Clauss-Ehlers, A. B. Sood, & M. D. Weist (Eds.), Social Justice for Children and Young People: International Perspectives (1st ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108551830
Publications in preparation
Chandrashekhar, R., Neveu, E. L., Athey, A., & Fix, R. L. (n.d.). Substance use among people who were incarcerated: A national representative, mixed methods evaluation. In Preparation.
Athey, A., Chandrashekhar, R., Neveu, E. L., Nestadt, P., Wilcox, H. W., & Fix, R. L. (n.d.). Variation by race, sex, and geography in correctional setting suicides: Results from the 2018 National Violent Death Reporting System. In Preparation.
Chandrashekhar, R. (n.d.). Secure Society Theory. In T. K. Shackelford (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Religious Psychology and Behavior. In Preparation.
Conference Presentations and Seminars
Chandrashekhar, R., Neveu, E. L., Athey, A., & Fix, R. L. (2023). Alcohol use and death by suicide among decedents documented in the NVDRS database. Conference Poster Presentation. Academic and Health Policy Conference on Correctional Health, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA.
Athey, A., Chandrashekhar, R., Neveu, E. L., Nestadt, P., Wilcox, H. W., & Fix, R. L. (2022). Violence and self-injury deaths among people who were in custody at the time of death. Conference Poster Presentation. 2022 Convention of the American Psychological Association, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
Seth, R., & Chandrashekhar, R. (2020). Challenges and opportunities in access to healthcare for children with chronic health problems and disabilities in rural India. ISPCAN Conference Poster Presentation, Doha, Qatar.
Seth, R., Chandrashekhar, R., & Greenbaum, J. (2020). The Development of the Indian Child Protection Medical Professionals Network (ICPMPN). ISPCAN Conference Poster Presentation, Doha, Qatar.
Seth, R., Niekerk, J. V., Chandrashekhar, R., & O’Brien, W. (2019). Child Rights informed Children who engage in violence: A contribution to the Global& Regional Strategies to Prevent Violence against Children. ISPCAN Conference Seminar Presentation, Muscat, Oman.
Bass, G., & Chandrashekhar, R. (2018). Problems with the Implementation of Foster Care in India. ISPCAN Conference Poster Presentation, Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Kansal, S., & Chandrashekhar, R. (2018). Comparison of positive functioning of youth who age out of alternative care to youth who grew up in traditional families in Delhi, India. ISPCAN Conference Seminar Presentation, Prague, Czech Republic.
Atluri, N., & Chandrashekhar, R. (2018). Longitudinal trauma levels in an OSC population in New Delhi, India. First National Conclave on Psychological Trauma, Child Protection and Mental Illness, New Delhi, India.
Education
Education
ADMH, 2023-2024
Cambrian College
Sudbury, Ontario
Graduate Certificate in Addictions and Mental Health (ADMH)
MHS, 2021-2022
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Baltimore, Maryland
Master in Health Sciences in Mental Health
B.A.(Hons), 2014-2017
Amity Institute of Psychology and Allied Sciences
Amity University, Noida
Major: Applied Psychology
Distinction: Graduated with honours
Other Training
Coursera Certifications, 2020
Summary Statistics in Public Health offered by Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Course Completed
Hypothesis Testing in Public Health offered by Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Course Completed
Simple Regression Analysis in Public Health offered by Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Course Completed
Multiple Regression Analysis in Public Health offered by Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Course Completed
Qualitative Methods and Conducting In-Depth Interviews, 2020
Training for Facilitating In-Depth Interviews for data collection; importance, methodology and JHSPH training
CITI Program Certifications, 2019
Human Research; JHSPH Basic Human Subjects Research Course
GCP - Social and Behavioral Research Best Practices for Clinical Research
Information Privacy and Security
Health Privacy Issues for Researchers
Community Service
Pediatric Shadowing 2018 – 2021)
o Specific focus on social determinants and barriers of health in the field
o Specific focus on understanding work conditions of healthcare providers
o Patient engagement
o Preparing material on the following information: (1) The importance of washing hands and the correct methods (2) The importance of dental hygiene and (3) The importance of fighting scabies
Taught English to children in foster homes (2015-2017)
o Children who attended Hindi medium schools when shifted to new foster homes found themselves studying in English medium schools
o Here most children did not have any understanding of the basics of the English language, and I led curriculum development and implemented training to improve their understanding.
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