Bethany Caruso

I received my BA from Wesleyan University in 2003 in the Science in Society Program (Anthropology and Biology concentrations). I then took a step away from academics and worked on a commercial lobster boat for 3.5 years. It was one of the greatest learning experiences I have ever had and it not only made me fall in love with a small island community in Maine, but it also allowed me to travel abroad in the 'off-season'. So, when not fishing, I spent extensive time in Central America where my interest in international Public Health emerged and grew.

I matriculated to Rollins for my MPH in 2007. During that time I became involved with the Center for Global Safe Water (CGSW) and did my practicum in Bolivia where I investigated both helminth infections across different regions and water & sanitation coverage using community mapping techniques. After I graduated in 2009, I continued to work with CGSW on a school water, sanitation and hygiene project (SWASH+) and was based in Kenya for 1.5 years as a Research Project Coordinator for a randomized controlled trial focusing on sanitation. The experience in Kenya made me realize how much more I wanted to learn, especially about child and adolescent behavior, and fermented my current interests.

Research Interests

I am interested in the intersect between Women's Health and Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) in developing countries. Specifically, I am interested in how adolescent girls and women manage menstruation and their urination and defecation needs given their social, cultural, and natural environments, and how these behaviors and experiences may influence their health and developmental (educational, economic, social) outcomes.