Headshot of Dr.Margaret Tait

Dr. Margaret Tait

Assistant Professor of Health Studies
Curriculum Vitae

  • Profile

    Margaret Tait earned a Ph.D. in health services research, policy, and administration with a concentration in health policy analysis from the University of Minnesota in 2023. Her dissertation focused on influences on public understanding of health equity, or the idea that everyone should have a fair and just opportunity for good health. She uses methods from public policy analysis, sociology, political science, and public health and analyzes nationally-representative surveys and media content to explore questions of how health and social policies are understood and communicated, and the implications for policy reform. Her work is published in Social Science and Medicine – Population Health, Preventive Medicine Reports, and the Journal of Child and Family Studies. After completing her undergraduate degree, Tait served as an AmeriCorps VISTA member at AccessHealth Spartanburg in Spartanburg, South Carolina. She also worked at the South Carolina Hospital Association and in the Research-Evaluation-Learning Unit at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

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    • Memberships

      Interdisciplinary Association of Population Health Sciences (IAPHS)

      American Political Science Association (APSA)

  • Selected Publications
    Journal Articles

    Tait, M., Burke, E., Casalotti, A., Leshan, T., Krasna, H., and Leider, J. (2024) Federal Student Loan Debt in Public Health and the Opportunities for Loan Repayment Programs. Public Health Reports. https://doi.org/10.1177/00333549231223712.

    Tait M., Bogucki, C., Baum, L., Franklin Fowler, E., Niederdeppe, J., and Gollust, S. News media coverage of childcare: How U.S. local tv news framed the problem before and during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Child and Family Studies. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-023-02573-5

    Tait M., Abrahams, J., Brehm, R., Baum, L., Franklin Fowler, E., Niederdeppe, J., and Gollust S. (2022). Serving the public? A content analysis of COVID-19 public service announcements airing from March – December of 2020. Preventive Medicine Reports.101971. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2022.101971.

    Tait, M., Pando, C., McGuire, C., Perez-Sanz, S., Baum, L., Fowler, E. and Gollust, S. (2022). Picturing the Populations Who Could Benefit from Health Insurance Access Expansions: An Analysis of U.S. Health Insurance Television Ads Airing in 2018. World Medical & Health Policy. https://doi.org/10.1002/wmh3.549.

    Tait, M., Bogucki, C. Baum, L., Franklin Fowler, E., Niederdeppe, J. and Gollust, S. (2021). Paid family leave on local television news in the United States: Setting the agenda for policy reform. SSM - Population Health.14, 100821, ISSN 2352-8273.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2021.100821.

    Tait, M., Plough, A., and Wojcik, O. (2017). Building a Culture of Health in Our Changing Climate. (2018). American Journal of Public Health.108, no. S2: S64-65 https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2018.304361.