Gillian SteelFisher was a panelist for the Forum’s discussion on Childcare and Health in America and Eradicating Polio and The Measles Outbreak.
Gillian K. SteelFisher, PhD MSc, is a Senior Research Scientist in the Department of Health Policy and Management, and she serves as Director of the Global Polling Unit for the Harvard Opinion Research Program (HORP). She has been conducting research in the private sector and academia for almost 25 years and teaches applied survey research methods.
Dr. SteelFisher’s work focuses on the intersection between research and practical application in communication and community engagement. She seeks to understand the perspective and experiences of the public and health professionals related to vaccines and other behavioral responses to infectious illness and health emergencies.
Dr. SteelFisher leads a polling collaboration with UNICEF to support immunization and polio eradication efforts, which has included over a dozen polls in eight countries. Dr. SteelFisher also leads HORP’s emergency polling for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This includes more than a decade of studies to understand public response during infectious disease outbreaks like Zika, Ebola and pandemic flu. Results of these initiatives have informed global, national and local communication strategies to promote vaccination uptake as well as program preparedness and response more broadly.
