Sienna Fisher
San Antonio, TX| Grant Category: | Fulbright-Nehru Student Research Program |
| Project Title: | Health, Perceptions, and Practices of Older Women in Rural India |
| Field of Study: | Public Health |
| Home Institution: | Trinity University, San Antonio, TX |
| Host Institution: | Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, Delhi |
| Grant Start Month: | September 2025 |
| Duration of Grant: | Nine months |
Brief Bio:
Sienna Fisher graduated from Trinity University with a degree in international studies, concentrating in global health, and with a minor in women and gender studies. Throughout her undergraduate career, she engaged with interdisciplinary coursework which deepened her interest in the sociocultural determinants of health and healthcare accessibility. This academic foundation enabled her to pursue research across a range of topics, including narrative medicine, digital health communications, and women’s health.
Sienna first came to India in the fall of 2023 with the School for International Training to study public health, gender, and sexuality. During her semester abroad, she completed an internship with Aarohi, a nongovernmental organization in rural Uttarakhand. She collaborated with Aarohi’s Medical Mobile Unit and home health team during health camps and visits, and also conducted independent research on the evolution of women’s health in the Kumaon region of the Himalaya.
Since graduation, Sienna has worked as a medical assistant in interventional pain management and dermatology clinics. She hopes to integrate her passion for medicine, gender studies, and the humanities to improve healthcare accessibility and address health disparities within her community and beyond.
Sienna’s Fulbright-Nehru research project is focusing on the health experiences and perceptions of women aged 40 and above within marginalized communities in the rural regions of India. The study is exploring their overall health and health-seeking behaviors, with a focus on menopause, as well as reproductive and sexual health. She is also investigating the role of traditional health practices in addressing health needs when formal treatment is unavailable or inaccessible.