Malia Jones

How do the places we spend time affect our health? How are the interpersonal interactions of everyday life situated in places? How do patterns in the use of social and physical space lead to differences in the health of populations? My research agenda centers on spatially explicit approaches to the relationship between people and their social environments, and how spatial exposures lead to health disparities. I study how geographic distribution of people creates and replicates health disparities across time. My current work looks at rural health issues in the United States, mortality and differences in vaccine behaviors across the urban-rural spectrum.  

I teach Introduction to Public Health (PH370/CES370) in the Community & Environmental Health and Global Health majors, and Public Health in Urban and Rural Communities (SOC/CES533) in the Community & Environmental Health and Sociology majors. 

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Department of Community & Environmental Sociology

Additional information

Curriculum Vitae

CDE Research Area Affiliations:

Demography of Inequality; Health and the Life Course; Spatial and Environmental Demography

Selected Publications:

Malia Jones, Mahima Bhattar°, Emma Henning°, and Shannon Monnat. 2023. “Explaining the U.S. rural disadvantage in COVID-19 case and Death rates during the Delta-Omicron surge: The role of politics, vaccinations, population health, and social determinants.” Social Science & Medicine. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116180. 

Malia Jones, Megan Reilly°, Amanda Simanek, Alexis C. Stewart°, Roopa Sheshadri, Jennifer B. Dowd, and Ashley Z. Ritter. 2026. “A Randomized Assessment of ‘Those Nerdy Girls’ Newsletters on Adult Vaccination Outcomes.” PLOS One: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0344258

Susan Racine Passmore, Morgan Medina, Lynne Margalit Cotter°, Emma Henning, Mahima Bhattar°, Sijia Yang, Emily Lathamc, Dan Schultzc, and Malia Jones. 2025. “Co-Designing Effective Vaccine Promotion Strategies: Insights from Rural Wisconsin Parents.” Health Promotion Practice: 10.1177/15248399251391149.