Shetal Vohra-Gupta, Ph.D., MSW

Shetal Vohra-Gupta, Ph.D, earned her Master of Social Work at the University of Michigan and her doctoral degree in social work from the University of Houston. After attaining her MSW, she worked as a licensed clinical social worker in a psychiatric facility for children and adolescents, and then in emergency rooms conducting psychiatric evaluations. After obtaining her PhD, Dr. Vohra-Gupta completed a postdoctoral fellowship with the Institute of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (IDVSA) at UT Austin. She then held the positions of Research Scientist and Associate Director at the Institute for Urban Policy Research and Analysis in Black Studies within the College of Liberal Arts. Here, Dr. Vohra-Gupta focused on disparities-related research at the intersection of race, policy, and health.  

At SHSSW, Dr. Vohra-Gupta’s work centers around identifying and analyzing structural racism within health policies and its role in health outcomes. She conducts policy analysis and actively engages with intersectionality, critical race theory and cultural racism theory as foundational theories to this work. She is also working collaboratively to analyze social and health policies around neighborhood poverty and its influence on birth outcomes in black and white women.  Currently, Dr. Vohra-Gupta’s projects include examining the cultural determinants of health and their impact on health equity, particularly within the Asian and Asian American Community and working to validate a community-based social determinants of health (SDH)/social needs survey for the People’s Community Clinic.  

Recent Publications

• Vohra, Gupta, S., Petruzzi, L., Jones, C., & Cubbin, C. (2022). An Intersectional Analysis of Barriers to Healthcare for Women. Journal of Community Health.  
• Vohra-Gupta, S., Ela, L., Vizcarra, E., Petruzzi, L., Hopkins, K., Potter, J., & White, K. (2022). Differences  in the provision of evidence-based family planning services among publicly funded providers in Texas. BMC Public Health Services. 
• Vohra-Gupta, S. & Fong, R. (2021). Macro Social Work Practice with Asian American Communities. Encyclopedia of Macro Social Work Practice. 
• Petruzzi, L., Vohra-Gupta, S.,  Valdez, C & Cubbin, C. (2021). Nativity moderates the relationship between nationality and healthcare access from some Latinix women in the United States. Ethnicity and Health.