Gemmae M. Fix, PhD

Associate Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

Gemmae M. Fix, PhD is an applied medical anthropologist with postdoctoral training in health services research. She is also an Investigator at the Center for Healthcare Optimization and Implementation Research (CHOIR), a VA Health Services Research Center of Innovation, co-located at the Boston and Bedford VA Medical Centers. Dr. Fix’s research uses ethnographic, qualitative methods to advance the delivery of patient-centered care, particularly for populations stigmatized for their behaviors, such as people living with HIV or patients who are at risk for lung cancer. She has led AHRQ, VA and DoD funded studies examining patients’ experiences of care, patient-centered HIV care, and the use of co-design methods to engage patients in the research process.

Additionally, Dr. Fix is interested in the professional development of social scientists. She has written extensively about the careers of anthropologists, including a guest edited volume of Practicing Anthropology, which profiled the work of anthropologists working in a variety of health-related settings. She led the formation of the Medical Anthropologists and Social Scientists in Health (MASSH) interest group which brings together anthropologists and allied social scientists working in applied health settings (hospitals, health departments, companies, community-based organizations, and universities) to promote professional development, research collaboration, and educational opportunities. Further, she has developed and taught qualitative methods courses for health professionals, and is an Associate Editor for Journal for General Internal Medicine where she adjudicates manuscripts, with a focus on studies that use qualitative methods. Dr. Fix is a Fellow of the Academy of Communication in Healthcare as well as the Society for Applied Anthropology. She was elected to the Board of the Society for Applied Anthropology, and currently serves as Secretary. In these roles, she advocates for the use of social science approaches to address healthcare research questions and the professional development of applied anthropologists.

Publications

  • Published 4/28/2025

    Robinson SA, Barker AM, Fix GM, Clayman ML, Herbst AN, White JC, Wiener RS. Linking Patient Perceptions of Shared Decision Making to Satisfaction in Lung Cancer Screening Decisions. Med Decis Making. 2025 Apr 28; 272989X251333451. PMID: 40292863.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 3/23/2025

    Barker AM, Wiener RS, Reisman J, Kearney L, Dones M, Fix GM. Black US military veterans respond favourably to a booklet using narratives to normalise shared decision-making. Public Health Pract (Oxf). 2025 Jun; 9:100606. PMID: 40230583.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 3/11/2025

    Ettinger de Cuba S, Jones DK, Cutts D, Bovell-Ammon A, Lê-Scherban F, Sandel M, Ochoa E, Poblacion A, Frank DA, Black MM, Fix GM. "But who takes care of the mom?": The daily experiences of immigrant mothers navigating health in family life. Soc Sci Med. 2025 May; 372:117948. PMID: 40090206.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 1/23/2025

    Gurewich D, Hunt K, Bokhour B, Fix G, Friedman H, Li M, Linsky AM, Niles B, Dichter M. Screening and Referral for Social Needs Among Veterans: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Gen Intern Med. 2025 Jan 23. PMID: 39849274.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 1/1/2025

    Madeline Villalba, Gemmae M. Fix, Rachel Schenkel, Mary Ann Chiasson, Allen L. Gifford, Peter Gordon, Helen-Maria Lekas, Michael T. Yin, Abigail Baim-Lance,. Exploring HIV provider framings of living and aging with HIV. 2025; 7.

    Read at: Custom

Education

  • State University of New York at Buffalo, PhD
  • State University of New York at Buffalo, MA
  • University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, BA