HB Franchino-Olsen

Dr. HB Franchino-Olsen (she/her) received her PhD in maternal and child health with an emphasis on population health. Her work focuses on issues of violence for maternal and child health and other marginalized populations. Her research primarily examines gender-based violence and violence against children using population-based methods to understand the risks, drivers and outcomes of violence in both high-income countries and low- and middle-income countries. She is particularly interested in investigating violence using the polyvictimization framework, as it recognizes that violent events are often not siloed but are interconnected and represent a cumulative burden of violence and harm carried by individuals who experience them. 

Grounded in the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, HB is committed to involving and centering the voices of young children and adolescents in her work. This includes prioritizing primary research that involves children and youth in study design, seeking to understand children’s subjective conceptualizations of violence in their lives, and collecting data via inclusive methods that allow for young children’s participation and the sharing of their stories firsthand. In spotlighting the voices of children and those who have experienced and survived violence, her work aims to create a safer and more just world for children, parents and other vulnerable and/or marginalized groups.

violence against children; gender-based violence; intergenerational violence transmission; polyvictimization; adolescent health; child health; quantitative methods; mixed-methods; child voice

• Postdoctoral Research Fellow—Interrupt_Violence Study—University of Edinburgh, 2021–2023
• PhD—Maternal and Child Health—Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2021
• Predoctoral Trainee—Carolina Population Center—University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2017–2021
• MPH—Maternal and Child Health—Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2017

Franchino-Olsen H, Christofides N, Woollett N, Fouche A, Silima M, Thurston C, Monaisa K, Meinck F. Conducting violence research across multiple family generations and with young children: Findings from a mixed-methods pilot study in South Africa. International Journal on Child Maltreatment. 2023. 

Meinck F, Woollett N, Christofides N, Franchino-Olsen H, Silima M, Thurston C, Fouche A, Monaisa K. Interrupting the intergenerational cycle of violence: protocol for a three-generational longitudinal mixed-methods study in South Africa (INTERRUPT_VIOLENCE). BMC Public Health. 2023;23(1):1-14. 

Franchino-Olsen H, Silverstein H, Kahn NF, Martin SL. Physical disabilities and low cognitive ability increase odds of minor sex exchange among adolescent males in the United States. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse. 2022;31(8)967-986. 

Franchino-Olsen H, Martin SL. The Associations between Gang Membership and Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking (DMST): Findings from a nationally representative study. Violence and Victims. 2022;37(4):479-496. 

Rizo CF, Chesworth BR, Franchino-Olsen H, Klein BL, Villodas ML, Martin SL, Macy RJ. The State of Programs for Educating Youth about Sex Trafficking in the United States: A Nationwide Scoping Scan Survey. Journal of Human Trafficking. In Press. 

Franchino-Olsen H, Martin SL, Halpern CT, Zimmer C, Preisser JS, Shanahan ME. Adolescent Experiences of Violence Victimizations among Minors Who Exchange Sex/Experience Minor Sex Trafficking. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 2022:37(17-18);NP16277–NP16301. 

Franchino-Olsen H, Chesworth BR, Boyle C, Martin SL, Rizo CF, Klein LB, Jordan B, Collins L, Macy RJ. The Prevalence of Sex Trafficking of Children and Adolescents in the United States: A Systematic Review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. 2022;23(1): 182-95. 

Franchino-Olsen H, Jenkins M, Rizo CF, Croft C, Colber R, Martin, SL. Online Violence Education in the Era of COVID-19. School Social Work Journal. Fall 2021.

Franchino-Olsen H. Frameworks and Theories Relevant for Organizing CSEC/DMST Risk Factors: A Systematic Review of Proposed Frameworks to Conceptualize Vulnerabilities. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. 2021; 22(2):306-317. 

Franchino-Olsen H. Vulnerabilities Relevant for Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children/Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: A Systematic Review of Risk Factors. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. 2021;22(1):99-111.

Complete list available at: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=O5J-xXwAAAAJ&hl=en