Research Interests

Rurality, Healthcare Disparities, Sustainable Development, Social & Economic Determinants of Health, Culture & Community Action

Publications 

Farra, C. G., & Bates, B. R. (Accepted). Mobilizing minga: A Culture-Centered approach to development in a rural cantonal capital in Ecuador. Journal of International and Intercultural Communication. "The continuing relevance of the Global South (and where to find it).” https://doi.org/10.1080/17513057.2025.2550283 

Bates, B. R., & Farra, C. G. (2025). Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Tick-Borne Diseases in a Non-Lyme-Endemic County in Southeastern Ohio: Results from a Cross-Sectional Survey. Healthcare, 13(16), 1940. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13161940

Farra, C. G., & Bates, B. R. (2025). A culture-centered, arts-based approach to defining “quality education” in a rural Ecuadorian community. Communication Quarterly, 73, 394-417. https://doi.org/10.1080/01463373.2025.2495296

Caridi, T. L., Mariño-Polo, F., Farra, C. G., Mingus, A. M., Memon, A., Grijalva, M. J., & Bates, B. R. (2024). Health literacy & Chagas disease knowledge: A cross-sectional study in Southern Loja Province, Ecuador. PEC Innovation, 4, 100287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pecinn.2024.100287

Selected Presentations

Farra, C. G. (2025) Walking through memory: The role of personal narrative in activating the Hector Pieterson Memorial. Paper presented to the Rhetoric and Public Address Interest Group at the Eastern Communication Association, Buffalo, NY. Top Paper.

Bates, B. R. & Farra, C. G. (2025) “We have to recover what Cariamanga had”: Articulating a culture-centered alternative to neoliberal development in a small Ecuadorian city. Paper presented to the Applied Communication Interest Group at the Southern States Communication Association, Norfolk, VA. Top Paper.

Bates, B. R. & Farra, C. G. (2025) Painting murals to define a “successful childhood”: An application of a culture-centered, art-based approach in rural Ecuador. Paper presented to the Intercultural Communication Division at the Southern States Communication Association, Norfolk, VA.  Top Paper.