Health Equity and Justice - Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis

Brown School welcomes three new faculty members for 2026-27 academic year

admin — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 08:06:00 +0000

The Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis will welcome three new full-time faculty members for the 2026-27 academic year: Jordan P. Davis, Clarissa D. Jackson and Guangli Zhang. Jordan P. Davis joins the Brown School as a professor after serving as a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. He previously was a faculty member at the University of Southern California’s Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. Davis is an internationally recognized scientist whose research focuses on the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorders, with particular attention to underserved and high-risk groups, including veterans and individuals exposed to early childhood adversity. His work is at the forefront of digital intervention research, using wearable technology and...

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PhD �� leads publication of study on housing experiences of transgender older adults

admin — Wed, 29 Jul 2026 16:50:56 +0000

Hilary Thibodeau, a social work doctoral �� at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, is the lead and corresponding author of a newly published study examining how transgender older adults describe experiences of housing precarity and injustice. The study, “Intersectionality and the No-Finding Finding in Transgender Older Adults’ Narratives of Housing Precarity,” was published online July 9, 2026, in Housing, Theory and Society. Thibodeau is a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) T32 predoctoral fellow whose research explores the intersections of housing, harm reduction, and health equity. Thibodeau co-authored the study with Vanessa D. Fabbre, an associate professor at the Brown School. Using an intersectional framework, they analyzed narratives from transgender older adults to understand how lifelong experiences...

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Food is Medicine panel highlights innovation and collaboration across St. Louis

Thu, 25 Jun 2026 20:26:00 +0000

On June 16, the Clark-Fox Policy Institute joined with a coalition of WashU partners to host “Food is Medicine: Policy and Program Innovation in St. Louis.” The panel explored the growing Food is Medicine movement and opportunities to improve the lives of St. Louisans impacted by food insecurity, health disparities, and intersecting social challenges. Hosted at the Delmar DivINe as part of the Clark-Fox Policy Institute’s Senior Policy Fellows initiative, the event reflected the Institute’s commitment to connecting research, lived experience, and policy to advance evidence-informed solutions that improve the lives of children and families in St. Louis and beyond. The event brought together more than 100 researchers, nonprofit leaders, and community members, highlighting the region’s growing interest in Food is Medicine...

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Naseh receives grant from Missouri Foundation for Health

Roger — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 17:03:28 +0000

Mitra Naseh, an assistant professor at the ��, has received a $612,000 grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health as co-principal investigator on a new project titled “Community-Driven Solutions for Sustainable Systems Change.” Led by Brown School alumna Fatema Medhat, Missouri state refugee health coordinator at the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), the project is a collaborative partnership among USCRI, WashU, the Integrated Health Network and the MICA Project. The project seeks to address growing inequities in healthcare access among refugees and immigrants in Missouri. The initiative aims to strengthen connections between refugee-serving organizations and mainstream healthcare systems, including federally qualified health centers, hospitals, rural clinics and public health agencies. Over three years, the project will...

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Health-related ballot measures more likely to pass

Roger — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 20:16:10 +0000

As voters are increasingly asked to decide complex health policy questions at the ballot box, new research from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis finds that healthcare-related ballot measures draw more voters to the polls and are more likely to pass than other initiatives — but they’re also especially sensitive to opposition spending by special interest groups. The study, “Health Policy and Direct Democracy: Predictors of Successful Measures, 2010–2024,” forthcoming in the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, analyzed 448 statewide ballot measures across 34 states, including 96 measures directly related to healthcare policy. “Our findings show that healthcare policy stands apart in direct democracy,” said Caitlin McMurtry, an assistant professor at the Brown School and senior...

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Supporting data equity in the social sector

Roger — Mon, 18 May 2026 19:40:53 +0000

A new paper published in the Harvard Data Science Review outlines complementary models for rethinking how data is used in the social sector, emphasizing that technical expertise alone is not enough to ensure fair and effective outcomes. The paper, “Learning Models and Modalities to Build Data Equity Competencies,” argues that everyone is a data person, regardless of one’s role or title, and makes the case that centering community input, ethical decision-making and collaboration is essential for equitable and effective social sector data practice. Drawing on the work of Data for Social Impact (DSI) initiative at WashU and Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy (AISP) at the University of Pennsylvania, the authors show how equity-focused, nontechnical training programs can help practitioners better understand how data practices impact...

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Panel examines migration policy, vulnerability and survivor support

Fri, 08 May 2026 18:22:53 +0000

The Clark-Fox Policy Institute, Forced Migration Initiative and the Brown School Global Programs Office recently convened researchers and frontline practitioners working across the United States and internationally for “Borders, Vulnerability, and Protection: Rethinking Trafficking and Migration Policy,” a panel exploring the lived realities of migrants and trafficking survivors and the policy environments that influence their experiences. Hosted as part of the Clark-Fox Policy Institute’s Senior Policy Fellows initiative, the event reflected the institute’s commitment to connecting research, lived experience and policy to advance more effective and evidence-informed solutions for children, families and communities. The panel was led by Brown School faculty member and CFPI Senior Policy Fellow Mitra Naseh, assistant professor and founding director of the Forced Migration Initiative, and included social work scholar and researcher...

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Clark-Fox Policy Institute event bridges research, community voices to advance refugee well-being in St. Louis

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 20:04:35 +0000

A new initiative designed to accelerate the translation of academic research into actionable policy drew a full crowd for its first event April 1 at Delmar DivINe. The session, hosted by the ��’s Clark-Fox Policy Institute Senior Policy Fellows program, brought together scholars, practitioners, and community members for a meaningful conversation about the experiences and well-being of refugees in St. Louis. In his opening remarks, Jason Jabbari, assistant professor at the Brown School and Clark-Fox Policy Institute (CFPI) faculty director, underscored the institute’s commitment to move research more quickly into policy impact. He emphasized supporting scholars who work closely with communities and are committed to translating evidence into action. “We’re here not just to share ideas, but to...

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Edmond installed as William E. Gordon Distinguished Professor

Roger — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 17:28:11 +0000

Tonya Edmond, a professor at the ��, has been installed as the William E. Gordon Distinguished Professor. A ceremony took place Feb. 9 in Hillman Hall’s Clark-Fox Forum. A nationally recognized expert on violence against women and children, Edmond’s research tests the effectiveness of trauma-focused interventions and the implementation of evidence-based treatments for survivors of sexual violence, intimate partner violence and childhood abuse. Although Gordon was not a social worker, then-Dean Benjamin Youngdahl, a fellow University of Minnesota alumnus, recruited him in 1951 to establish one of the nation’s first doctoral programs in social work at the Brown School. Gordon awarded the school’s first doctorate in social work to Sidney E. Zimbalist in 1955.

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Brown School ��s call for social work approach to improve St. Louis disaster response

admin — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 10:01:00 +0000

St. Louis is not adequately prepared for increasingly frequent and severe climate-related disasters, according to a new ��-led report from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. The report calls for more inclusive, coordinated and community-driven emergency planning. The report, “Community Development and Disaster Preparedness in the City of St. Louis: A Vision for Response with a Social Work Lens,” was written by graduate ��s in social work, public health and social policy as part of the Brown School’s spring 2025 Community Development course. It was published by WashU’s Center for the Environment. Guided by Molly Metzger, a teaching professor at the Brown School, and teaching assistant Rachel Hurtado, the project incorporated input from local agencies, community leaders...

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Guaranteed income improves food security for Black households in Georgia, study finds

admin — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 17:41:32 +0000

Guaranteed income programs may reduce food insecurity and improve nutrition among low-income Black households in Georgia, according to a new study led by the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. The study evaluated the “In Her Hands” pilot program, launched in 2022, which provided $20,400 over two years to 654 randomly selected low-income women in three majority-Black Georgia communities. Participants reported higher household food security and better diet quality than women who did not receive the payments. Stephen Roll, assistant professor and research director at the Brown School’s Center for Social Development and the study’s lead author, said 40% of the women in the program reported high or marginal food security, compared with 14% of women in the...

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McKay, Naseh awarded seed grants for international research projects

admin — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 13:03:00 +0000

Two Brown School faculty members have received 2025 Global Incubator Seed Grants to launch new international research projects focused on improving public health and refugee well-being. The awards, up to $25,000 each from WashU Global and the Office of the Provost, are intended to help faculty build new international collaborations and advance early-stage global research partnerships. Mary McKay, executive vice provost and professor, was awarded funding for a collaborative project on climate change and intimate partner violence among young women living with HIV in Uganda. In partnership with Makerere University, McKay’s team plans to collect quantitative data from 200 young women living with HIV and conduct interviews with 20 participants to capture their lived experiences. Findings will inform the development of integrated,...

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How racial stress shapes Black parents’ confidence in discussing race, study finds

admin — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 16:16:22 +0000

Black parents who experience racism in their daily lives may feel more confident discussing race and discrimination with their children, according to new research from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. �� 75% of Black adults in the U.S. report facing some form of racial discrimination, according to the Pew Research Center. The study suggests that these experiences influence how parents approach conversations about race and racism with their children. Titled “Navigating Racial Stress: How Black Mothers’ and Fathers’ Trauma Shapes Confidence in Talking �� Racism,” the study was published in the Journal of Black Psychology. It was led by Sheretta T. Butler-Barnes, a Dean’s Distinguished Professorial Scholar and professor at the Brown School. Researchers surveyed 681 Black parents,...

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Researcher wins $5M NIH grant to improve mental health care for HIV patients

Roger — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 16:59:54 +0000

Proscovia Nabunya, an associate professor at the Brown School, has received a $5 million federal grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to streamline mental health treatment and HIV medication support for adolescents living with HIV in rural Uganda. The five-year project (2025-2030) is a collaboration with researchers from The City University of New York and other partners. The study aims to integrate evidence-based mental health care into existing HIV treatment systems to improve outcomes for young people navigating both challenges. The team will assess the feasibility and effectiveness of the intervention, as well as the barriers affecting access to care and treatment adherence. Ultimately, researchers hope their findings also can...

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To address gun violence, focus more on people than on guns

Roger — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 21:16:26 +0000

When it comes to curbing gun violence in America, the field of public health should consider focusing less on the guns themselves and more on a rising sense of distrust that makes people reach for guns in the first place, says a researcher from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. “Public health has long ignored the political and social aspects of gun ownership and failed to recognize that firearms are, for many people, a means of replacing fear and uncertainty with a sense of strength and self-sufficiency,” said Caitlin McMurtry, an assistant professor. “Before we can make progress toward a safer society, we need a better understanding of, and more research on, Americans’ motivations for self-armament.” McMurtry, whose...

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