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

Naseh receives grant from Missouri Foundation for Health

Myra — 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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Galupo releases new framework, tool to assess gender dysphoria

admin — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Paz Galupo, the Audre Lorde Distinguished Professor for Sexual Health & Education at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, has developed a new framework and measurement tool to better understand gender dysphoria. To develop the Multidimensional Model of Gender Dysphoria and its accompanying assessment tool, Galupo, director of the Brown School’s Sexuality, Health, and Gender (SHAG) Center, collaborated with Louis Lindley, a doctoral candidate at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and Zakary A. Clements, assistant professor of counseling psychology at Loyola University in Chicago and former postdoctoral researcher at the SHAG Center. The research, supported by a grant awarded to Galupo from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), was published in the American Psychologist, the flagship journal...

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PhD candidate appointed to APHA Disability Justice advisory board

Myra — Mon, 27 Oct 2025 16:02:18 +0000

Mustafa Rfat, a doctoral candidate in social work at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, has been appointed to the American Public Health Association’s Disability Justice advisory board for 2025 to 2026. The board, which centers on disabled leadership, provides guidance on advancing disability justice across public health research, practice, and policy. “I am honored to join this board and look forward to contributing to work that advances equity and accountability in public health,” Rfat said. Rfat’s research focuses on disability justice, refugee inclusion, and health equity through community-engaged methods. Earlier this year, he was elected to represent Missouri as a delegate to the Refugee Congress, a national nonprofit advocating for refugees and other forcibly displaced people....

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Faculty, PhD �� receive grant to study adolescent girls in Ghana

Myra — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 19:33:30 +0000

Two members of the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis have received a 2025 Seed Grant from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (OVCR) to study sexual risk behaviors among adolescent girls in Ghana, drawing insights from both mothers and daughters. The grant recipients are Proscovia Nabunya, associate professor at the Brown School and director of the International Center for Child Health and Development (ICHAD); Portia Nartey, a third-year doctoral �� in social work and research associate at ICHAD; and Juliet Iwelunmor, professor of medicine and associate director for global health and dissemination at WashU Medicine. Nartey will work under the mentorship of Nabunya and Iwelunmor. The research will focus on Ghana’s eastern region, which faces high poverty rates and...

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