The Context of Poverty

Stephen Metraux, PhD

Professor of Public Policy,
Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy & Administration,
University of Delaware

 

Health and Homelessness: Laying Groundwork for Intervention Models

The relationship between health and homelessness is a mutually reinforcing one, where the presence of adverse health issues increases the risk of experiencing homelessness, and being homeless leaves a person more vulnerable to a range of undesirable health outcomes. This culminates in an association between homelessness and sharply increased levels of mortality. This presentation will showcase key elements and dynamics of this relationship, review interventions (including housing) that focus on improved health outcomes among people experiencing homelessness, and looks at current gaps and promising approaches to developing health care intervention models for people experiencing homelessness.

Emily Wang, MD, MAS

Professor of Medicine and of Public Health
Yale University School of Medicine

 

Incarceration and Cancer Care: A Key Focus for Health Justice Efforts

2023 marked the 50^th anniversary of mass incarceration – a term used to describe legal and policy decisions that led to a massive expansion of incarceration as punishment and restrictions on public social services and civic life following incarceration. Its reach has been expansive – 1.9 million individuals are currently incarcerated, at least 7 million are imprisoned each year, and more than 75 million individuals have a criminal record. Mass incarceration has had disproportionate impact on Black Americans and families and people of low socioeconomic status , and this talk will focus on its effects on population health, cancer care, and cancer equity.

Edward D. Vargas, PhD, MPH

Associate Professor
School of Transborder Studies
Arizona State University

 

Latinos, Health, and Proximal Contact: This talk will focus on the mechanisms in which knowing an undocumented immigrant is impacting the health and wellbeing of Latinos in the US.

 

Edward Vargas' primary areas of interest are the effects of poverty and inequality on the quality of life, focusing specifically on health, immigration status and social policy, and how these factors contribute to the well-being of vulnerable families. In addition, poverty and inequality are strongly tied to race and ethnicity; thus, he is also interested in the methodological issues involved in the quantitative study of race and ethnicity. 

Megha Ramaswamy, PhD, MPH

Professor and Chair
Department of Health Systems and Population Health
School of Public Health

 

Mass Incarceration, Women, and Health: A talk that outlines the health and social impacts of mass incarceration on women's health.

 

Megha Ramaswamy, PhD, MPH serves as Professor and Chair of Health Systems and Population Health at the University of Washington School of Public Health. Dr. Ramaswamy is a long-time teacher, mentor, and researcher in the areas of sexual, reproductive health, cancer prevention, and mass incarceration.

Tony Messenger

Metro Columnist
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

 

Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Tony Messenger is the metro columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and will be presenting: “Profit and Punishment: How America Criminalizes the Poor in the Name of Justice”

 

David R. Williams, PhD, MPH

Florence & Laura Norman Professor of Public Health
Chair, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Professor of African and African American Studies and of Sociology
Harvard University

 

Dr. David Williams' research has enhanced our understanding of the complex ways in which socioeconomic status, race, stress, racism, health behavior and religious involvement can affect health.  His talk will focus on the intersection pf race and poverty and its detrimental effects on health and cancer outcomes.

 

Mark R. Rank, PhD

Herbert S. Hadley Professor of Social Welfare
Washington University in St. Louis