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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nHealth equity\nissues do not stop during incarceration\u2014in fact, they worsen. Through a\ncollaborative effort, Northern Arizona University researchers from seven departments\nare working together to examine health care inequities for people who are\nincarcerated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Initial\nresults of their work came together in the fall 2019 issue of the journal Practicing Anthropology<\/em>\u2014titled \u201cHealth\nDisparities in Jail Populations\u201d\u2013\u2013dedicated to highlighting the work of NAU\nresearchers in the local community, with Robert\nT. Trotter<\/strong> II<\/strong> serving as the\nspecial guest editor. Trotter is a Regents\u2019 Professor of Anthropology at NAU and\nthe research infrastructure core lead for the Southwest\nHealth Equity Research Collaborative<\/a> (SHERC), an initiative of NAU\u2019s Center for Health Equity Research<\/a>\n(CHER).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe special\nissue of Practicing Anthropology<\/em>\nprovides the researchers an opportunity to actively promote a more holistic approach\nto mitigating the impact of incarceration on people and communities, using a\ncommunity engaged model that addresses the need for collective impact on a serious\npublic health problem,\u201d Trotter said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The issue\nfeatures seven articles from a single complex project and four commentaries and\nwas a partnership between NAU, the Coconino County Health District, the\nCoconino County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council and The NARBHA Institute.\nTopics range from health disparities among jail populations to the ethics of\nworking with incarcerated populations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The project represents\nan interdisciplinary collaboration at NAU, including CHER, the Department of\nAnthropology, the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, the\nDepartment of Psychological Sciences, the Department of Physical Therapy and\nAthletic Training, the Human Research Protection Program (HRPP), the Department\nof Biological Sciences and the School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber\nSystems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ricky Camplain<\/strong>, assistant professor of health sciences, who\nwrote a commentary along with Julie\nBaldwin<\/strong>, CHER director and Regents\u2019 Professor, said that in seeking\nsolutions to improve health equity and social justice in the criminal justice\nsystem, it is critical to first understand the jail system,\nwhich is distinguished from prisons by length of a stay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBecause we have learned in research, practice and in all\nsectors that working in silos does not work, there has been a growing interest\namong health and justice system leaders to work together to pursue both health\nequity and social justice,\u201d Camplain said. \u201cThe \u2018Health Disparities in Jail\nPopulations\u2019 research study is a fantastic example of a collaboration between a\ntrue interdisciplinary group, the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council and an\ninterdisciplinary group here at Northern Arizona University.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The\neditor-reviewed journal is published by the Society for Applied Anthropology.\nThough not an NAU publication, editor Lisa\nHardy<\/strong> is an associate professor of anthropology at NAU and a medical anthropologist.\nMeeting the health needs of people who are incarcerated through a\nmultidisciplinary approach is a method Hardy supports. She coordinated with\nTrotter to guest-edit the issue, and she said the topic falls in line with the\npublication\u2019s mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hardy said Practicing Anthropology<\/em> is not a typical\npeer-reviewed journal, but instead is a publication that enters a conversation\nwith social scientists working in the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\nhighlight projects that demonstrate collaborations where scientists and\ncommunity partners work together toward the end goal of social justice,\u201d Hardy\nsaid. \u201cWhen Bob approached me with his idea of guest-editing this special issue,\nI saw value in the idea because the collection of papers provides a nice\nexample of how interdisciplinary work can look.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marie Peoples, deputy county\nmanager for Coconino County and a member of the NAU Institutional Review Board,\nwrote a commentary for the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe continual exploration of the intersections of health, social\ndeterminants of health and race is critical and represents the awareness and\nwillingness to undertake challenging societal issues,\u201d Peoples said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy hope is that as we learn more about the long-term impacts of\ngenerational poverty, institutional racism and mental health, strategic\ninterventions will be developed to intercede prior to incarceration for\npopulations that have traditionally received services outside of detention.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n For more information on Practicing Anthropology<\/em>, visit the journal\u2019s website<\/a> or access it through the Cline Library website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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