health disparities

Dr. Ronald F. Lunsford

November 29, 2018 by Alex Chapin
department: English

Ronald LunsfordProfessor
Department of English

I am a Professor of English, Linguistics, and Rhetoric at UNC Charlotte. Over a long career, I have written about Cognitive Linguistics and Functional Linguistics. I have applied Cognitive Linguistics to the study of literature and both Cognitive and Functional Linguistics to writing instruction. In recent years, I have applied genre theory, a branch of Functional Linguistics, to medical communication.

For more information: Faculty Connections > Dr. Ronald F. Lunsford

keywords: health communicationhealth disparitieshealth policyhealth systems and organizationsmedical humanities

Dr. Zinobia Bennefield

September 28, 2018 by Zinobia Bennefield
department: Sociology

Zinobia BennefieldAssistant Professor
Department of Sociology

I study systemic inequality in the U.S. healthcare system with a focus on how these inequities impact the health and illness experiences of women and children.[read more=’Read more’ less=’Read less’]I have constructed a research agenda which involves the study of the sociology of health and illness, utilizing an intersectionality theoretical perspective in health research, and using a mixed methodological approach to create pragmatic suggestions for the eradication of health disparities. My current research explores the complexities of adolescent mental health and extends the theoretical and methodological literature concerning the relationship between socioeconomic status, race, gender, social integration and mental disorder.[/read]

For more information: Faculty Connections > Dr. Zinobia Bennefield

keywords: gender and socioeconomic statushealth disparitiesmental healthrace

Dr. Andrew Case

September 28, 2018 by Andrew Case
department: Psychological Science

Andrew CaseAssistant Professor
Department of Psychological Science

My work focuses broadly on issues of equity related to race and ethnicity. [read more=’Read more’ less=’Read less’] Through basic and applied research, I seek to: (a) identify the causes of health disparities as well as other racial disparities in r life outcomes; and, (b) support community-driven strategies that reduce these disparities. One line of my current research is focused on examining community and societal risk factors (e.g., poverty and discrimination) that underlie the disproportionate disease burden experienced by African Americans in reference to cardiovascular disease. A second line of my research utilizes ethnographic and community-based participatory research to address factors within organizations and communities that underlie racial disparities in health and life outcomes. Current investigations focus on empowerment as an anti-poverty strategy and empowering counterspaces as a means reducing juvenile offending and incarceration among racial minority youth.
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For more information: Faculty Connections > Dr. Andrew Case

keywords: community engagementcommunity healthcommunity-based participatory researchhealth disparitiesrace and socioeconomic status

Dr. Christopher D. Mellinger

September 28, 2018 by Chris Mellinger
department: Languages and Culture Studies

Associate Professor
Department of Languages and Culture Studies

My research is centered on translation and interpreting and aims to understand the various cognitive, social, technological, and linguistic processes involved in language mediation and intercultural communication. I also research how translation and interpreting impact language access in medical and legal settings, with a particular interest in how mediated communication alters interaction among the various parties. At several institutions, I have taught courses on Spanish for Healthcare, medical terminology, medical translation and interpreting, and healthcare disparities in U.S. Latino populations.
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For more information: Faculty Connections > Dr. Christopher D. Mellinger

keywords: health disparitiesinterpreting studiesmedical humanitiessociocultural influencestranslation studies

Dr. Amy Peterman

September 28, 2018 by Amy Peterman
department: Psychological Science

Amy PetermanAssociate Professor
Department of Psychological Science

My research interests center on developing a deeper understanding of the role played by psychological and behavioral factors in the socioeconomic gradient of health. [read more=’Read more’ less=’Read less’] I am also very interested in the role that health psychology interventions, including those delivered in primary care settings, can play in minimizing SES-related health disparities.
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For more information: Faculty Connections > Dr. Amy Peterman

keywords: behavioral healthchronic conditionshealth disparitiessocioeconomic status

Dr. Shannon Sullivan

September 28, 2018 by Shannon Sullivan
department: Philosophy

Professor
Department of Philosophy

I am Chair of Philosophy and Professor of Philosophy and Health Psychology at UNC Charlotte. [read more=’Read more’ less=’Read less’] I teach and write in the intersections of feminist philosophy, critical philosophy of race, American pragmatism, and continental philosophy. I am author of Living Across and Through Skins: Transactional Bodies, Pragmatism and Feminism (2001), Revealing Whiteness: The Unconscious Habits of Racial Privilege (2006), Good White People: The Problem with Middle Class White Anti-Racism (2014), and The Physiology of Sexist and Racist Oppression (2015). I also am co-editor of four books including Race and Epistemologies of Ignorance (2007) and Feminist Interpretations of William James (2015).

Good White People was named a 2014 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title and a Ms. Magazine Must-Read Feminist Book of 2014. It also was awarded The Society of Professors of Education 2016 Outstanding Book Award.

Currently I am finishing a monograph called White Privilege as part of Polity Press’ new general readership series, THINK, and I also am working on an edited scholarly book on Philosophy in/of the South.

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For more information: Faculty Connections > Dr. Shannon Sullivan

keywords: and socioeconomic statusgenderhealth disparitiesmedical humanitiesrace

Dr. Jennifer B. Webb

September 28, 2018 by Jennifer Webb
department: Psychological Science

Associate Professor
Department of Psychological Science

My research and teaching emphasize the critical importance of adopting interdisciplinary, multicultural, and positive psychological/strengths-based perspectives in the science and practice of clinical health psychology. [read more=’Read more’ less=’Read less’] More specifically, our lab studies socio-cultural risk and protective factors (e.g., body image, ethnic identity, marginalization stress, weight stigma) that may contribute to and/or mitigate disparities in cardiometabolic health among culturally-diverse women during college, pregnancy, and the postpartum. I also have a strong interest in the application of integrative mind-body approaches (including the practices of yoga, mindful and intuitive eating, and self-compassion) and Health at Every Size® principles towards optimizing a more holistic experience of health and well-being in ethnically-diverse groups.
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For more information: Faculty Connections > Dr. Jennifer B. Webb

keywords: clinicalhealth disparitieshealth technologymixed methodsrace and ethnicitysociocultural influencesstress