Kristan Elwell
Assistant Research Professor of Health Sciences
Research focus: Health equity, maternal and child health, gender inequities and HIV/AIDS, social determinants of health and barriers to care
Additional information
Background Accordion Closed
Dr. Elwell has collaborated on the design, implementation and analysis of qualitative research projects in Arizona, Michigan, and Sub Saharan Africa. As a medical anthropologist and public health professional, she has a passion for understanding and addressing health disparities in resource poor settings. She has a longstanding interest in the social determinants of health-seeking, particularly among low income, underserved populations. She has contributed to research on the barriers and supports to health-seeking for HIV positive pregnant women and new mothers in Sub Saharan Africa and barriers and supports to health-seeking for Medicaid recipients.
Her training and experience exploring topics related to women’s reproductive health, oral health and cancer prevention in AI communities, and barriers to care will contribute to an ethnographic assessment of American Indian mothers/parents’ decision-making related to donation of cord blood to public cord blood banks.
Current projects Accordion Closed
Dr. Elwell is currently assisting on a needs assessment for the Northern Arizona Regional Behavioral Health Association identifying community assets and needs as well as strategic initiatives to address health equity in the northern Arizona region. She is also currently conducting a formative assessment exploring the attitudes and perspectives of caregivers toward pediatric intensive care for children with cerebral malaria in Malawi.