Health, Justice, and Community

The special interest group in Health, Justice and Community is led by Dr. Susan Dorr Goold, a Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine and Health Management and Policy at the School of Public Health. Research in this area aims to improve knowledge, understanding, and practice in resource allocation and distributive justice, ethics of health policy (public and private) and community engagement, with the overarching goal of improving health equity. Scholarly approaches to the important and enduring questions include a variety of social science methods as well as conceptual and philosophical analysis. Surveys, mixed methods research, community-based participatory research and deliberative procedures represent particular strengths. Research that falls within this area includes topics such as:

  • Deliberative public views on health and health care spending priorities
  • Resource allocation decisions by local public health officials
  • Public views about policies during public health emergencies
  • Community priorities for health research
  • Reproductive justice
  • Physicians’ and patients’ views about physician stewardship
  • Conflicts of interest and obligation for physicians and scientists
  • Ways to ameliorate health disparities