Research
Objectives
We envision an equitable and just world that places people over profit. To get there, our mission is to increase health equity and social justice by listening and responding to people’s stories in real-time, as well as creating long-term solutions by exploring how power is preserved, constructed, and used. Our scholarship is rooted in participatory research using photo-ethnographic methods, including photovoice and digital storytelling, and we frame our work through our values of Centering Policy & Evidence, Opportunity & Power, and Labor & Equity (PEOPLE Centered Lab). We lead or collaborate on studies exploring occupational health equity and evidence use in policymaking, with a particular emphasis on maritime labor and primary care access.
Projects
Navigating the Waters of the US Healthcare System
Dr. Guillot-Wright was awarded nearly $1 million from the CDC to study the bidirectional relationship between work-related injuries and substance use, particularly for commercial fishermen who face dangerous working conditions, have limited sick leave benefits, and lack preventive healthcare access. Her team will implement and study the feasibility of using healthcare navigators to identify and address biopsychosocial factors that lead to increased injury and substance misuse, as well as evaluate whether and how participants use and access the healthcare navigators. The project brings together worker health equity and structural/social dimensions of health models to understand the bidirectional relationship between injury and substance misuse, and to address these interlinked issues by improving biopsychosocial factors among low SES and im/migrant workers.
Docside Clinic: Decreasing Health Disparities Among Im/migrant Workers
Community-led interventions that address structural and social determinants of health are lacking among im/migrant workers, especially seafood workers. This lack of medical attention is especially alarming given their high rate of injury and death. Through partnerships with Gulf Coast communities, we are studying how mobile street clinics can decrease health disparities and increase health equity among fishermen, dock workers, and their families. Our research methodology is a mixed-methods participatory approach, including community based participatory research (CBPR), surveys, semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and photovoice. Funded by NIOSH's Southwest Center for Agricultural Health
Increasing Health Equity & Health Policy Solutions Among Fishermen
We are exploring how fishermen’s stories and photos can help inform policy solutions through photo-ethnographic methodologies with fishermen, and then translating the results for policymakers Funded by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
COVID-19 Prevention Among Seafood Processors
To identify and implement solutions that address the unique hazards within the seafood industry, we conducted interviews with seafood processors and industry decision-makers in the Gulf Coast region, as they have unique characteristics and challenges as compared to other fisheries in the United States (US). Our aim was to examine the experiences of Gulf Coast seafood workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, including how workplace and social factors impacted their health and quality of life, as well as explore how the structural-social determinants of health (SDoH) impact workers’ risks and health outcomes. Funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
Labor Fest!
We host an annual Labor Day event to bring awareness to the workers who put food on our Gulf Coast tables. We host speakers, musicians, artists, advocates, and scholars for a one day event that's open to the public. Look for more 2024 info soon! 2023: Working on the Water Film & Concert Series at St. Joseph's Church. We hosted singer-songwriter Drew Kennedy & viewed the film Seadrift at St. Joseph's, which was built by German immigrants and dedicated in 1860 to St. Joseph, the patron saint of laborers. Sponsored by the Galveston Historical Foundation and UTHealth Houston School of Public Health's SWCOEH. 2022: Ideas Symposium at Old Red. We hosted singer-songwriter Waylon Payne and health humanities scholar Rosemary Jolly, as well as viewed the film "Mama Has a Mustache" at Old Red Amphitheater, which was the first medical school building in TX. Sponsored by the Center for Violence Prevention.
