Background
Monica Adams is an assistant professor in the Department of Social Work. Her research is informed by over 25 years of direct social work practice with disenfranchised populations. Her broad research interest is health disparities, with a more specific focus on food insecurity as a social determinant of health.
Adams examines the links between socioenvironmental risk factors such as food insecurity and poor health outcomes among people from low-income backgrounds. She is interested in studying how limited access to resources influences decision-making around health behaviors.
Adams aims to use this information to advance our understanding of the role of public policies as both an inhibitor and promoter of health disparities, and to create opportunities to develop strength-based interventions tailored to the specific needs of vulnerable populations (e.g., women with children in the home, racialized minorities, and low-income populations). Additionally, Adams is an Emerging Poverty Scholar affiliate of the Institute for Research on Poverty and a Faculty Affiliate of the Harriet Tubman Center for Freedom and Equity.
Education
- PhD, University of Louisville
- MSW, Virginia Commonwealth University
- BSW, West Virginia University
Research Interests
- Poverty
- Health disparities
- Socio-political determinants of health
- Social safety net programs
- Food justice