Health Policy Research Scholars award

How do we define trauma now, and is the current definition sufficient in encompassing the mental, physical, and generational health of racial/ethnic and marginalized communities? Inspired by the stories of immigrants and civil rights and LGBTQ movements in the United States, Hoisum focuses on the epidemiology of trauma as it relates to firearms violence, psychiatric health outcomes, and cumulative risks of trauma across the life course. With an intention to utilize causal methods at the center of her research, Hoisum will synergize epidemiological principles and anti-oppression frameworks toward social, behavioral, and mental health issues. Her research aims to build on definitions and narratives of trauma to expand the origins of trauma's effect on health outcomes and influences on whole communities, with the intention of ultimately formulating policies that will shift the trajectories of those disproportionately affected.