Evans Receives Community Engagement Research Award

Elizabeth Evans, assistant professor in the School of Public Health and Health Sciences, was chosen as the 2019 recipient of the UMass Distinguished Community Engagement Award for Research.

This award recognizes “individual achievement in outreach as an incentive to further community engagement on the part of the academic enterprise.”

Evans is currently working with two Western Massachusetts sheriff’s offices to design, implement and study an opioid treatment program for jail detainees in Franklin and Hampshire counties in an effort the researcher hopes will serve as a model for tackling one of the nation’s top public health crises. Overall, her research investigates how health care systems and public policies can better promote health and wellness among vulnerable and underserved populations, particularly for individuals at risk for substance use disorders, mental illness and infectious diseases. She utilizes both qualitative and quantitative methods, and much of her research has originated from longitudinal study designs and creating knowledge via mining of linked administrative “big data” provided by health care delivery organizations, social services systems and criminal justice sources.

Evans was recognized for this award at the Faulty Honors Dinner on Monday, April 29 in the Campus Center.