Chalk Talk: Elizabeth Carpenter-Song
Whether they are analyzing the existence of an ancient ice formation from HBO’s popular “Game of Thrones” or looking into one of the least attractive body parts (spoiler alert: the chin), Dartmouth professors are constantly conducting fascinating research. Anthropology professor Elizabeth Carpenter-Song has added much to the impressive compilation of Dartmouth faculty research, and continues to do so during a brief teaching hiatus.
Driven by an interest in human distress and suffering, Carpenter-Song specifically focuses on mental health and health services in much of her research. Along with her colleagues at the Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center, Carpenter-Song explores how people can understand the experiences of people with mental illnesses and those who use mental health services with the goal of improving mental health services.
However, about four years ago, Carpenter-Song realized a serious lack in research regarding homelessness and housing instability in rural communities.
“Broadly, my research interests have been in the area of looking at marginalized areas in the United States,” Carpenter-Song said. “Disparities and inequalities accrue not only to racial minorities in the U.S. but also to rural populations, and I felt that that was understudied.”
Focusing on New England, Carpenter-Song established a relationship with a few families she met at a local shelter and has now been following them in their battle with homelessness for four years.
“One of the phrases I use to describe the families’ experiences is that they remain ‘on the edge’ of homelessness,” Carpenter-Song said. “They are always one health crisis or one lost job away from becoming homeless again. This instability is chronic for people.”
Although this may seem disconnected from Carpenter-Song’s interest in mental health and health services, she is currently working to incorporate the two into this research.
A topic that has arisen from this research focuses on how people who have experienced homelessness engage or do not engage with health services, she said. In the coming two years, Carpenter-Song’s work will emphasize this level of engagement in order to better understand what this group of people think about the services and to generate ideas to facilitate communication between patients and health care providers.
In addition to her studies on homelessness in the Upper Valley community, Carpenter-Song is also working on many different research projects. In Washington D.C., Carpenter-Song is part of a team of researches from Dartmouth and Howard University that is interested in improving mental health services, particularly for African-Americans suffering from severe mental illnesses. She is also working with another team exploring ways to integrate technology into health care and to use technology to promote communication between patients and providers.
Carpenter-Song views her research as an opportunity for students and faculty of the College to learn more about our surrounding communities and the harsh realities that many of its members face each day.
“It’s important to simply raise awareness about what’s happening in the broader Upper Valley community, to think beyond the Dartmouth bubble,” Carpenter-Song said. “I want to help show what a diverse community we have and raise awareness about the level of need in our own community as well.”