Biography

Elise Trott Jaramillo, Ph.D., is a cultural and applied anthropologist studying environmental and public health disparities for racially- and socioeconomically-marginalized populations. Her dissertation research examined grassroots political organizing and the effects of natural resource policy on users of New Mexico’s “acequias” (community irrigation ditches). Dr. Jaramillo has undertaken applied anthropological research on access to health care and insurance for American Indian seniors, and implementation science studies on an evidence-based child welfare intervention. Her current research examines social and environmental influences on mental wellbeing associated with place. Throughout her career, her work has emphasized participatory and community-driven strategies, critical pedagogy and knowledge-sharing, and the translation of research to policy. She has a sustained interest in fostering social support and community connectedness to improve health and wellbeing.

Areas of Specialty

  • Medical anthropology
  • Place
  • CBPR
  • Minority health disparities
  • American Indian and Latinx health
  • Minority aging
  • Implementation Science

Education

BA, Anthropology, University of Chicago, 2007

MA, Anthropology, University of New Mexico, 2012

PhD, Anthropology, University of New Mexico, 2017

Key Publications

Jaramillo, E. T., Haozous, E. A., & Willging, C. E. (2022). The community as the unit of healing: Conceptualizing social determinants of health and well-being for older American Indian adults. The Gerontologist, 62(5), 732-741. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnac018

Jaramillo, E. T., Sommerfeld, D. H., Lujan, E., & Willging, C. E. (2021). Using concept mapping to understand gender- and age-specific factors influencing healthcare access among American Indian Elders. American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research, 28(2), 52-76. https://doi.org/10.5820/aian.2802.2021.52

Snell-Rood, C., Jaramillo, E. T., Raskin, S., Nicosia, F., & Willging, C. E. (2021) Advancing critical intersections between implementation science and anthropological applications of theory. Translational Behavioral Medicine, 11(8), 1617-1625. https://doi.org/10.1093/tbm/ibab008

Jaramillo, E. T., & Willging, C. E. (2020). Producing insecurity: Healthcare access, health insurance, and wellbeing among American Indian Elders. Social Science & Medicine, 268, 113384. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113384

Jaramillo, E. T. (2020) Fluid kinship: Race, power, and the hydrosocial order of water flow along New Mexico’s acequias. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 38(4), 718-735. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263775819879719