Research and Publications
My overarching research goal is to examine how systems of oppression (racism, colonialism, etc.) are embedded into the built environment and subsequently impact people’s health, use of public spaces, and sense of belonging. As a researcher, I use community-engaged and arts-based approaches to understand people’s experiences with places.
University of Michigan School of Social Work Faculty Page | Google Scholar Page
Current Research Projects
ECOPoetry
This project is focused on exploring environmental and climate issues through poetry and photo elicitation. Participants will be asked to participate in a poetry workshop to begin to write their ecopoems (poems specific to nature and ecological crises) that will be compiled into a poetry anthology.
Envisioning Clean Air
Air quality is a pressing public health issue. Each year more than 9 million people across the globe die prematurely from air pollution related causes (Fuller et al., 2022). Moreover, chronic exposure to air pollution is also related to health problems such as asthma and cardiovascular disease. A specific type of air pollution that threatens the health and well-being of people is transportation related air pollution (TRAP). In cities such as Boston, TRAP has become a major concern as a shortage of housing has led to new housing developments being built near major transportation corridors. While there are some community-based organizations (e.g., Mystic River Watershed Association, Mothers Out Front, AIR Inc.) trying to bring attention to the importance of mitigating air pollution, residents are still unfamiliar indicators of poor air quality, how chronic exposure to poor air quality can impact health, and how to introduce mitigation strategies to address it. This project builds off an existing community-based study to engage residents in the co-creation of visual stories (a comic book and animated film) to help inform the environmental health literacy and critical consciousness of residents in the Greater Boston area. www.envisioningcleanair.com
Role: Principal Investigator
Funder: University of Michigan School of Social Work
Collaborators: Mystic River Watershed Association, Dr. Neelakshi Hudda (she/her) a Research Assistant Professor at Tufts University, and LJ-Baptiste (he/him) a Boston based art educator and cartoonist.
Community-led Improvement of Air Quality and Health in the Lower Mystic (CLEANAIR)
Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) was funded by the Environmental Protection Agency to pursue a three-year air quality study: Community-led Improvement of Air Quality and Health in the Lower Mystic (CLEANAIR). We will monitor air quality at community-identified locations in Everett, Malden, Charlestown, and East Boston; some of the most burdened communities by transportation-related air pollution and disease in Massachusetts. The goals of the study are to:
Provide actionable data and information to increase community awareness about air quality
Inform decision-making around transportation infrastructure
Reduce exposures to harmful transportation-related particulate air pollutants including PM10, PM2.5, and ultrafine particles.
Role: Community Engaged Methodologist (Consultant)
Funder: Environmental Protection Agency
Collaborators: Mystic River Watershed Association, Environmental Monitoring Partners, Tufts University School of Engineering, Boston University School of Social Work, Cambridge Health Alliance, Everett Community Growers, the City of Everett, and Airport Impact Relief, Incorporated (AIR, Inc.).
Selected Publications- Journal Articles (PEER-REVIEWED)
* indicates arts-related research, + indicates community-engaged research
*Hamilton, G. A. (2024) What is Puppetry Doing in Community Practice? Practice: Social Work in Action, 1-8. doi: 10.1080/09503153.2024.2351422.
Thurber, A., Krings, A., Sawyer, J., Hamilton, G. A., Guitterez, M. Contested Places: A Typology for Responding to Place-based Harms. Journal of Social Work, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/14680173241240986
+Bosak, J., Drainoni, M., Christopher, M., Medley, B., Rodriguez, S., Bell, S. L., Kim, E., Stotz.,C., Battaglia, T., Chassler, D., Hamilton, G., Bigsby, C.J., Gillen, F., Kimball, J., McClay, C., Powers, K., Sprague Martinez, L.,Walt, G., Lunze, K. (2023). Community advisory board members’ perspectives on their contributions to a large multistate cluster RCT – a mixed methods study. Journal of Clinical and Translational Science, 1-26. doi:10.1017/cts.2023.673.
Davis, M.T., Bohler, R., Hodgkin, D., Hamilton, G., Horgan, C. (2023). The Role of Health Plans in Addressing the Opioid Crisis: A Qualitative Study. Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment, 149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.josat.2023.209022
Chatterjee, A., Glasgow, L., Bullard, M., Sabir, M., Hamilton, G.A., Chassler, D., Stevens-Watkins, D. J., Walters, S. T., Goddard-Eckrich, D., Rodgers, E., Chaya, J., Rodriguez, S., Gutnick, D., Oga, E., Salsberry, P., Sprague Martinez, L. (2022). Racism and the opioid epidemic can we avoid repeating historical mistakes? The American Journal of Public Health,112, 204-208. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306572
Sprague Martinez L., Rapkin, B., Young, A., Freisthler, B., Glasgow, L., Hunt, T., Salsberry, P., Oga, E., Bennet-Fallin, A., Plouk, I., Drainoni, M., Freeman, P., Surratt, H., Gulley, J., Hamilton, G., Bowman, P., El-Bassel, N., Battaglia, T. (2020). Community engagement to implement evidence-based practices in the HEALing communities study. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108326
Ely, G. E., Hales, T. W., Jackson, D. L., Maguin, G., & Hamilton, G. (2017a). The undue burden of paying for abortion: An examination of abortion fund cases. Social Work in Health Care, 56(2), 99-114.
Ely, G. E., Hales, T. W., Jackson, D. L., Maguin, G., & Hamilton, G. (2017b). Where are they from and how far must they go? Examining location and travel distance in U.S. abortion fund patients. International Journal of Sexual Health, 29(4), 313-324. doi.org/10.1080/19317611.2017.1316809
Ely, G. E., Hales, T.W., Jackson, D. L., Bowen, E. A., Maguin, E. & Hamilton, G. (2017c). A trauma- informed examination of the hardships experienced by abortion fund patients. Health Care for Women International, 38(11), 1133-1151. DOI:10.1080/07399332.2017.1367795
BOOK CHAPTERS
Littman, D. M., Hamilton, G., & Lown, J. (in press). Embodied geographic methods. In J. Salvo, & J. Ulmer (Eds.), Routledge resources online – Qualitative research methods. Routledge. [Invited and Peer Reviewed]
Hamilton, G.A. & Brown, T. (forthcoming). Introduction to Environmental Justice. In C. Rogerson & K. Vandergrift (Eds.), Introduction to Social Justice. Cognella. [Invited]