When Lailea Noel, Ph.D., took over as the new director for the Institute for Collaborative Health Research and Practice (ICHRP) this past summer, her vision for ICHRP included two specific goals: increased communication and increased collaboration.
Established at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work in 2004, the Institute of Collaborative Health Research and Practice provides the infrastructure for bridging the gap between research and practice in health practices. The objectives of the institute are to develop and disseminate best practices in addressing the interconnected association of health outcomes and the emotional and social wellness of individuals and families. According to the Institute, if one or more of these areas are at risk, the other areas witll also be at risk.
Barbara Jones, Ph.D., who is now the dean at Boston University’s School of Social Work, previously ran the institute and centered the work around bridging the gap between research and practice. Dr. Noel wants to continue this work as well, with an emphasis on bringing in additional voices to the room to discuss best practices, help with reviewing grants, enhance research training, and more.
Dr. Noel, who also serves SHS as an assistant professor and the Meadows Foundation Fellow in Quality of Life in the Rural Environment, is no stranger to this kind of work. Her research investigates the influence of inequities in social drivers of health and access to mental health services on the utilization of timely medical treatment, particularly within residentially isolated rural communities.
She knew she wanted to help improve health care for poor women and children as an undergraduate student, and immediately went to work on improving those systems. After getting her undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan, and her master’s degree at The University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration, Dr. Noel started working with the American Cancer Society to help improve community care for those that are geographically isolated in the city of Chicago, which put her into the oncology field.
It was here that she had her “second awakening” in social work, specifically to how disparity plays a role in healthcare and how geography can significantly affect health outcomes. The abilities of healthcare providers and the passion of the community didn’t always align, and Dr. Noel saw that as her chance to make an impact.
“We have wonderful scientists in medicine and public health and policy, but how can we include the community at this table?” she said. “That’s where social work really gets the opportunity to shine. We’re really good at bridging conversations to bring clients and patients forward.”
In hopes to be more a part of the conversation around geographic isolation and disparity, Dr. Noel completed her Ph.D. in Social Work at Washington University in St Louis. She joined the faculty of SHS in 2020 where she began focusing her research on the influence of inequities in social drivers of health and the access to mental health services, and timely medical treatment, particularly within rural communities.
Dr. Noel uses a research approach called systems dynamics group model building, which serves to bring together different stakeholders around a particular issue. She says that her work bridges practitioners, academics, and communities, which is her vision for ICHRP. By bringing in multiple perspectives, she said, it is far more likely that the institute will be able to improve health results for communities most at risk of inequities.
“I love the University of Texas because of how interdisciplinary it is,” Dr. Noel said. “The work we do collaboratively beyond our walls is a major advantage, and I’m looking forward to building even more connections for health collaborations.”