Department of Sociology

Inequities in health are ubiquitous. Using expertise in medical sociology, health demography, and health policy, Elaine Hernandez aims to understand the social, structural, and biological processes that create and perpetuate these inequities. Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, her work has been published in sociology (Social Forces, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Social Science & Medicine, Society & Mental Health), demography (Demography, Population Bulletin), social networks (Social Networks), and medical (JAMA Pediatrics) journals. She has been elected to serve in leadership positions for the American Sociological Association as well as the Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Sciences, and serves on editorial boards for the Journal of Health and Social Behavior and Social Science & Medicine –Mental Health. In the classroom, she teaches graduate and undergraduate level courses related to the medical sociology, including courses that help prepare premedical students for the revised medical college admission test.