Andrea Faith Kalvesmaki

Research Associate, University of Utah

Chapter Member: Utah SSN

Areas of Expertise:

Public Health

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About Andrea

Kalvesmaki's research focuses on disability over a lifetime and the systems that support or thwart progress for persons with a variety of conditions. Overarching themes in Kalvesmaki's writing include systems thinking, the conceptualization of disorder, human optimization and improvement, and policy structures to support human development. She consults on hidden disabilities such as TBI, PTSD, anxiety, and other disorders, and on bringing individual lived experiences to bear in large-scale health research and policy development.

Contributions | No Jargon Podcast | In the News | Publications

Contributions

Utah Should Support the ‘Hidden Heroes’ Who Give Care to Veterans and Others

Commentary, November 2022

Publications

"Recommendations to Improve Health Outcomes Through Recognizing and Supporting Caregivers" (with Luci K. Leykum, Lauren S. Penney, Stuti Dang EdD, Ranak B. Trivedi , Polly H. Noël , Jacqueline A. Pugh, Megan E. Shepherd-Banigan , Mary Jo Pugh PhD, Rand Rupper MD, Erin Finley, Julie Parish-Johnson, Roxana Delgado, Kimberly Peacock, and Courtney H. Van Houtven). Journal of General Internal Medicine volume 37 (2022): 1265–1269.

Describes the need to include "caregivers" as a unique social determinant of health in understanding the needs of persons receiving care.

"Analysis of a National Response to a White House Directive for Ending Veteran Suicide" (with Alec B. Chapman, Kelly S. Peterson , Mary Jo Pugh, Makoto Jones , and Theresa C. Gleason). Health Services Research 57, no. 1 (2022): 32-41.

Illustrates an interdisciplinary process to analyze a large body of qualitative data in response to a Request for Information on Veteran suicide. Discusses how results were used to inform a national public health strategy and campaign to reduce suicide for all citizens.

"A Systems Theory Analysis for Ending the School-to-Prison Pipeline: Using Disability Rights Laws to Keep Children in Schools and out of Courts, Jails, and Prisons" (with Joseph B. Tulman). in The School to Prison Pipeline: The Role of Culture and Discipline in School, edited by M. Khalifa, and F. Briscoe, (The School to Prison Pipeline: The Role of Culture and Discipline in School, 2017), 169-194.

Takes a systems approach to understanding and addressing the School to Prison Pipeline, and offers strategies rooted in disability rights laws to support young people to have improved outcomes that keep them in school and out of juvenile systems.