Integrating public health and criminologic approaches to address human trafficking

• In Event: Public Health and Criminology: Integrating Approaches for Collaborative Success

Abstract

The NIJ and other entities encourage interdisciplinary research, with a recent emphasis on collaborations involving public health and criminology experts. In this session, the presenters will relay their perspective on the numerous benefits and occasional challenges of working together as a public health-criminology research team. Presenters will compare and contrast what they consider the essentials of a “public health approach” vs. a “criminology approach” based on their training and experience, and then describe how they have drawn upon the strengths of each approach during the past three years in their collaboration on an NIJ-funded sex trafficking-related research project. Concrete examples of how public health concepts (e.g., secondary and tertiary prevention) and criminological theories (e.g., theories of criminal offending, theories of criminal justice system processes) will be provided. Presenters will make, and invite, suggestions for strengthening opportunities for this type of interdisciplinary research and forming collaborative teams for improved success with competitive research solicitations.

Authors

• Emily F. Rothman, Boston University

• Amy Farrell, Northeastern University

• Jennifer Paruk, Boston University School of Public Health

• Katie Bright, Northeastern University