Anna S. Pruitt, PhD
Assistant Professor of Community Psychology | Social Sciences Division | University of Hawaiʻi – West Oʻahu | Kapolei, H.I.
Interim Director | Office for Poverty Research & Action | Social Science Research Institute | University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa | Honolulu, H.I.
Research-based. Community-led. Systems-focused.
Anna S. Pruitt, PhD is an assistant professor of community psychology at the University of Hawaiʻi – West Oʻahu, whose research focuses on understanding and addressing poverty through community-led solutions.
Her research has focused primarily on the effects of extreme poverty—particularly, housing and food insecurity—and the ways in which poverty’s systematic and disproportionate impacts contribute to health disparities.
Conceptualizing poverty as complex trauma that can have long lasting impacts beyond material deprivation, Dr. Pruitt’s work takes an ecological, multilevel approach, from investigating policy impacts to developing community interventions.
Contact Me
91-1001 Farrington Hwy, Kapolei, HI 96707
annars@hawaii.edu
(808) 689-2973
Areas of Expertise
Poverty, Housing, & Homelessness
Understanding the multilevel impacts of poverty on individuals and communities, particularly houseless communities.
Community-based Participatory Research
Implementing research with–not on–marginalized communities, often using innovative qualitative and quantitative methods.
Trauma & Health Disparities
Exploring the disparate impacts of poverty-related trauma on individuals’ and communities’ health and developing multilevel solutions to address these disparities.
