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Elizabeth Wirtz

Purdue University, Anthropology, Faculty Member

Moi University, Anthropology and Human Ecology, Affiliated/Visiting Scholar

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Cultural anthropologist whose research focuses include: refugees/forced migration, reproductive/maternal health, fertility, sexual and gender based violence, structural violence, humanitarianism in development/relief, organizational anthropology, human centered design in technology and engineering, and STEM higher education.
Supervisors: Evelyn Blackwood, Sharon Williams, Ellen Gruenbaum, Riall Nolan, Elizabeth Briody, Ed Berger, and Sherylyn Briller
Address: Lafayette, IN, United States

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Swinburne University of Technology

Macquarie University

Kelly Dean Schwartz

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Suzette Brémault-Phillips

University of Alberta

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Papers by Elizabeth Wirtz

The Implementation of Measurement-Based Care in the Context of Telemedicine: Qualitative Study

JMIR Mental Health, 2022

Background: The Measurement Based Care in Mental Health Initiative launched by the Department of ... more Background: The Measurement Based Care in Mental Health Initiative launched by the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2016 is an example of an evidence-based practice that uses patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) to improve patient outcomes. The acceptance of measurement-based care (MBC) among Veterans Affairs providers is relatively high. However, there are barriers to MBC for telehealth providers. Health information technologies might afford opportunities to address some of the barriers related to the uptake of MBC.

Applying Anthropology to Gender-Based Violence

by Jennifer R Wies and Elizabeth Wirtz

Applying Anthropology to Gender-Based Violence: Global Responses, Local Practices addresses the ... more Applying Anthropology to Gender-Based Violence: Global Responses, Local Practices addresses the gaps in theory, methods, and practices that are currently used to engage the problem of gender-based violence. This book complements the work carried out in the legal, human services, and health fields by demonstrating how a focus on local issues and responses can better inform a collaborative global response to the problem of gender-based violence. With chapters covering Africa, Asia, Latin and North America, and Oceania, the volume illustrates the various ways scholars, practitioners, frontline workers, and policy makers can work together to end violence in their local communities. The chapters in this volume provide ample evidence that top-down responses to violence have been inadequate, and that solutions are available when the local historical, political, and social context is taken into consideration. Applying Anthropology to Gender-Based Violence contains useful insights that, when combined with the efforts of other disciplines, offer solutions to the problem of gender-based violence.

Ritual as Work Strategy: A Window into Organizational Culture

by Elizabeth Wirtz and Elizabeth Briody

Peers, the Internet, and Professors: Academic-help-seeking Behaviours Among Engineering Undergraduates

by Elizabeth Wirtz, Ryan Senkpeil, and G. Guruprasad

Reproductive Health

The concept of reproductive health addresses a wide variety of topics regarding human sexual and ... more The concept of reproductive health addresses a wide variety of topics regarding human sexual and reproductive functions spanning the life course from conception to death. Reproductive health is best understood when viewed through the intersecting nature of biological, medical, social, and economic factors. Because reproduction is a politically charged topic, intense debates exist around causes of reproductive health inequalities and how to address them. Contemporary focuses on reproductive health address pressing issues of reproductive morbidity and mortality in an effort to improve global reproductive health and secure reproductive rights for all.

Population Control and Population Policy

Population control is the practice of artificially altering the demographic composition of a give... more Population control is the practice of artificially altering the demographic composition of a given populace through policies targeting fertility, emigration, and/or immigration. Recently, population control has come to refer to efforts to curtail global population growth. Some argue that population growth is a major contributor to issues like environmental degradation, resource scarcity, and poverty, and thus population growth needs to be curtailed. Conversely, others argue that there is a dearth of data to substantiate these claims and that such intense focus on reducing population growth detracts from the genuine causes of the aforementioned issues and can lead to human rights abuses. Further research is needed to interrogate the causes and effects of population dynamics.

Designing for People

Bureaucratic Bindings: Refugee Resettlement and Intimate Partner Abuse

Female Genital Cutting Debates

by Elizabeth Wirtz and Ellen Gruenbaum

The Clash and Clout of Faith: Refugee Aid in Ghana and Kenya

Conference Presentations by Elizabeth Wirtz

Putting ‘Gender’ back into Gender-Based Violence: Gendered Structural Violence Against Refugee Men as a Catalyst for Violence Against Women

Within current praxes of many humanitarian organizations, gender-based violence (GBV) has become ... more Within current praxes of many humanitarian organizations, gender-based violence (GBV) has become synonymous with violence against women (VAW). The decentralization of the gendered nature of certain types of violence obfuscates the ways in which gender roles and gendered interactions create and maintain systems of violence and abuse. Using ethnographic data from Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya, this paper examines the ways in which forms of gendered structural violence against men fosters conditions for physical GBV against women. I argue that no intervention aimed toward alleviating VAW will be successful without taking into account the interconnection between gender roles and GBV against men.

Books by Elizabeth Wirtz

Applying Anthropology to Gender-Based Violence

by Melissa Beske, Karin Friederic, Rebecka Lundgren, Kimberly Ashburn, April Petillo, Ph.D., and Elizabeth Wirtz

Applying Anthropology to Gender-Based Violence: Global Responses, Local Practices addresses the g... more Applying Anthropology to Gender-Based Violence: Global Responses, Local Practices addresses the gaps in theory, methods, and practices that are currently used to engage the problem of gender-based violence. This book complements the work carried out in the legal, social work, and medical fields by demonstrating how a focus on local issues and local responses can better inform a collaborative global response to the problem of gender-based violence. With chapters covering Africa, Asia, Latin and North America, and Oceania, it provides ample evidence that richly textured and qualitatively informed research can illuminate work that is more quantitative in scope. The volume illustrates the various ways scholars, practitioners, frontline workers, and policy makers can work together to end forms of violence in their local communities. The chapters in this volume demonstrate that the ways top-down responses to violence have been inadequate, and that solutions are available when the local historical, political, and social context is taken into consideration. Applying Anthropology to Gender-Based Violence contains useful insights that, when combined with the efforts of other disciplines, offer solutions to the problem of gender-based violence.

Public Engagement and Writings by Elizabeth Wirtz

A Response to #MeToo Meets Global Health: A Call to Action

Medical Anthropology Quarterly: International Journal for the Analysis of Health (Critical Care Blog), 2019

French Election a Step for Justice for Refugees, but Entrenched Inequalities Remain

To Strike or Not to Strike?: Contemplating Feminist Action on International Women’s Day

Talks by Elizabeth Wirtz

Banning Traditional Birth Attendants: Obstetric Violence and Maternal Health in Kakuma Refugee Camp

Mississippi State University. Invited Lecture., 2019

Queering the NGO/State Binary: On Governing Stateless Peoples

Northern Illinois University. Research Colloquia Series. Philanthropy Reimagined, 2019

The Implementation of Measurement-Based Care in the Context of Telemedicine: Qualitative Study

JMIR Mental Health, 2022

Background: The Measurement Based Care in Mental Health Initiative launched by the Department of ... more Background: The Measurement Based Care in Mental Health Initiative launched by the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2016 is an example of an evidence-based practice that uses patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) to improve patient outcomes. The acceptance of measurement-based care (MBC) among Veterans Affairs providers is relatively high. However, there are barriers to MBC for telehealth providers. Health information technologies might afford opportunities to address some of the barriers related to the uptake of MBC.

Applying Anthropology to Gender-Based Violence

by Jennifer R Wies and Elizabeth Wirtz

Applying Anthropology to Gender-Based Violence: Global Responses, Local Practices addresses the ... more Applying Anthropology to Gender-Based Violence: Global Responses, Local Practices addresses the gaps in theory, methods, and practices that are currently used to engage the problem of gender-based violence. This book complements the work carried out in the legal, human services, and health fields by demonstrating how a focus on local issues and responses can better inform a collaborative global response to the problem of gender-based violence. With chapters covering Africa, Asia, Latin and North America, and Oceania, the volume illustrates the various ways scholars, practitioners, frontline workers, and policy makers can work together to end violence in their local communities. The chapters in this volume provide ample evidence that top-down responses to violence have been inadequate, and that solutions are available when the local historical, political, and social context is taken into consideration. Applying Anthropology to Gender-Based Violence contains useful insights that, when combined with the efforts of other disciplines, offer solutions to the problem of gender-based violence.

Ritual as Work Strategy: A Window into Organizational Culture

by Elizabeth Wirtz and Elizabeth Briody

Peers, the Internet, and Professors: Academic-help-seeking Behaviours Among Engineering Undergraduates

by Elizabeth Wirtz, Ryan Senkpeil, and G. Guruprasad

Reproductive Health

The concept of reproductive health addresses a wide variety of topics regarding human sexual and ... more The concept of reproductive health addresses a wide variety of topics regarding human sexual and reproductive functions spanning the life course from conception to death. Reproductive health is best understood when viewed through the intersecting nature of biological, medical, social, and economic factors. Because reproduction is a politically charged topic, intense debates exist around causes of reproductive health inequalities and how to address them. Contemporary focuses on reproductive health address pressing issues of reproductive morbidity and mortality in an effort to improve global reproductive health and secure reproductive rights for all.

Population Control and Population Policy

Population control is the practice of artificially altering the demographic composition of a give... more Population control is the practice of artificially altering the demographic composition of a given populace through policies targeting fertility, emigration, and/or immigration. Recently, population control has come to refer to efforts to curtail global population growth. Some argue that population growth is a major contributor to issues like environmental degradation, resource scarcity, and poverty, and thus population growth needs to be curtailed. Conversely, others argue that there is a dearth of data to substantiate these claims and that such intense focus on reducing population growth detracts from the genuine causes of the aforementioned issues and can lead to human rights abuses. Further research is needed to interrogate the causes and effects of population dynamics.

Designing for People

Bureaucratic Bindings: Refugee Resettlement and Intimate Partner Abuse

Female Genital Cutting Debates

by Elizabeth Wirtz and Ellen Gruenbaum

The Clash and Clout of Faith: Refugee Aid in Ghana and Kenya

Putting ‘Gender’ back into Gender-Based Violence: Gendered Structural Violence Against Refugee Men as a Catalyst for Violence Against Women

Within current praxes of many humanitarian organizations, gender-based violence (GBV) has become ... more Within current praxes of many humanitarian organizations, gender-based violence (GBV) has become synonymous with violence against women (VAW). The decentralization of the gendered nature of certain types of violence obfuscates the ways in which gender roles and gendered interactions create and maintain systems of violence and abuse. Using ethnographic data from Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya, this paper examines the ways in which forms of gendered structural violence against men fosters conditions for physical GBV against women. I argue that no intervention aimed toward alleviating VAW will be successful without taking into account the interconnection between gender roles and GBV against men.

Applying Anthropology to Gender-Based Violence

by Melissa Beske, Karin Friederic, Rebecka Lundgren, Kimberly Ashburn, April Petillo, Ph.D., and Elizabeth Wirtz

Applying Anthropology to Gender-Based Violence: Global Responses, Local Practices addresses the g... more Applying Anthropology to Gender-Based Violence: Global Responses, Local Practices addresses the gaps in theory, methods, and practices that are currently used to engage the problem of gender-based violence. This book complements the work carried out in the legal, social work, and medical fields by demonstrating how a focus on local issues and local responses can better inform a collaborative global response to the problem of gender-based violence. With chapters covering Africa, Asia, Latin and North America, and Oceania, it provides ample evidence that richly textured and qualitatively informed research can illuminate work that is more quantitative in scope. The volume illustrates the various ways scholars, practitioners, frontline workers, and policy makers can work together to end forms of violence in their local communities. The chapters in this volume demonstrate that the ways top-down responses to violence have been inadequate, and that solutions are available when the local historical, political, and social context is taken into consideration. Applying Anthropology to Gender-Based Violence contains useful insights that, when combined with the efforts of other disciplines, offer solutions to the problem of gender-based violence.

A Response to #MeToo Meets Global Health: A Call to Action

Medical Anthropology Quarterly: International Journal for the Analysis of Health (Critical Care Blog), 2019

French Election a Step for Justice for Refugees, but Entrenched Inequalities Remain

To Strike or Not to Strike?: Contemplating Feminist Action on International Women’s Day

Banning Traditional Birth Attendants: Obstetric Violence and Maternal Health in Kakuma Refugee Camp

Mississippi State University. Invited Lecture., 2019

Queering the NGO/State Binary: On Governing Stateless Peoples

Northern Illinois University. Research Colloquia Series. Philanthropy Reimagined, 2019