Ramey Moore
anthropologist
Office of Community Health and Research
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Northwest
Bio
Hi! My name is Ramey Moore and I'm an anthropologist working on understanding health and belonging in as broad a way as possible. My past research has covered topics like environmental conservation, experiences of healthcare using telehealth, vaccine hesitancy and what helps overcome hesitancy, the economic and social effects of the pandemic on Marshallese Islanders in diaspora, among other topics!
My social science is about understanding the how and why of human behavior and I am committed to improving the world at every scale. I work to build the diverse and equitable world that we deserve.
New and Forthcoming Publications
"It's like not a very Marshallese way of life": Marshallese cultural resilience during COVID-19
This article, co-authored with Pearl A. McElfish and Sheldon Riklon argues that for Marshallese Islanders, living in the United States under the Compact of Free Association (1986), the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic are especially concerning due to strong cultural values for direct, face-to-face communication in informal settings, called talk story. The Marshallese have been deeply affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with infections, hospitalizations, and mortality rates that far exceed other populations in the United States. In this essay we explore Marshallese experiences during the pandemic, and creative resilience practiced by the community in meeting culturally important social needs through the use of telecommunication technologies. For the Marshallese, the COVID-19 pandemic’s social effects were most salient when discussing the rhythms of everyday life, including visiting neighbors, friends, elders, cultural celebrations, and sharing of food with others in their community. We argue that combining health research with nuanced culturally grounded perspectives allows us to see a more complete picture of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly for communities with historical traumas.
Ramey Moore, PhD
Office of Community Health and Research
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Northwest