We work to understand social and cultural determinants of health and apply evidence-based strategies to improve well-being.
Health
Do Cultures Differ In Approaches To Public Health?
Why did some countries have fewer pandemic-related deaths than others? With an international team of collaborators and the Culture and Emotion Lab, SPARQ synthesized decades of research in social and cultural psychology to analyze how different ‘cultural defaults’—the shared, commonsense ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving in particular contexts—led lay people and experts to interpret and respond to the global crisis differently. Read the research on cultural defaults and applications for public health.
Same Medicine, Different Outcome?
Can patients' perceptions of their doctors affect their physical response to medical treatment? Since research shows that most people picture a White man when they think of a doctor, how might patients respond if their doctor is a woman or person of color? Together with the Mind & Body Lab, SPARQ found that, when receiving identical treatment, White patients had a less positive response to Black and women providers. Check out the research.
Can Changing Your Mindset Improve Your Health?
The U.S. ranks #1 in the world in per capita health care spending, but in the bottom half of wealthy nations in many health outcomes. With funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, SPARQ and collaborators are creating interventions to improve well-being by changing how people think about health. With the Mind & Body Lab, SPARQ created two toolkits: Edgy Veggies, to increase consumption of healthy foods by changing the ways they are described; and Rethinking Stress, to teach strategies for reevaluating stress, which can help improve work performance, mental health, and physical health. Read the research about health mindsets and how American cultural mindsets can help or hinder people’s health.
What Encourages Bone Marrow Donation?
Many charitable organizations working to recruit bone marrow donors face a common challenge: how can people be motivated to follow through on donation? In a large-scale field experiment with a donor recruitment organization and collaborators, SPARQ is partnering to improve the conversion of registrants who "match" patients from mere matches to actual donors. This project is in honor of SPARQ’s co-founder, the late Dr. Nalini Ambady. Read more about her and our story.