Dr. Ruthbeth Finerman Professor and Department Chair E-mail: finerman@memphis.edu Phone: (901) 678-3334 Office: Manning Hall 316

Research Focus

Applied medical anthropology; family health and caregiving, human sexuality and childbirth; mental health; international health services delivery to immigrant, refugee, and minority populations; investigations of barriers to health services for immigrants and economically disadvantaged populations; indigenous and peasant populations in South and Central America.

Academic Summary 

Dr. Finerman received her PhD from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1985. She specializes in research and teaching in applied medical anthropology, focusing on family health and caregiving, international health services delivery, medical choice and change, human sexuality and childbirth, and mental health. She was a Fulbright Scholar in 1999 and has received The University of Memphis Outstanding Young Researcher Award, the Distinguished Teaching Award, and the Thomas Briggs Foundation Excellence in Teaching Award.

Dr. Finerman has more than 26 years of fieldwork experience among indigenous and peasant populations in South and Central America, including a 20-year longitudinal study of medical change in Andean Ecuador. She has served as consultant or technical advisor on health projects for the U.S. Agency for International Development and the World Health Organization. In Memphis, Dr. Finerman’s research focuses on health services delivery to immigrant, refugee, and minority populations. Her local projects include investigations of barriers to health services among Latino immigrants and economically disadvantaged populations, and training in cultural competency for the Memphis and Shelby County Health Department and other health providers. 

Recent Publications

Finerman, Ruthbeth. “WHO Cocaine Project: A Key Informant Study in 20 Countries.” Washington, DC: National Institute on Drug Abuse (waiting release clearance by US State Department).

Finerman, Ruthbeth. “Saraguro Health.” In Encyclopedia of Medical Anthropology, edited by M. and C. Ember, 937-947. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003.

Finerman, Ruthbeth, and Ross Sackett. “Using Home Gardens to Decipher Health and Healing in the Andes.” Medical Anthropology Quarterly 17, no. 4 (Dec 2003): 459-482.

Finerman, Ruthbeth. "Speaking of Health: How Medical Interpreters Filter and Experience Illness Narratives." In Understanding and Applying Medical Anthropology, second edition, edited by P. Brown. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield, 2003.

Finerman, Ruthbeth, C. Blanchard-Horan, S. Jowers, and S. Fossett. “The Dual Enrolled as a Disadvantaged Population: Developing Culturally Informed Interventions for Tennessee’s Medicaid/Medicare Women.” Journal of Health Care Administration 25, no. 3 (2002): 12-24.

Westermeyer, J., senior ed. and Ruthbeth Finerman, contributing ed. Cultural Psychiatry Lexicon for the ICD-10, 176-186. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization, 1997.

Finerman, Ruthbeth, and Linda Bennett, eds. "Guilt, Blame, and Shame: Responsibility in Health and Sickness.” Social Science and Medicine 40 (1995).

Finerman, Ruthbeth. “ ‘Parental Incompetence’ and ‘Selective Neglect’: Blaming the Victim in Child Survival.” Social Science and Medicine 40 (1995): 5-13.

Finerman, Ruthbeth. “Saraguro: Medical Choices, Medical Changes.” In Portraits of Culture: Ethnographic Originals, edited by M. Ember and D. Levinson, 23-59. New York: Prentice Hall, 1995.

Recent Policy Papers and Applied Reports

Mendoza, M., L. Burrell, R. Finerman, S. Redding, S. Schenk, and M. Campbell. En Memphis: Hablamos Juntos Needs Assessment. Boston, MA: Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, 2003.

Finerman, Ruthbeth. Disadvantaged Patient Population Study: Mammography Screening for Dual Enrolled Women in Three Tennessee Counties. Washington, DC: Health Care Finance Administration/ MSFMC, 2001.

Finerman, Ruthbeth. DASPRO: Mammography Screening for Dual Enrolled Women in Three Tennessee Counties. Memphis: Mid-South Foundation for Medical Care, 2001.

Access Project. Memphis CAMS Study: Barriers to Health Care Among Uninsured Latino Immigrants. Boston, MA: Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, 2000.

Finerman, Ruthbeth. DASPRO: Considerations for Hispanic Health Interventions. Memphis: Mid-South Foundation for Medical Care, 2000.

Finerman, Ruthbeth. WHO Cocaine Project: Key Informant Study International Report. Geneva: World Health Organization, 1995.

Research Projects

Finnerman, Ruthbeth (PI). Breastfeeding Disparities in Memphis. Urban Child Institute/MDSCHD, 2006.

Finerman, Ruthbeth (PI). Cultural Competency Training. Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, Memphis, TN, 2004.

Finerman, Ruthbeth (PI). Caring for Children from Other Cultures. Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, Memphis, TN, 2003.

Finerman, Ruthbeth (PI). “En Memphis: Hablamos Juntos.” Address Cultural and Language Barriers to Health Care for Latinos in Memphis. Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, Memphis, TN, 2003.

Scarinsci, I. (PI). “Cervical Cancer Among Latinas.” National Institutes of Health, 2002.

Finerman, Ruthbeth (PI). “Mammography Screening Among Dual Enrolled Women In Three Tennessee Counties.” Health Care Finance Administration (HCFA), 2000.

Finerman, Ruthbeth (PI). “Latino Barriers to Health Services.” Access Project: Latino-Memphis Connection (LMC), 2000.

Finerman, Ruthbeth (PI). Women’s Care & Family Health in Ecuador. Fulbright, 1999.

Finerman, Ruthbeth (PI). ADHD and Medication Use in Memphis Area Schools. Assisi Foundation, 1998.

Finerman, Ruthbeth (PI). Refugee and Immigrant Health Needs in Memphis. Assisi Foundation, 1998.

Awards

CAS Excellence in Teaching Award, The University of Memphis, 2005

Fulbright Scholar, Fulbright Foundation, 1999

Professional Development Award, The University of Memphis, 1999

Thomas Briggs Foundation Teaching Award, The University of Memphis, 1998

Distinguished Teaching Award, The University of Memphis, 1997

Early Career Research Award, The University of Memphis, 1990

Leadership Positions

Journal Editorial Board, Medical Anthropology Quarterly, Society for Medical Anthropology, 2002-Present

Membership Committee Co-Chair, Society for Applied Anthropology, 1995-1998.

Board of Directors, Society for Applied Anthropology, 2002-2005

SACS Accreditation Audit Committee, 2001-2004

Journal Editorial Board, Human Organization, Society for Applied Anthropology, 1999-2004

Advisory Board, Encyclopedia of Medical Anthropology, 2000-2003

Executive Board, Latino-Memphis Connection (LMC), 1999-2001

Publications Committee Chair, Society for Applied Anthropology, 1998-2001

Executive Committee, Society for Medical Anthropology, 1997-2001

Editor, Anthropology Newsletter: Society for Medical Anthropology, 1997-2001

Advisory Council, Latino-Memphis Connection (LMC), 1997-1999

Courses Taught at The University of Memphis