Criminal legal systems and policies
Collateral consequences of criminalization
Drug policy and harm reduction
Behavioral health
Public Health Social Work
Qualitative Research
She / Her / Hers / Herself
Assistant Professor
Research & Practice Interests
Education
PhD Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
Master of Public Health, University of Pennsylvania
Master of Social Work, University of Pennsylvania
Bachelor of Arts, Community Health, Brown University
Publications
- “It's almost a life and death sentence”: Stakeholder perspectives on determinants of substance use risks and treatment access for individuals convicted of sexual offenses
- Associations Between Gender and Sexuality Characteristics of Cisgender Bisexual Women and Risk of Sexual Assault
- Maintaining disorder: estimating the association between policing and psychiatric hospitalization among youth in New York City by neighborhood racial composition, 2006–2014
- Police officer Perspectives on a Pre-booking Diversion Program for People who use Drugs in Philadelphia
- Resident Perspectives on a Pre-booking Diversion Program
Biography
Dr. Ruth Shefner is a social and behavioral health scholar who uses community-engaged public health research methodology grounded in social theory and social work practice. Dr. Shefner holds a PhD in sociomedical sciences from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, a Master of Public Health and a Master of Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania, and a bachelor’s degree in Community Health from Brown University. Her research explores the harmful health impacts of hyper criminalization, challenges involved with using criminal legal tools to address behavioral health and social issues, and opportunities for intervention and policy development. Her dissertation research explored the substance use related collateral consequences of sex offender registration and notification policies, and was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
Prior to her doctoral training, Dr. Shefner was the Director of the Goldring Reentry Initiative, a reentry program housed at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice that worked with individuals transitioning out of Philadelphia’s county jails. In this role, Dr. Shefner trained social work students to work in criminal legal settings, and developed strong working and research relationships with stakeholders across Philadelphia’s criminal legal system, including the courts, jails, probation and parole, and social service providers. This work also informed her research interests in how the effects of hyper criminalization intersect with social and health vulnerability. Her current research agenda integrates this practice experience with social theory and public health methods.