Hanna's research investigates how gentrification, displacement, and unequal incarceration rates across neighborhoods impact community health, with a focus on people who identify as women. Her experiences in a rapidly changing urban environment in her hometown of Oakland, California, have profoundly influenced her research interests and commitment to community-engaged scholarship.
Central to Hanna's work is the use of photovoice. Her research has focused on using photovoice to explore the barriers to reentry for people who identify as women post-incarceration, Black women's mental health in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, and assessing structural racism's influence on Black youth well-being. Through these collaborative research efforts, Hanna ensures that those most affected by these issues are co-creators throughout the research process.
Before entering the PhD program, Hanna honed her skills in policy analysis, data visualization, and health communication strategy over five years at the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF).
• Health equity
• Mass incarceration
• Housing policy and placed-based inequities
• Community-based participatory research
• Photovoice
• Qualitative and mixed-methods research