Faculty Member

Juliet McMullin
(Assistant Professor, Ph.D. 1999 University of California Irvine)
Office: 1344 Watkins Hall
Phone: (951) 827-2758
E-mail: juliet.mcmullin@ucr.edu

Dr. McMullin specializes in medical anthropology with an emphasis in health inequalities and the interaction between concepts of health and cultural identity. The central focus of her research is understanding how the pursuit of health, as both a highly individual practice and as embedded in the particulars of history and social structure, influences cultural identity. She has worked with Pacific Islanders and Latinos in the United States. Her research with Native Hawaiians examined health concepts as a symbol of a Native Hawaiian cultural identity and a critique of notions of health as simply the absence of disease. This research found that understandings of health are intimately connected with land, family and Native Hawaiian ancestors. As such, practicing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle includes the ability to integrate these aspects of health and well-being, which extends far beyond seeking biomedical care or eating a proper diet. She has also conducted research with physicians, Latinas and Pacific Islanders on their health practices, and understandings of cancer prevention and survivorship. One of her projects was with a Tongan community based organization in the San Francisco Bay area, focusing on Tongan understandings of cancer and cancer screening practices. The primary goal of the project was to train interested community members in the research process. The data gathered from the project will serve as a baseline for understanding the barriers faced by Tongans in acquiring health care, the role of health in their identity as Tongans, and for developing programs to increase use of cancer screening services in the Tongan community.  As a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the NCI funded project, Weaving an Islander Network for Cancer Awareness, Research, and Training (WINCART), Dr. McMullin will continue her efforts with Pacific Island communities. The second on-going project was conducted in Orange County, CA and examines Latina cervical cancer survivors’ experiences with the illness, inequalities experienced in obtaining diagnosis as well as how it has affected their experience of well-being. One of Dr. McMullin’s recent activities, is the co-leadership of a School of American Research Advanced Seminar which examined anthropologist’s efforts at understanding the cancer experience and strengthening advocacy efforts within the communities that the researcher’s work with. She received her Ph.D. in 1999 from UCI and holds a concurrent position with the Department of Medicine at UCI.

Selected publications:

McMullin JM, Chavez LR, DeAlba I, Hubbell FA. Influence and beliefs about cervical cancer etiology on pap smear use among Latina immigrants. Ethnicity and Health. 2005 1:3-18

McMullin JM, The Call to Life: Revitalizing a Healthy Hawaiian Identity. Social Science and Medicine. 2005; 61:809-820

De Alba, I, FA Hubbell, JM McMullin, J Sweningson, R Saitz. Impact of US Citizenship Status on Cancer Screening Among Immigrant Women. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2005; 20:290-296

Chavez LR, Hubbell FA, McMullin JM, Martinez RG, Mishra SI. Structure and Meaning in Models of Breast and Cervical Cancer Risk Factors: A Comparison of Perceptions Among Latinas, Anglo Women and Physicians. Medical Anthropology Quarterly 1995; 9:40-74.

McMullin JM, Chavez LR, Hubbell FA. Knowledge, Power and Experience: Variation in Physicians Perceptions of Breast Cancer Risk Factors. Medical Anthropology 1996; 16:295-317.

Chavez LR, McMullinJM, Mishra SI, Hubbell FA. Beliefs Matter: Cultural Beliefs and the Use of Cervical Cancer Screening Tests. American Anthropologist 2001; 103:1-16.

Smith CS, M Morris, W. Hill, C Francovich, J McMullin, L Chavez, C. Rhoads. Cultural Consensus Analysis as a Tool for Clinic Improvement. Journal of General and Internal Medicine 2004; 19:514-518.