Kristina P. Brant, Ph.D.

Through mixed-methods, community-engaged research and the development of research-informed Extension programs, my scholarship aims to explore and support the health of two populations: rural communities and criminal-legal involved individuals and their families.

Research Interests

My core research program has two foci: I interrogate how substance use is experienced by family units, and I examine aspects of local risk environments that shape vulnerabilities to substance use-related harms and opportunities for recovery. I take a particular geographic focus on rural Pennsylvania and the broader Appalachian region. Current projects explore the impacts of broadband access on substance use harms in rural Appalachia, the impacts of climate change-related flooding on substance use harms in rural Appalachia, the impacts of the opioid settlement in Pennsylvania, and access to medications for opioid use disorder and harm reduction services in rural Pennsylvania. I am also currently engaged in a project examining a novel housing intervention for men who have recently been incarcerated for 10+ years.

In past work, I have also studied primary care access in rural Pennsylvania, emergency food access in rural Pennsylvania, people's utilization of social support networks, and the impacts of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. 

My work has been published in numerous sociology and substance use journals, such as American Sociological Review and International Journal of Drug Policy. My projects have been funded by USDA NIFA, NIH, NSF, and the Center for Rural Pennsylvania.

Extension Interests

Through my role as an Extension faculty member, I seek to help Extension educators and other service providers work with vulnerable populations, particularly people who use(d) drugs and kinship families, and I aim to support these populations directly and to reduce public stigma towards these populations through community-based education.

My Extension work is rooted in providing direction and support to two teams within the Food, Families, and Communities unit—the Relatives as Parents Program (RAPP) team and the Substance Use Education team. Current projects include the development of a curriculum for kinship caregiver support groups, the development of a recovery-friendly workplace initiative, and an exploration of how nutrition education and Master Gardener programs can support people who use(d) drugs and reduce community stigma.

My Extension work has been supported by the Extension Foundation.