Kansas Health Institute | Information For Policy Makers. Health for Kansans.

Caitlin McMurtry, analyst, supports the Unified Government of Kansas City, Kan., and Wyandotte County’s public health department as program coordinator for the Healthy Communities Wyandotte (HCW) coalition. Her work aims to determine the best strategies for mobilizing action toward health improvement in five main areas: communication, education, infrastructure, nutrition and health services. McMurtry and HCW collaborate nationally and locally to integrate evidence-based practice and community-based participatory research principles into coalition work. Prior to joining KHI, McMurtry earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and anthropology from Carleton College, where she wrote her senior thesis on adolescent mental health, social cohesion and risk behaviors in economically stressed urban environments. While in college, McMurtry conducted field work in Mobile, Ala., as part of a research study of poverty and public health.