Austin Duncan Brings Disability Centered Lens to Health Research

Austin Duncan is a disability anthropologist, a “relatively new and scrappy group of medical and sociocultural anthropologists” who study disability from an anthropological perspective. He is also a medical anthropologist who studies “health and medicine across cultures and within our own culture, and how social forces interact with and make up health outcomes.” Duncan joined the College of Health in 2024 as an assistant professor of disability independence and brings a unique perspective to health. 

Duncan challenges the assumption that disability is inherently a health issue, though he says it can be. “If you don’t take disability into account when doing health work, you are going to make things worse,” he said. “Somebody who is paraplegic and uses a wheelchair to get around does not have a health problem. They have a bodily condition that is different from a socially circumscribed norm, but they don’t have a medical problem.”

“The medical problem comes when they’re not given appropriate access to medical care, or they’re treated in a bad way,” he added. “Or, they have other factors that are imposed on them because of society’s lack of accommodation and respect for the disability that makes health problems exist.”

As the survivor of a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) in 2003, Duncan brings lived experience to his work. Through his research in disability anthropology, he shows that the disability of TBI is not so much in the injury itself or in the injury’s aftermath, but in what happens when other people refuse to accept and accommodate the residual effects of the injury. This happens when significant others interact with the survivor and make these responses into disabling conditions or not based on the context, he said.

In partnership with the community, Duncan’s current research is taking a look at the built environment in the Lehigh Valley and how it does or does not accommodate disability. The “built environment” refers to the ways in which we build the area around us, including trails, roads, or sidewalks, along with buildings and public spaces. Together with colleagues and students in the architecture and psychology departments at Lehigh’s College of Arts and Sciences, he is identifying places that help disabled people to thrive personally and socially. Duncan says that, according to NSF and disability research, social isolation is an enormous problem for the health and wellbeing of the disabled, and providing access to spaces that facilitate social interactions will lead to healthier lives.

Through workshops with disabled individuals as part of his research, he has learned that many find the Lehigh Valley to be particularly inaccessible and do not feel safe leaving their homes. As a personal and real example of inaccessibility, Duncan shared that he continues to have balance problems following his traumatic brain injury, which can impact his commute.

“Bethlehem sidewalks can be particularly tricky and even hazardous to navigate, especially a hilly stretch along busy Third Avenue that is almost completely blocked in the summertime with an overgrown bush,” he shared. “If it rained, or if it's wet, that means I get soaked. Or I very awkwardly maneuver myself around it, which is extremely dangerous for me, given the cars going fairly quickly up the hill there. So I do not ever use that road or walk to work when there are any sort of adverse conditions.” 

This summer, Duncan is working with Good Shepherd Rehabilitation, a COH partner in the area of disability health equity. The collaboration with Lehigh reflects a broader, university-level partnership aimed at advancing research, education, and innovation in rehabilitation and population health. They are conducting a Community Health Needs Assessment to assess the needs of adults and children with autism and other neurodivergent conditions.

“Through the CHNA, we are seeking to better understand the needs, interests and behaviors of this community, as an organization focused on serving people with disabilities,” said Carry Gerber, Good Shepherd Vice President of Marketing and Advancement. “Understanding these needs will help Good Shepherd to develop and improve the treatments and services we provide in our communities.”

The survey was sent to individuals who identify as neurodivergent, families and caregivers of these individuals, as well as clinicians. Duncan emphasized the importance of hearing directly from neurodivergent individuals in this research.

To date, about 120 surveys have been completed. The team includes Rebecca Chang, a graduate student in the College of Education, as well as Michael Gusmano, a fellow COH professor who will conduct secondary data analysis. The final report will be submitted to Good Shepherd in August.

“Just like with my brain injury, there’s no way to cure brain damage,” he said. “I want us to focus this needs assessment on how best we can address the real issues and problems that we have in our lives. They’re not necessarily the same thing as our neurodivergent conditions. I don’t want treatment for brain injury to focus on healing the damaged brain. I want to focus on how we help individuals with damaged brains move better in the world.”

He also stressed the importance of determining how to help these individuals live with society and how to help society live with these individuals.