The populations Danelle Stevens-Watkins, Ph.D., seeks to help are often difficult to reach. It is a common predicament in health disparity research. 

One of her latest projects at the University of Kentucky requires asking Black Americans who use opioids to talk about their lives. Opening up is risky. 

“For women, they are afraid of losing custody of their children. For men, they often question whether they want to draw attention to themselves, given the criminalization of addiction,” said Stevens-Watkins, a professor of counseling psychology in the UK College of Education and UK’s associate vice president for research in diversity and inclusion