Office: Dale Hall Tower 510A // 5 Partners Place 4123
Email: lori.jervis@ou.edu
Education: Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 1998
Other Website(s): Lori's Website
Dr. Jervis is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology and a Co-Director of the Center for Applied Social Research at the University of Oklahoma. A medical anthropologist, gerontologist, and anthrozoologist, she works at the intersection of culture, health, and rurality. She strives to conduct research that is community engaged and collaborative. For over 20 years, Dr. Jervis has worked with tribal members on issues affecting the health of their communities, with projects focused on cognitive and psychiatric disorders; elder mistreatment; and end-of-life care. Dr. Jervis is keenly interested in rural health inequities, with recent projects examining the food environment in a rural tribal context and vaccine hesitancy in Oklahoma. Dr. Jervis’ anthrozoological research focuses largely on human-canine relationships, with projects on free-roaming dogs in a tribal community and on cross-state companion animal rescue networks.
Oklahoma Animal Transport Study
The goal of this study is to collect information on the number of shelter animals that Oklahoma transports out of state, and to better understand the organization, benefits, and challenges of transport work. To date, we’ve interviewed 64 people who work in animal rescue and conducted observations of transport and rescue work in action. For transport counts, we combined numbers directly from animal welfare organizations with secondary data sets and state heath certificate records.
What we have found is astounding. For 2022, we estimate that nearly 40% of adoptable shelter animals in Oklahoma were transported out of state. Transport saves lives but we’re a long way from solving the overpopulation problem if that many animals must be relocated out of state to find homes. And it is not just the animals who suffer. Transport and rescue under these conditions takes a heavy toll on the people doing the hard work of animal rescue. Read the full 6-page report here.
Jervis, L. L., Bray, L. A., Cox, D. W., TallBull, G., Lowery, B. C., and Spicer, P. (2022). Food environments and gut microbiome health: Availability of healthy foods, alcohol, and tobacco in a rural Oklahoma tribal community. Discover Food 2 (20). https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.ou.edu/10.1007/s44187-022-00020-w
Bray, L. A., Porter, O., Kim, A., Jervis, L. L. (2022). Collective health behavior and face mask utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic in Oklahoma. Journal of Public Health. https://academic.oup.com/jpubhealth/advance-article/doi/10.1093/pubmed/fdac007/6563411
Jervis, L. L., Spicer, P., Foster, W. C., Kelly, J., and Bridge, E. (2019). Resisting extinction: Purple Martins, death, and the future. Conservation & Society 17(3):227-235. https://www.conservationandsociety.org.in//text.asp?2019/17/3/227/254984
Jervis, L. L., Warren, D., Salois, E. M., Tallbull, G., Ketchum, S., and Spicer, P. (2018). Protectors, aggressors, and kinfolk: Dogs in a tribal community. Anthrozoos 31(3):297-308. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08927936.2018.1455452
Jervis, L. L., Cullum, C. M, Cox, D., and Manson, S. M. (2018). Dementia Assessment in American Indians. In G. Yeo, L. A. Gerdner, and D. Gallagher-Thompson (Eds.), Ethnicity and the Dementias, Third Edition (pp. 108-123). New York: Routledge.
Cox, D. W. II., and Jervis, L. L. (2018). American Indian perspectives, challenges, and approaches to elder abuse. In P. B. Teaster and J. E. Hall (Eds.), Elder Abuse and the Public's Health (pp. 93-124). New York: Springer Publishing Company.
Jervis, L. L., Sconzert-Hall, W., and the Shielding American Indian Elders Project Team. (2017). The conceptualization of mistreatment by older American Indians. Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect 29(1):43-58. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08946566.2016.1249816
