MEASURE Lab

Multilevel Epidemiologic Assessment of Substance Use, Resilience, and Emotional Well-Being

Led by Dr. Rachel Hoopsick, the MEASURE Lab applies rigorous epidemiologic methods and a multilevel framework to study substance use and mental health among populations facing high-stress occupations and life circumstances. Our work seeks to understand the complex, multilevel factors that shape risk, resilience, and well-being, with the goal of generating evidence to inform effective prevention, intervention, and policy strategies.

Our Epidemiologic Approach

The MEASURE Lab uses epidemiologic methods to examine patterns, causes, and consequences of substance use and mental health outcomes at the population level. We focus on understanding how health-related behaviors and outcomes are distributed across groups and over time, and how these patterns reflect broader social and structural conditions.

Our work emphasizes rigorous study design and quantitative methods to investigate how individual experiences intersect with interpersonal, occupational, community, and policy contexts. By taking a population-based approach, we aim to move beyond individual-level explanations and generate evidence that can inform prevention, intervention, and policy efforts targeting behavioral health in high-stress contexts.

Our Multilevel Framework

The MEASURE Lab uses a multilevel framework informed by the Social Ecological Model and ecosocial theory to examine how substance use and mental health are shaped by social, organizational, and structural contexts. Rather than centering health behaviors solely at the individual level, our work emphasizes how risk and resilience are patterned by the conditions in which people live, work, and interact.

From this perspective, health outcomes are influenced by interconnected levels of context, including interpersonal relationships, workplace and institutional environments, community conditions, and broader social, economic, and policy systems. These levels interact over time to shape exposure to stressors, access to resources, and opportunities for well-being.

Ecosocial theory directs attention to the ways historical, political, and institutional forces organize these contexts and distribute risk and protection unevenly across populations. This approach highlights how social inequities, occupational conditions, and policy environments contribute to population-level patterns of substance use and emotional well-being.

By integrating ecological and ecosocial perspectives, the MEASURE Lab focuses on identifying leverage points beyond the individual, including organizational, community, and policy-level strategies that can support prevention and promote health.