You are invited to participate in a research survey entitled “Normalizing mental health in forensic anthropology” intended to help better understand how forensic anthropology practitioners acknowledge or support their mental health and what aspects of their casework they may find personally triggering or stressful. The National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI; Ponte 2022) defines a trigger as an action or situation that can lead to an adverse emotional reaction. In the context of mental health, referring to triggers usually means something that has brought on or worsened mental health symptoms. Stress is a natural human response that prompts us to address challenges and helps us evaluate the safety and security of our surroundings (WHO 2023). Everyone experiences stress to some degree. While stressors are not intrinsically negative, they can be perceived as threatening or traumatic depending on our response. Stressful work-related content, experiences, and exposures can affect professionals’ overall well-being, at work and at home. This project aims to normalize and engage mental health discussions among forensic anthropology practitioners.

 

You will be asked about your professional experience with forensic anthropology, types of cases that are personally triggering, and how you manage work-related stress. Recalling these experiences may be triggering, however we hope the benefits of sharing professional experiences will outweigh any individual risk which we hope to be minimal.

 

There is no financial compensation for participation in this survey. However, your perspective may inform publications and/or conference presentations concerning normalizing mental health discussions among forensic anthropology practitioners. The survey will be available until September 15, 2024.  This survey, recruitment plans, and associated information for participation has been reviewed by the IRB (STU00220893) at Northwestern University. 

 

Participant criteria: 18 years of age and older who have worked with human skeletal remains in a medicolegal context either part-time, full-time, or as a part of coursework within the United States. 

 

Time commitment: Participants are invited to complete one online survey. The survey will take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete.

 

Right to Withdraw: Your participation in this study is entirely voluntary. You may choose not to participate without any adverse consequences to you. However, should you choose to participate and later wish to withdraw from the study, there is no way to identify your anonymous content after it has been submitted to the investigator unless you voluntarily provided this information. Intentionally identified contributions that later wish to be deleted will be done immediately upon contacting the PI.

Survey link: https://northwestern.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eDPfyf33en7DdAy

  • Katharine Pope

    FOUNDER

    Kat’s experience includes working as a Crime Scene Specialist for the Austin Police Department, a WWII casualty analyst for the Department of Defense Missing/POW Personnel Office, Forensic Anthropologist for DMORT Team II), and a Forensic Investigator in Texas, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware medical examiners’ offices. She now works for RTI International on the NamUs program. She has been happily alcohol free since February 2021!

    Kat lives with her husband and two kids in Salisbury, MD. She is the daughter of a firefighter and ER nurse (turned school nurse). She is the sister of a US Army veteran (retired) working as a medical librarian. She is the wife of a teacher.

    “I believe that public service is a calling. I want to help our fields become more accessible for students and professionals so we can do the job to the best of our ability.“

    BA, Colorado College in Psychology and Anthropology

    MA, Texas State University - San Marcos in Forensic Anthropology

    Registered, American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators

    Fellow, American Academy of Forensic Sciences Anthropology Section

    Chair, Board of Directors, Society of Forensic Anthropologists

  • Forensic Found's

    Manifesto

Applications of Forensic Science for Human Identification

Identifying unknown human remains requires the strategic use of investigative techniques and scientific methods. This includes utilizing various forensic methods to gather the decedent’s biometrics, collecting familial reference samples for comparison, and inputting available information into comprehensive databases to facilitate connections to cases nationwide and internationally. These efforts can help bring closure to families, identify victims of mass disasters, and find missing persons. Listen along as our guests detail techniques for human identification including forensic genetic genealogy, postmortem fingerprinting, forensic anthropology, and forensic art, as well as the application of comprehensive databases to casework.

 

Watch a clip from my interview with American Anthropological Association

“Death doesn't happen nine to five, Monday through Friday. It happens all of the time.” Katharine Pope is a death investigator and a forensic anthropologist with the State of Delaware's Division of Forensic Science. In determining the cause and manner of death, it is her job to ask the right questions, changing the tone and language to accommodate everyone from law enforcement officials to family members to doctors. “The good thing about an anthropology degree is that it provides you with a broad overview of human behavior. I do this job because it's respectful to the person and their family and helps provide the closure they need.”