Equity-Centered Approaches to Artificial Intelligence in Community-Based Health Care

Academic Mentor | Catalina Alzate
Community Partner | CUPHD, Great Start Program

Project Description
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly shaping how health services are designed, delivered, and managed, including in community-based and out-of-clinic care settings. At the same time, care work often takes place within fragmented and unequal systems, raising critical questions about how emerging technologies may reinforce or challenge existing social, economic, and environmental inequities.

This project investigates how AI is currently influencing community-based health delivery models, with a particular focus on maternal health and doula work. Rather than promoting AI adoption, the research takes a justice- and equity-centered approach, critically examining how AI technologies affect care providers, program coordinators, and the communities they serve.

Working closely with health providers and program staff at the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District, the project combines literature review, case studies, and community-informed inquiry to understand how AI intersects with daily care practices. A second component of the project brings together community and campus stakeholders in a speculative workshop to imagine future AI scenarios rooted in principles of health equity and social justice. Together, these efforts aim to generate critical insight into the role of AI in community health systems and to expand dialogue across disciplines and communities.

Role of the Community-Academic Scholar:
The Community-Academic Scholar will join an ongoing research effort within the Critical Anatomies Lab and contribute to multiple phases of the project. Early in the summer, the scholar will conduct literature reviews and support the development of a written report examining AI in community health contexts, including focused sections on maternal health and doula work.

Alongside written research, the scholar will help synthesize findings into visual research artifacts—such as diagrams, timelines, or maps—to support both internal analysis and public-facing outputs. Building on this foundation, the scholar will assist with the design and preparation of participatory sessions with community partners, including developing workshop materials, prompts, and facilitation tools.

In the later phase of the project, the scholar will contribute to mapping networks of stakeholders to identify relationships, power dynamics, and potential points of intervention. The scholar will also support planning and facilitation of a multi-stakeholder speculative design workshop and assist with documentation, thematic analysis, and dissemination of findings. Through this role, the scholar will gain experience in interdisciplinary research, critical analysis of emerging technologies, and community-engaged design practices.