Sue E Estroff

Sue E Estroff is a Professor in Social Medicine and Research Professor in Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. With a PhD in Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, she combines ethnographic methods and psychiatric research to analyze social determinants of mental health outcomes, disability systems, and ethical challenges in clinical practice.

• Education: BA (1972), Duke University; MA (1975), PhD (1978), Anthropology, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Her research examines how social structures and identities shape recovery trajectories for individuals with severe psychiatric disorders, including studies funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) on Social Security Disability Income and the RAISE early intervention initiative for schizophrenia. She also investigates therapeutic misconception in clinical trials, particularly in prenatal care, and advocates for structural competency and anti-racist frameworks in medical education.

Key trends in her publications (2018–2023) include:

• First-episode psychosis treatment models (NAVIGATE, RAISE)
• Structural racism and equity in healthcare
• Ethical dilemmas in informed consent and end-of-life care
• Medical humanities and narrative medicine
• Disability systems and social determinants of health
• Clinical research ethics and policy controversies

She co-edits The Social Medicine Reader series and serves on doctoral committees in Anthropology. Her teaching focuses on social and health systems, medical ethics, and structural competency for medical students, while her service includes board roles at Club Nova and Threshold Psychosocial Clubhouse, supporting mental health peer networks.