Vicki Johnson-Lawrence talks to ABC News about the impact of the Flint Water Crisis. Her research embraces a health equity framework and examines ways in which the mental and physical health of residents in vulnerable communities are impacted by complex stressors. 

April 25, 2019

The Flint water crisis was traumatic for many residents, said Vicki Johnson-Lawrence, a social epidemiologist at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, who has worked with the city to survey residents to better understand the long-term impact of the crisis.

"They still have to figure out how to trust the community, the government, again after this is all happened. And that stands in the way of moving forward in other ways," she told ABC News. 

Johnson-Lawrence said the broader impact of the crisis could linger for generations. "I would say that we're moving in the direction of better but there's still a long way to go," she said. "And that's the hesitation in saying that things are OK or that they're better because they've improved. That doesn't make them good. It just makes them better."

Read more - Five years after the Flint water crisis.