Research

I, and my research journey, are dedicated to unraveling the intricate intersections of social beings, behavioral choices, ecological circumstance, embodied freedom, and health promotion through sociological perspectives on physical activity (PA) on a global scale. By ‘unraveling’, I don’t mean to say that I have hidden superpowers and can achieve the impossible. Instead, I mean that, if I’m lucky, I’ll find a few connections, illuminate associations, and simultaneously alchemize academic jargon into that might help some people out.  My work centers communities that self-identify along the LGBTQIA+ spectrum, and particularly those who I have greater access to (gay men) and those who experience increased barriers to PA (transgender youth and queer people of color).

Health, by my esoteric definition, is the relative embodiment of freedom. When I feel healthy, I feel free. When I feel free, I feel at home. When I feel at home, I know I am safe: regulated, clear-minded, connected, and ‘whole’. My life, like all others, has been a gloriously wired manifestation of love and experiences, all of which are marked by the inclusion of sorrow, heartache, loss, and grief. It is health promoting behavior – social, physical, emotional, and spiritual behavioral actions that have allowed me to facet such narrative artifacts to highlight the beauty of this life, relying not only on the sorrow of this life. A large part of my lapidarist dreams and internal reality is shaped by my positionality and innate belief that that when we connect, recognize, observe, analyze, and address health access and promotion, we collectively inch closer to unity, closer to freedom, closer to home, and closer to safety.

Included in this process of health promotion is my long-term, and ever-deepening practice of internal truth telling and conscious alignment with people, places, thought processes, and all other endeavors. I have chosen to pursue my doctorate in behavioral health sciences in complete alignment because I realized that I am capable. Then, after overcoming such a self-imposed barrier, I realized I can use my capabilities to uplift my embodied freedom, while helping others find, achieve, maintain, and often re-find theirs through methodological research and subsequent and actionable instigation of meaningful change. Beyond this, I understand that this opportunity will continue to open doors for me to access personal desires that I’ve identified are vital to my wellbeing, including professional flexibility, economic mobility, and sustainable learning habits that promote my health and the health of my cherished communities and loved ones. More deeply, my chosen discipline will continue to illuminate all that I am fascinated by, including how our social nature affects our individual behavior and how our behaviors create meaningful ripples through and beyond everything and everyone we interact with.

To investigate these complex systems and the ways in which they move, hold, and adjust one another, my ever-evolving academic pursuits center around themes within social justice, physical activity, and positive health outcomes, and include a primarily ‘critical paradigm’ thinking approach aimed at understanding the powers and structures that influence queer communities. Currently, my research themes include:

Access to leisure time physical activity (LTPA): I am deeply committed to understanding opportunities for physical activity within queer communities worldwide. I am particularly interested in social-ecological influences on access to retreat and luxury spaces that center LTPA to shed light on the systemic, social, behavioral, and cultural factors that impact such access and its subsequent effects on mental and physical well-being, social belonging, sustainability, and healing.

Modalities: By better understanding access, I aim to understand how we can then bolster healing modalities within such spaces through collective narratives and qualitative data collection. I will continue to explore the nuances of language, class styles, teaching styles, and other elements of group LTPA to better understand and craft movement modalities that leave a lasting and positive impact on its participants. I am also fascinated by themes of consistency, variety, body relations, and joy, all of which I believe may contribute in some undiscovered way(s) to sustainable LTPA engagement, leading to embodied freedom. Within this realm, I am also interested in Westernized yoga and embodiment practices, and I plan to critically examine how ancient wellness practices are adapted and commodified while also investigating their potential benefits in local and modern contexts. Even more, I am spellbound by the queer experience within these spaces and how, collectively, it may differ from other group experiences and influence change within “standard” offerings.

Delivery and efficacy: Another facet of my research involves delving into retreat design (among other LTPA-centered spaces) and efficacy in fostering holistic well-being and lasting positive health outcomes with and beyond the physical benefits of PA. I am interested in assessing how retreats can provide “safe” spaces for self-discovery, healing, and personal growth, especially within queer communities.

Within this work, my heart-shaped intention is to deconstruct and dismantle harmful wellness trends through exploring LTPA access points, embodiment modalities, and impact routes, to deliver brain-driven (scientific) and tangible products, artifacts, and interventions (i.e., training the trainer programs). I firmly believe in the importance of critically evaluating popular notions of health and wellness, particularly when they intersect with queer identities. I strive to promote a holistic, inclusive, and evidence-based approach to well-being, fostering a greater understanding of health as defined by embodied freedom within queer communities.

1. Elkins, J. S., Dennis, A., Okumu, E., Dale, I., McCrimmon, J., Galphin, G., Onyeama, U., Esposito, M., Marin-Cespedes, S., Diggs, A., Yang, G., Golin, C., & Zarwell, M. (2025, May 31–June 1). Black transgender women and HIV service providers’ perspectives on HIV care barriers in the US South: Developing an enhanced social network strategy. Abstract accepted to the National Transgender Health Summit (NTHS), San Francisco, CA, United States.

2. Elkins, J. S., Hopper, L. N., Zarwell, M., & Brown, C. S. (2025). Retreat-based leisure-time physical activity design and impact: Human connection and personal growth experiences of gay and queer men. Abstract accepted to the ISBNPA 2025 Late Breaking Abstract, Advancing Behavior Change Science, Auckland, New Zealand, June 11–14, 2025.

3. Marin-Cespedes, S., Miller, L., Elkins, J. S., Hanff, M., Robinson, P., Hare-Grogg, C., Rogers, E., Jones, M. Y., & Zarwell, M. Awareness in Action: Methodology and Assessment of a Collaborative Multi-College HIV/STI Testing Initiative in an EHE Jurisdiction in the Southern US. Abstract submitted to the 2025 NACCHO360 Conference, Anaheim, CA.

4. Zarwell, M., Dale, I., Okumu, E., Elkins, J.S., Esposito, M., Golin, C., McCrimmon, J., Zinck, M., Robinson, P., & Dennis, A. (2024, December 9). The Peer Paradox: Perspectives from HIV Service Providers to Inform the Implementation of an Enhanced Social Network Strategy for Black Sexual and Gender Minorities – A Qualitative Study. Oral presentation at the 17th Annual D&I Conference, Session: “Implementation Science Considerations for Underserved Populations”.

5. Zarwell, M., Yang, G., Dale, I., Okumu, E., Elkins, J. S., Esposito, M., Galphin, G., Onyeama, U., Craven, D., Golin, C., & Dennis, A. (2024). Using Mixed Methods to Explore Social Network Composition and HIV Service Perceptions among Black Cisgender Men and Transgender Women. Continuing education presentation. GLMA 42nd Annual Conference on LGBTQ+ Health, September 30 – October 2, 2024, Charlotte, North Carolina.

6. Marin-Cespedes, S., Elkins, J.S., Miller, L., Hoff, M., Robinson, P., Hare-Grogg, C., Rogers, E., Jones, M. Y., & Zarwell, M. (2024). Lessons learned from collaborating on the design and implementation of an intercollegiate sexual health awareness event for college students at four university campuses. Abstract submitted to the American Public Health Association Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN.

7. Soberano, Z., Vecchio, A., Muessig, K., Felder Claude, K., Houng, S., Larsen, M., Johnson, N., Garcia, A., Alford, T., Elkins, J., & Hightow-Weidman, L. B. (2024). Tough Talks: A behavioral health intervention to aid in HIV disclosure during a pandemic. Poster Presentation. 7th Annual National LGBTQ Health Conference, May 20-21, 2024.

8. Elkins, J.S. Exploring gay male ecosystems: Retreat-based leisure time physical activity, access, design, and impact. (2023). Accepted to the Physical Activity Section at the American Public Health Association Annual Conference, Atlanta, GA.

9. Hanshaw, B., Soberano, Z., Vecchio, A., Muessig, K., Knudson, K., Felder Claude, K., Larsen, M., Johnson, N., Garcia, A., Alford, T., Elkins, J., & Hightow-Weidman, L. B. (2021). HIV Disclosure Continuum: Behavioral Health Intervention to Move from Fear to Empowerment. Poster Presentation. 7th Annual National LGBTQ Health

Submitted & pending:

3. Dale, I., Zarwell, M.C., Diggs, A., Elkins, J. S., Okumu, E., Weissman, S., Lin, F.-C., Mobley, V., Golin, C. E., Rudolph, A. E., & Dennis, A. M. (2025). An enhanced social network strategy to increase uptake of HIV services: Protocol for Type I hybrid implementation study (Carolinas RESPOND). [Manuscript in review].
4. Elkins, J. S., Hopper, L. N., Zarwell, M., & Brown, C. S. Retreat-based leisure time physical activity design and impact: Human connection and personal growth experiences of gay and queer men. Leisure Studies. [Manuscript submitted for peer review November 25, 2024]
5. Elkins, J. S., Dale, I., Okumu, E., Zinck, M., Golin, C., McCrimmon, J., Esposito, M., Duguid, I. T., Craven, D. M., Onyeama, U., Marin-Cespedes, S., Diggs, A., Dennis, A. M., & Zarwell, M. Survival, trust, and compassion: Persistent HIV prevention concerns faced by Black sexual and gender minority communities in the US South – A qualitative study. BMC Public Health. [Manuscript submitted for peer review November 25, 2024]. 
6. Zarwell, M. C., Dale, I., Okumu, E., Elkins, J. S., Esposito, M., Golin, C., McCrimmon, J., Zinck, M., Robinson, P., & Dennis, A. (2024). The Peer Paradox: Perspectives from HIV service providers to inform the implementation of an enhanced social network strategy for Black sexual and gender minorities – A qualitative study. Implementation Science Communications. [Manuscript submitted for peer review August 27, 2024].
7. Marin-Cespedes, J., Miller, L., Elkins, J. S., Hanff, M., Robinson, P., Hare-Grogg, C., Rogers, E., Jones, M., & Zarwell, M. Awareness to Action: Methodology and Assessment of a Collaborative Multi-College HIV/STI Testing Initiative in the Southern US. [Manuscripts in review].

MANUSCRIPTS: IN DEVELOPMENT

• Yang, G., Dale, I., Zarwell, M., Elkins, J. S., Diggs, A., Golin, C., Lin, F.-C., Robinson, P., & Dennis, A. M. (2025). Harnessing social network compositions to inform an enhanced social network strategy for HIV prevention among sexual and gender minority communities. Manuscript in preparation.
• Zarwell, M., Craven, D., Marin Cespedes, S., Onyeama, U., Dale, I., Yang, G., Okumu, E., Elkins, J. S., Galphin, G., Diggs, A., Robinson, P., Golin, C., & Dennis, A. M. (2025). Social support, stigma, and discrimination among Black sexual and gender minorities in a Southern Ending the HIV Epidemic Jurisdiction. Manuscript in preparation.
• Zarwell, M. C., McCrimmon, J., Marin Cespedes, S., Dale, I., Okumu, E., Elkins, J. S., Esposito, M., Onyeama, U., Golin, C., Zinck, M., Robinson, P., & Dennis, A. M. (2025). Service provider and patient perspectives of HIV care barriers and facilitators in Mecklenburg County, NC. Manuscript in preparation.
• Elkins, J. S., & Brown, C. S. (2025). Touch, connection, and community: Impacts of an age-inclusive queer men’s yoga retreat on social health and physical activity engagement across the lifespan. Manuscript in preparation.