Michael Brett McCarty

Journal Article Perspectives in Biology and Medicine · September 2025 abstract: Despite growing interest in addressing health disparities in the US and around the world, excellence in US health care is largely defined by research dollars, innovation, and perceived prestige. This essay reimagines "excell ... Full text Open Access Cite

Responding to Substance Use Issues Through Relationships, Vulnerability, and Particularity: Theological Reflections on Empirical Research

Journal Article Anglican Theological Review · August 2025 Over the past 5 years, the Churches Promoting Recovery project has conducted listening sessions and a survey of clergy responding to substance use issues across North Carolina, building off earlier research in southern Appalachia. This article refl ... Full text Open Access Cite

Overdose Deaths and Cross-sector Collaboration.

Journal Article Public Health Rep · 2025 Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

The Opioid Epidemic and Faith-Based Responses in Southern Appalachia, USA: An Exploration of Factors for Successful Cross-Sector Collaboration.

Journal Article J Relig Health · August 2024 This study aimed to identify factors for successful cross-sector collaboration with faith-based responses to the opioid epidemic in southern Appalachia. In-depth interviews were conducted with representatives from organizations responding to the opioid epi ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

“But I Am Afflicted” Attending to Persons in Pain and Modern Health Care

Journal Article Christian Bioethics · December 1, 2023 Over one in five adults in the United States and around the world are estimated to live with chronic pain. How are we to attend well to persons living with pain? This is a difficult, pressing question for both healthcare institutions and Christian communit ... Full text Open Access Cite

Salvation and Health in Southern Appalachia: What the Opioid Crisis Reveals about Health Care and the Church

Journal Article Christian bioethics: Non-Ecumenical Studies in Medical Morality · October 26, 2023 AbstractThis essay examines the interconnected nature of salvation and health, and it does so by engaging both recent qualitative research and three scriptural accounts from the life, death, and resurrection ... Full text Open Access Cite

Using Trauma Informed Principles in Health Communication: Improving Faith/Science/Clinical Collaboration to Address Addiction

Journal Article Frontiers in Psychology · December 22, 2021 Problematic substance use is a pressing global health problem, and dissemination and implementation of accurate health information regarding prevention, treatment, and recovery are vital. In many nations, especially the US, many people are involved ... Full text Open Access Cite

Initial Validation and Findings From the Willing/Ready Subscale of the Church Addiction Response Scale

Journal Article Frontiers in Psychology · October 18, 2021 Addiction has been a global health crisis over recent decades and worsened substantially during COVID-19 lockdowns. We report on the development, validation, and findings from an instrument developed to assess the readiness of churches in the Appal ... Full text Open Access Cite

Michael Brett McCarty

Selected Publications

Pursuing Excellence in Health Care: Using Fourth-Century Wisdom to Transform Modern Medicine