Makinna got involved with the STAR Lab at the University of Oregon as an undergraduate and continues to support publication of findings. As a researcher, she collected and analyzed biomarker and interview data to better understand transgender and gender-diverse people's experiences of minority stress, mental health, and resilience in relation to sociopolitical factors.

View the research here:

1. https://doi.org/10.1089/trgh.2022.0047

2. https://doi.org/10.57814/sdx3-7y41

Sacred Valley Health (SVH) is a community-based health NGO that partners with indigenous communities in the Andes of Peru. During the pandemic, Audra worked with SVH (locally called Ayni Wasi in Quechua), as their grant coordinator and program evaluator, during a time when they were working with their partner communities to rework the established community health worker training program to respond to COVID in ways that best fit the communities. The long term CHW program sought sustainability through ensuring it fit the community context, culture, needs, and resources.

View the research here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpha.2023.11.006

As part of Audra’s Masters in Global Health and Medical Anthropology, she planned and conducted interviews with global health NGOs from around the world that identified as using community-led approaches to programming and governance. Audra used Arnstein’s Ladder of Citizen Participation as a preliminary evaluation tool to analyze the comprehensiveness of “community-led” approaches. Laying the groundwork for the development of a self-assessment tool for organizations to enhance their approaches.

See the research report and the slide deck here:

1. A Qualitative Analysis of the Implementation of Participatory Concepts in Global Health Organizations

2. A Qualitative Analysis Slide Deck

At another firm, Makinna co-led an assessment of health communications produced by the Partnership for Community Health (PCH) in Linn, Benton, and Lincoln Counties, and helped them develop a strategic communications plan along with a toolkit.

The report and plan are available on PCH’s website:

1. Assessment Report

2. Strategic Plan

While working at another firm, Makinna co-led a climate and health risk assessment and the development of a climate adaptation plan for the Lincoln County and Benton County Health Departments.

These materials are linked on Benton County Health Dept.’s Website:

1. Assessment Report

2. Adaptation Plan

Audra designed and secured funding for this Health and Economic Impact Assessment of Linn County's tobacco retail environment, then conducted it through deep community engagement, drawing on trusting relationships she'd built over time with local CBOs and community members in her role representing Linn County. She led outreach with community organizations, retailers, and healthcare providers, analyzed the resulting data, and authored the full report. The result centers health equity, surfacing shared policy and systems-level solutions to dismantle tobacco-related disparities and protect youth and historically marginalized populations across the county.

See the report and a conference poster presentation here:

1. Tobacco Retail Impact Assessment

2. Community Engagement of Tobacco Retail Impact Poster