Dr. Gomez-Vidal conducts research on the structural and systemic factors that make low-income and unincorporated communities especially vulnerable to adverse health outcomes. Approximately one-third of the U.S. population lives in unincorporated areas, often without local governance. Dr. Gomez-Vidal examines how the absence of local government structures in disadvantaged unincorporated communities affects residents' access to essential services, social determinants of health, and environmental and climate justice.