Partial listing of sponsored research projects and service programs in which the HPSM faculty are currently involved:

Dr. Rebekah Gee is an Obstetrician/Gynecologist, is medical director for the maternity program of Title V, the state’s maternal health federal block grant program. In that capacity, she has worked to create consensus and progress on issues of access to care for women and improving birth outcomes. Recently named Director of the Birth Outcomes Project for Louisiana, a cabinet level position in Louisiana’s Department of Health and Hospitals, Dr. Gee is considered an expert in the area of physician advocacy and policy change in women’s health. She was the co-chair for women’s health and health care disparities task forces for the Obama for America campaign and served on President Obama’s Department of Health and Human Services agency review team and more recently on Mayor Landrieu’s transition team.

Dr. Cheryll Bowers-Stephens’ research experience and publications focus on public policy, program planning and development of comprehensive health systems for youth with mental illness and developmental disabilities who are at risk of entering the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. In this regard she draws upon her extensive experience in, public policy making at the city, state and federal levels of government, organizational analysis, development and consultation to individuals with leadership roles in the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government.

Dr. Yu-wen “Angela” Chiu was trained in health economics, and outcomes research. Her research interests include: economic evaluations, healthcare quality improvement, health insurance coverage and access to care. Dr. Chiu is also interested in the efficiency of health systems and the relationship between health care costs and access to care among the uninsured and vulnerable populations. Her current research activities involve: (1) investigating the determinants of colorectal cancer surgery outcomes in Medicare population; (2) assessing the quality of cancer care as described by the National Quality Forum consensus standards; (3) examining the access to and barriers of health care among the uninsured and vulnerable populations; (4) assessing Medicaid patients’ outcomes after the joint replacement.

Dr. Christine Brennan directs one of the 10 Nurse Family Partnerships for the Louisiana Office of Public Health Maternal Child Health Program. This program provides education and support to vulnerable first time mothers, developing relationships that provide the foundation for health pregnancies and strong families.

Dr. Brennan also directed the School of Public Health’s (SPH) efforts in association with the North Carolina Louisiana Prostate Cancer Project (PCaP), a Department of Defense funded endeavor, which studied disparities among more than 2000 men diagnosed with prostate cancer. Athough that grant project ended, Dr. Brennan is developing a follow up Quality of Life in Prostate Cancer Project (Q-PCaP) study that will identify pre diagnosis variables that may affect the long term quality of life of men diagnosed with PCa.

Dr. Brennan has been a long time collaborator with many entities in Louisiana (OPH, City of New Orleans) and AIDS Service Organizations (ASO) that work to prevent the spread and address the needs of those infected and affected with HIV. Most recently research has been conducted that identified factors that may be associated with adherences to HIV medical care. Faculty members in HPSM work with providers within the LA Department of Corrections and various Sheriffs’ offices to assure appropriate HIV management within correctional facilities. Faculty members work closely with the Delta AIDS Education and Training Center to assure state of the art treatment is available to HIV infected persons throughout the delta region (Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana). In addition to interest in increasing utilization and adherence to HIV medical care, HPSM is also involved in research examining the treatment of HCV and mental illness within the HIV infected population.