News Releases
Bianca Allison Receives National Award to Study Over-the-Counter Contraception Access
Bianca Allison, MD, MPH, a researcher with the Child and Adolescent Health Program at the Sheps Center, has received a competitive award from the Society of Family Planning to study access to over-the-counter oral contraception in North Carolina. The $175,000 award will support her project, “Implementing over-the-counter oral contraception in a Medicaid expansion state: Pharmacy… Read more »
Sheps Center Research Featured in NC Health News on School-Based Telehealth
New reporting from North Carolina Health News highlights the growing impact of school-based behavioral telehealth—and shines a spotlight on research led by the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research. The article, “Survey: Staff say school-based telehealth cuts behavioral issues,” centers on early findings from a Sheps-led survey examining how telehealth services are shaping… Read more »
Sheps Postdoctoral Fellow Highlights Gap in Integrated Diabetes Care
Jeanna Campbell, PhD, MSW is a second year National Research Service Award Postdoctoral Fellow in Primary Care Research and the first trained social worker to earn the fellowship with the Cecil G. Sheps Center. She developed an interest in social work and primary care from her experiences living in poverty with diabetes. Her team’s research,… Read more »
Gordon DeFriese Receives UNC Lifetime Achievement Award
Gordon H. DeFriese, PhD, longtime former director of the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, has received the 2026 Jonathan B. Howes Lifetime Achievement Award from UNC–Chapel Hill’s Retired Faculty and Professionals Association (RFPA). The award recognizes retired UNC faculty whose careers have demonstrated exceptional service, leadership, and contributions within the University… Read more »
Dr. Bianca Allison Quoted on NPR on Historic Decline in Teen Birth Rates
Bianca Allison, MD, MPH, a researcher with the Child & Adolescent Health Services Program at the Sheps Center and Associate Professor of Pediatrics, was recently quoted in an NPR story examining new federal data showing that U.S. teen birth rates reached another historic low in 2025. The NPR article, which draws on newly released data… Read more »
When Youth with ADHD Have Questions—but Don’t Ask
A team of UNC researchers recently published a new study examining how often youth with attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) ask their health care providers the questions they have about their condition. The article, “How Often Do Youth Ask Their Providers the Questions They Checked on an Attention‑Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Question Prompt List?”, appeared in the Journal… Read more »
Sheps Center Expert Weighs In on Use of AI to Address Rural Health Challenges
As federal health leaders promote artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies as a way to stabilize struggling rural hospitals, rural health experts emphasize that technology alone cannot overcome long‑standing financial and workforce challenges. A recent Washington Post article examines proposals from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Medicare and… Read more »
UNC Researcher and Sheps Fellow Contributes to New WHO Europe Report on Digital Health Equity
Dr. Saif Khairat, a faculty member at UNC–Chapel Hill and a Research Fellow at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, contributed to a new World Health Organization (WHO) Europe report examining persistent gaps in digital health equity and opportunities to close them. The report highlights how individuals with greater health needs, limited… Read more »
Erin Fraher presents to NC General Assembly on the distribution of maternal health care providers
On March 10th, Erin Fraher, PhD, MPP presented to the North Carolina General Assembly’s Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services on maternal health care access in the state. With the 11th highest infant mortality rate in the US,1 maternal healthcare access is a pressing issue in North Carolina. Erin’s presentation on the… Read more »
UNC Sheps Center Releases New Report Providing Critical Data to Identify Gaps in North Carolina’s Mental Health and Substance Use Services Workforce
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 2, 2026 CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The UNC Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research has released the first comprehensive look at North Carolina’s mental health and substance use services workforce, offering critical data to guide statewide policy and planning. Commissioned by the NC Department of Health and Human… Read more »
Bianca Allison Receives 2026–2027 Junior Faculty Development Award
The Sheps Center is pleased to announce that Dr. Bianca Allison, Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics in the School of Medicine and researcher with the Child & Adolescent Health Services Program at Sheps, has been selected as a recipient of the 2026–2027 Junior Faculty Development Award. The annual awards, funded by IBM and… Read more »
Workforce Data and Tools Presented to NCIOM Legislative Fellows
The NCIOM Legislative Fellows program brings together legislators from the NC Senate and NC House to dig deep into health data and information needed for evidence-based policy making. The Program’s work was highlighted in a January meeting about health workforce challenges and policy solutions to address nursing, primary care, behavioral health and other shortfalls. We… Read more »
Erin Fraher presents at APHA Pan American Health Organization Panel
On November 4th, Dr. Erin Fraher, Program Director, presented alongside colleagues at the American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, at a panel organized by the Pan American Health Organization, “Enhancing Primary Health in the Americas through Strategic Health Workforce Education Planning.” Dr. Fraher’s presentation, “The Three-Legged Stool in Primary Care: Education,… Read more »
Betsy Sleath Awarded 30th Annual George L. Engel Award
At the Academy of Communication in Healthcare’s (ACH) 2025 International Conference on Communication in Healthcare (ICCH), #UNCPharmacy Regional Associate Dean Betsy Sleath was awarded the 30th Annual George L. Engel Award! This award recognizes Betsy’s outstanding research contributing to the theory, practice and teaching of effective healthcare communication and related skills. Betsy is a long-time… Read more »
Bianca Allison selected for Jefferson-Pilot Fellowship
Congratulations to Bianca Allison, MD, MPH on being a recipient of the 2025-26 Jefferson-Pilot Fellowship in Academic Medicine! Dr. Allison is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and also a researcher with the Child and Adolescent Health Services Program at the Sheps Center. The Jefferson-Pilot Fellowship in Academic Medicine is amongst the most… Read more »
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