Academic Interests My work is driven by overarching interests in the cultural, clinical, and familial management of severe mental illness, as well as interventions and policies that could improve the treatment and quality of life of psychiatric patients. I have conducted ethnographic research in both the U.S. and Mexico regarding the beliefs and practices surrounding… Read more »
Items By: lmccall
Trenita Childers, PhD
Research Interests My research interests explore the connection between inequality, mental health, and public policy. I began this agenda by examining racial/ethnic differences in mental health service use. My dissertation research continued this research trajectory. I completed an ethnographic study on depression and anxiety symptoms among Haitian immigrants living in the Dominican Republic. Specifically, I… Read more »
Esita Patel, BSN, RN
Esita Patel is a 3rd year health care systems-track doctoral student in UNC’s School of Nursing through the Hillman Scholars Program in Nursing Innovation. Her research interests include healthcare workforce policy and access to high-quality and cost-effective care. For her dissertation work, she plans to examine how state-level nurse practitioner scope of practice policy changes… Read more »
Ashley Cole, MPH
Ashley Cole is a 3rd year doctoral student in Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy in the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Her research interests include pharmacoepidemiology and pharmaceutical outcomes research in oncology. Her ongoing work at UNC includes investigating the impact of generic market entry on the cost of anticancer therapies, methodological considerations of observational studies… Read more »
A+KIDS – Antipsychotics in KIDS (Keeping it Documented for Safety) Extension
The major goal of this contract is to evaluate the effect of a pediatric antipsychotic registry on metabolic screening and antipsychotic utilization in the NC Medicaid population. Joel Farley, Ph.D., Principal Investigator
Expansion of Research Capabilities to Study Comparative Effectiveness in Complex Patients
The UNC-CH Sheps Center will perform two sets of activities as described below: Collaborate with NCCNC staff to create an integrated database linking three data sets maintained by the NC Department of Health and Human Services: HEARTS (state psychiatric hospital admissions), IPRS (outpatient mental health services), and Medicaid claims. Sheps Center staff will provide technical… Read more »
Change in Opioid Use and Overdose After a Medicaid Lock-in Program
Prescription opioid abuse is a growing public health epidemic in the US, contributing to an estimated 15,000 deaths and more than $55 billion in societal costs per year. In response, states are increasingly managing CS abuse with Medicaid Lock in Programs (MLIP). The North Carolina (NC) Recipient Management MLIP, initiated in October of 2010, was… Read more »
Continuity of Medication Management in Medicaid
Comorbid cardiometabolic health conditions are a significant burden to the health of patients with schizophrenia representing a major source of morbidity and mortality. For patients taking medications to manage schizophrenia and comorbid health conditions, poor care coordination can result in inappropriate prescribing, duplication of medication therapy, medication non-adherence, and more aggressive health service utilization for… Read more »
Alan Kinlaw, PhD
Alan Kinlaw is an epidemiologist and health services researcher, currently serving as a postdoctoral fellow at the Sheps Center. Alan grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina and attended North Carolina State University where he earned baccalaureate degrees in textile engineering and French in 2008. Following undergrad, he worked as a chemist for two years in… Read more »
Lisa Spees, PhD
Lisa Spees received her BA and MA in history from Emory University in 2009, where she wrote her master’s thesis on desegregation during the civil rights movements. Inspired by her master’s research, she received her PhD in public policy from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 2016, where she focused on the effect of… Read more »
Parth Shah, PharmD
Parth Shah is a pharmacist and PhD candidate in Health Behavior at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. Parth grew up in Los Angeles, CA, and received his BS in biochemistry from the University of Southern California in 2008. He received his PharmD from the USC School of Pharmacy in 2012 before beginning the… Read more »
Dalia Khoury, PhD
Research Interests My overarching interests lie in the application of the research process to an identified need or problem. To date, my research has experience has spanned substantive areas, but the underlying commonality has been populations that are vulnerable or stigmatized (e.g., foster children with mental health problems, Arab Americans with mental health problems, poor… Read more »
Leslie Adams, MPH
Leslie Adams is a 3rd year doctoral student in the Department of Health Behavior at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. While at UNC, Leslie has worked primarily on the M.A.N.H.O.O.D.S study, which focuses on examining the relationship between neighborhood contexts and risk-taking behavior among African American men. She has also contributed to… Read more »
Aaron Mitchell, MD
Aaron Mitchell is a fellow in medical oncology at the University of North Carolina. Aaron grew up in North Carolina, and received his BS in biology from Yale University in 2005. He received his MD from New York University School of Medicine in 2011, before returning to his home state to train in internal medicine… Read more »
Mike Belden, PhD
Academic Interests I am interested in the dissemination and implementation of innovative interventions for persons with multiple morbidities – mental illness, substance abuse, and chronic physical health problems. My research interests also include disparities in access to high-quality services for mental health and substance abuse disorders in the US, and internationally. Current Research Projects… Read more »