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Faculty and Areas of Interest:
Rajender
R. Aparasu, MPharm, Ph.D.
Professor and Division Head
Dr. Aparasu directs
activities in population-based pharmaceutical care research program.Population-based
pharmaceutical care is aimed at developing and implementing population-specific,
evidence-based disease management programs to improve the quality
of pharmaceutical care. With increasing medication use, there
is a need to develop these programs based on analysis of epidemiologic
and pharmacoeconomic data, medication use criteria, medication
use review, and risk reduction strategies.
Hua Chen,
M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Dr. Chen directs
activities in Health services research among populations with
mental disorders. Psychiatric morbidity as a result of behavioral
impairment and organicity often go unrecognized by the healthcare
system due to the stigma placed on mental disorders. In addition,
behavioral health problems are rarely covered by the health insurance
services. Given the growing social and psychological problems
in the pluralistic US society and the ethnic minority communities,
there is a need to increase screening for mental disorders through
access and utilization of psychiatric healthcare services. In
order to advance our understanding of the patterns of health services
among the different ethnic groups in Texas, there is s a need
to design and conduct studies on questions regarding access and
utilization of health services among populations with mental disorders.
James Essien, M.D.,
Dr.P.H..
Associate Professor and Director of Institute
of Community Health
Dr. Essien directs activities
in HIV/AIDS prevention research. The research in this field is
focused primarily on designing and implementing intervention studies
to reduce HIV incidence and prevalence in Texas, especially among
ethnic minorities. In addition, this research component will compete
for grants to design and conduct HIV/AIDS intervention studies
globally in countries where there is high HIV prevalence. Currently,
there are two National Institutes of Health funded HIV prevention
intervention research projects in the college. The first project
is designed to test the efficacy of video-based culturally sensitive
and developmentally appropriate HIV prevention programs among
African Americans in Houston. The second project is designed to
examine the effectiveness of a situationally-focused HIV prevention
program among service personnel in the Nigerian Uniformed Services.
Michael
L. Johnson, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Dr. Johnson directs
activities in quality assessment of medication use by patients
with chronic conditions. As the US population undergoes a dramatic
expansion or transition in people 65 years and older, chronic
disabilities and diseases become a high priority for the healthcare
delivery system. Elderly persons require multiple medications
in sustaining the aging physiologic system very clearly defined
by decline in biologic function. Therefore, as we approach the
year 2040, an estimated 20% of the US population will be placed
on medication required to manage chronic diseases. Because poly-pharmacy
would characterize the aging population in Texas, there is a need
for quality assessment of medication use research in reducing
the unwanted effects of drug interactions and optimizing the care
required for elderly and persons with chronic diseases and chronic
disabilities.
Isaac D. Montoya,
Ph.D., C.M.C
Clinical Professor
Dr. Montoya directs activities in Health services and policy research.
Disparities in health services and the need to narrow the gap
in this disparity remains a priority for the NIH, the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), state health agencies,
and city health departments. Ethnic minorities are disproportionately
represented in terms of negative health outcomes such as cardiovascular
diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes mellitus,
and pulmonary disorders. Health services and policy research aims
at investigating the role of access and utilization of healthcare
services in understanding the ethnic disadvantage in terms of
health outcomes. As the population of Texas increases in the percentage
who are ethnic minorities, the need arises to understand the determinants
of poor health outcomes among the economically disadvantaged and
poorly educated members of our communities. The research will
result in identification of barriers and obstacles to access and
utilization of the available healthcare services in reducing morbidity
and mortality across sub-populations in the state of Texas.
Sujit S. Sansgiry,
Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Director of Graduate
Studies
Dr. Sansgiry directs research activities in Medication use and
effectiveness research. Appropriate use of medication is fundamental
to achieving desired therapeutic outcome. The knowledge of medication
errors, adherence, and compliance are areas of research that require
current attention as the US population ages and decrease in medication
compliance continues. Therefore, fostering research in this direction
remains a sine qua non in meeting the growing demands of the body
of knowledge required in appropriate dispensation and proper utilization
in therapeutics.
