Health Management, Economics, and Policy

At Augusta University’s School of Public Health, the Department of Health Management, Economics, and Policy brings together accomplished faculty with expertise in health economics, health management, policy evaluation, global health, ethics, and the application of advanced digital technologies.

Our faculty actively conduct research aimed at advancing societal wellbeing by tackling critical public health challenges – including poor health outcomes, rural health system barriers, economic evaluation of interventions, and the reproducibility of scientific findings. We advance academic scholarship and inform policies at local, national, and international levels.

Through innovative teaching and applied research, we prepare students to tackle real-world challenges and lead transformative efforts in public health. We also play a key role in mentoring students through capstone projects and building strong partnerships with public health agencies.

Contact Us

Health Management, Economics, and Policy

Summerville Campus

Science Hall

706-721-1104

sph@augusta.edu

Recent Faculty Publications

Publication
A multidimensional research productivity dataset of 21^st-century Nobel Laureates in physiology or medicine Burnett, W. J. & Balas, E. A., Dec 2025, In: Scientific Data. 12, 1, 1014. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Disparities in Preventive Care Utilization at the Intersection of Socioeconomic and Demographic Characteristics: A Survival Analysis of COVID-19 Vaccination Uptake in the United States Datta, B. K., Ghosh, S., Jaremski, J. E., Ansa, B. E., Islam, K. M. M. & Johnson, J. A., Sep 1 2025, In: Journal of Public Health Management and Practice. 31, 5, p. 726-736 11 p. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Assessing Factors that Influence the Satisfaction of Community-Based Faculty with Precepting Health Professions Students in the State of Georgia Odo, N., Ruffa, A., Gillies, R. A., Ballance, D., Kornegay, D. & Heboyan, V., Aug 2025, In: Journal of Community Health. 50, 4, p. 742-749 8 p. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Depressive disorder among gynecologic cancer survivors in the US: Evidence from the 2020 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey Vernon, M. M., Datta, B. & Coughlin, S. S., Jun 2025, In: Cancer Epidemiology. 96, 102795. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Considering Relative Rurality inTobacco Regulatory Science Appalachian Tobacco Regulatory Science Team (AppalTRUST), Jun 1 2025, In: Nicotine and Tobacco Research. 27, 6, p. 1147-1150 4 p. Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review
Medical debt is associated with higher sugar-sweetened beverage consumption among U.S. adults Sengupta, S., Datta, B. K. & Coughlin, S. S., Jun 2025, In: Journal of epidemiology and population health. 73, 3, 203123. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on vaccinations in United States primary care practices Ataç, Ö., Peterson, L. E. & Waters, T. M., Jun 2025, In: PloS one. 20, 6 June, e0325934. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Psychosocial wellbeing and short sleep duration among U.S. adults Datta, B. K., Jaremski, J. E., Chang, A. & Sengupta, S., May 2025, In: Sleep and Breathing. 29, 2, 135. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Vaccine Hesitancy Through a Global Lens: Cross-Cultural Evidence from a Special Issue Shah, G. H. & Nguyen, T. H., May 2025, In: Vaccines. 13, 5, 529. Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › peer-review
Rurality Status and Cardiovascular Events/Survival in Older Men With Prostate Cancer Jiang, S., Patel, V., Stabellini, N., Datta, B., Nain, P., Seth, L., Kunhiraman, H. H., Nettles, D., Malik, S., Patel, S. A., Rupji, M., Ward, K., Switchenko, J. M., Moore, J. X., Weintraub, N. L. & Guha, A., Apr 2025, In: JNCCN Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. 23, 4, :e247094. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Defining ‘Abortion’: a call for clarity Colgrove, N., Apr 2025, In: Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics. 46, 2, p. 137-175 39 p. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Long COVID and financial hardship: A disaggregated analysis at income and education levels Datta, B. K., Fazlul, I. & Khan, M. M., Apr 2025, In: Health Services Research. 60, 2, e14413. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Design and development of a Telemedicine Assessment Toolkit (TAT) for the assessment of audiovisual telemedicine encounters Agbali, R., Andrew Balas, E., Heboyan, V., Silva, J., Coughlin, S., Beltrame, F. & De Leo, G., Apr 2025, In: Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare. 31, 3, p. 437-445 9 p. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Long COVID and the Higher Risk of Food Insecurity Among Participants and Nonparticipants of Food Assistance Programs in the United States Datta, B. K. & Phillips, S., Apr 2025, In: Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. 125, 4, p. 555-566 12 p. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Demographic variation in continuous glucose monitoring utilisation among patients with type 1 diabetes from a US regional academic medical centre: a retrospective cohort study, 2018-2021 Atac, O., Heier, K. R., Moga, D., Fowlkes, J., Sohn, M. W., Kruse-Diehr, A. J., Waters, T. M. & Lacy, M. E., Mar 13 2025, In: BMJ Open. 15, 3, e088785. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
A Survival Analysis of Rural-Urban Disparities in COVID-19 Vaccination Uptake in the United States Datta, B. K., Jaremski, J. E., Ansa, B. E., Odhiambo, L., Clary, C., Islam, K. M. M. & Johnson, J. A., Mar 2025, In: American Journal of Health Promotion. 39, 3, p. 405-416 12 p. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Screening Colonoscopy Uptake Among Adult Stroke Survivors: Findings from the 2022 BRFSS Data Ansa, B. E., Head, A., Johnson, Z., Hatekah, W. K. S., Ansa, B. & Nettles, D., Mar 2025, In: Gastroenterology Insights. 16, 1, 2. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Association Between Abdominal Obesity, Body Mass Index, and Hypertension in India: Evidence From a Large Nationally Representative Data Gupta, R. D., Haider, M. R., Roy, S., Hashan, M. R., Baral, A., Tamanna, N., Mazumder, A., Haider, S. S. & Datta, B., Mar 2025, In: Journal of Clinical Hypertension. 27, 3, e70034. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Self-Management Practices Among Adults With Diabetes in the United States: An Analysis of the 2017-2020 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) Nguyen, T. H., Barefield, A., Chandler, L. & De Leo, G., Feb 2025, In: Science of Diabetes Self-Management and Care. 51, 1, p. 9-23 15 p. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Strategic policy options to improve quality and productivity of biomedical research Balas, E. A., De Leo, G. & Shaw, K. B., 2025, In: Politics and the Life Sciences. 44, 1, p. 108-119 12 p. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
No, pregnancy is not a disease Colgrove, N. & Rodger, D., Jan 1 2025, In: Journal of Medical Ethics. 51, 1, p. 45-47 3 p. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
A thematic analysis of prognostic, diagnostic, and therapeutic of circulating miRNA biomarkers in bortezomib-resistant multiple myeloma Bamfield-Cummings, S., Silva, J. & Karim, Z. A., Jan 1 2025, In: SAGE Open Medicine. 13 Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
Reasons for patients keeping or missing their appointments in family medicine in the United States: importance of no-show history in the previous year Ferrand, Y. B., Ramanathan, A., Hatch, P., Grayson, J., Heboyan, V. & De Leo, G., 2025, In: International Journal of Healthcare Management. 18, 3, p. 631-640 10 p. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
COVID-19-Related Financial Hardship and Adherence to Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy Among Women With Early-Stage Breast Cancer Arshad, S., Hu, X., Krukowski, R. A., Waters, T. M., Vidal, G. A., Schwartzberg, L., Lipscomb, J. & Graetz, I., 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Health Services Research. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Knowledge, Readiness, Willingness-to-Use, and Willingness-to-Pay for Telehealth in Nonlife-Threatening Emergency Department Visits Heboyan, V., Coule, P., Mariotti, D. & De Leo, G., Jan 1 2025, In: Telemedicine Reports. 6, 1, p. 34-43 10 p. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Access to health care among gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons in the United States Coughlin, S. S. & Datta, B. K., Dec 30 2024, In: Journal of Hospital Management and Health Policy. 8, 22. Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review
The intersection of melanoma survival and social determinants of health in the United States: A systematic review Maloney, M. E., Bacak, C., Tjioe, K., Davis, L. S., Balas, E. A., Agrawal, G., Cortes, J. E. & Miranda-Galvis, M., Dec 2024, In: JAAD International. 17, p. 126-138 13 p. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Health disparity at the intersection of religion and caste: Evidence from India Datta, B. K. & Thakkar, S., Dec 2024, In: Dialogues in Health. 5, 100186. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Association between child marriage and high blood glucose level in women: A birth cohort analysis Datta, B. K., Tiwari, A. & Glenn, L., Dec 2024, In: Public Health in Practice. 8, 100556. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
The XpressCard Point-of-Care Test for Human Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin Enhances the Prediction of Acute Kidney Injury Bufkin, K. B. & Silva, J., Dec 2024, In: Journal of Clinical Medicine. 13, 24, 7564. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Hysterectomy and medical financial hardship among U.S. women Datta, B. K., Tiwari, A., Abdelgawad, Y. H. & Wasata, R., Dec 2024, In: Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare. 42, 101019. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Spousal age difference and risk of hypertension in women: evidence from India Datta, B. K., Tiwari, A., Jahan, M., Torres, N. & Attari, S., Dec 2024, In: Journal of Human Hypertension. 38, 12, p. 851-859 9 p., e030765. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Validation of plasma neutrophil gelatinase–associated lipocalin as a biomarker for diabetes-related acute kidney injury Bufkin, K. B., Karim, Z. A. & Silva, J., Oct 1 2024, In: Science Progress. 107, 4 Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Descriptive analysis of MC4R gene variants associated with obesity listed on ClinVar Bayhaghi, G., Karim, Z. A. & Silva, J., Oct 1 2024, In: Science Progress. 107, 4 Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Religious minority status and risk of hypertension in women: Evidence from Bangladesh Datta, B. K. & Chowdhury, S. K., Jul 15 2024, In: Heliyon. 10, 13, e33428. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Cancer health awareness through screening and education: A community approach to healthy equity Vernon, M., Coughlin, S. S., Tingen, M., Jones, S. & Heboyan, V., Jul 2024, In: Cancer Medicine. 13, 13, e7357. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Factors Predicting In-School and Electronic Bullying among High School Students in the United States: An Analysis of the 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System Nguyen, T. H., Shah, G. H., Kaur, R., Muzamil, M., Ikhile, O. & Ayangunna, E., Jul 2024, In: Children. 11, 7, 788. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Remote Monitoring App for Endocrine Therapy Adherence among Patients with Early-Stage Breast Cancer: A Randomized Clinical Trial Graetz, I., Hu, X., Kocak, M., Krukowski, R. A., Anderson, J. N., Waters, T. M., Curry, A. N., Robles, A., Paladino, A., Stepanski, E., Vidal, G. A. & Schwartzberg, L. S., Jun 27 2024, In: JAMA network open. 7, 6, p. e2417873 Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Defending the Doctrine of the Mean Against Counterexamples: A General Strategy Colgrove, N., Jun 2024, In: Pacific Philosophical Quarterly. 105, 2, p. 267-290 24 p. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Trajectories of biomedical research leading to Nobel Prize–winning discoveries Burnett, W. J., Balas, E. A., Heboyan, V. & Matthews, K. R. W., Jun 2024, In: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 1536, 1, p. 177-187 11 p. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Department News

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Public Health program fosters small business ventures for those in recovery

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