My current work focuses on providing public access to public health surveillance data to provide health professionals and community organizations with valuable information with which to improve the health of the population through data-driven programs and policies. In addition, I am the Epidemiologist for the Rhode Island Diabetes Control Program.

Research Description

Recent work focuses on developing a Web-based Data Query System for Rhode Island Public Health Data. This system provides health professionals and community organizations with valuable information with which to improve the health of Rhode Islanders through data-driven programs and policies. The RI HEALTH Web Query System is one of the Rhode Island Health Department's answers to the ever-increasing public expectation for reliable and trustworthy online health data and information. The RI HEALTH Web Query System is publicly accessible and requires no sign-in or registration.

The HEALTH Web Query System - BRFSS module currently contains seven years (1998-2004) of data from Rhode Island's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) covering over twenty topics. The BRFSS is a national telephone survey of randomly selected non-institutionalized adults (ages 18 and older). The BRFSS monitors the prevalence of behavioral risks that contribute to the leading causes of disease and death among adults in the United States. It is administered in all 50 states and four U.S. territories with funding and methodological specifications provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The HEALTH Web Query System will expand access to other databases in phases, beginning with those required for monitoring the Healthy Rhode Islanders 2010 Leading Health Indicators. In the next year the system will add Youth Risk Behavior Survey data, death certificate data, and state population data from the 2000 Census.
This versatile system can be used to identify target populations for interventions, evaluate programs, track Healthy Rhode Islander 2010 objectives among sub-populations, and provide estimates of populations at risk and of risk factor prevalence for funding applications.

Awards

Brown University President's Award for Excellence in Teaching, Honorable Mention, May 2002

Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching in Public Health • Brown University • Division of Biology and Medicine • 2010

Funded Research

Assessment Initiative Grant
Center for Disease Prevention and Control
October 2002-September 2007
$760,000

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