Achieving Health Equity in Healthcare

Dr. Patel is a Professor in the Department of Health Behavior & Health Education (HBHE) at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Dr. Patel's research has established her reputation as a scholar at the intersection of social determinants of health and chronic disease. Her research can be grouped into two interconnected themes: Financial burden and unmet social determinants of health as factors that influence poor health outcomes; interventions focused on removing access to care barriers, alleviating financial burden and unmet social needs, and supporting chronic disease management. She explores these themes in a wide range of chronic conditions, and populations. Dr. Patel has a strong track record of stakeholder collaboration in large-scale intervention projects and practice-based teaching, both with community- based, healthcare delivery, and health-serving organizations. Dr. Patel's research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, American Lung Association, and private foundations. She has led studies focused on improving health insurance literacy in economically disadvantaged communities, screening and addressing unmet social needs in clinical settings, and health care provider training in implementing guideline-based care. Dr. Patel serves on the evaluation team of Michigan's expanded Medicaid program, co-directs the Social and Behavioral Determinants of Health Core of the Michigan Center for Diabetes and Translational Research, and is as an Associate Director of the National Clinicians Scholars Program at the University of Michigan. In 2017, Dr. Patel received the Early Career Achievement award from the Behavioral Sciences and Health Services Research Assembly of the American Thoracic Society. Dr. Patel also served as an Emerging Leader in Health and Medicine through the National Academy of Medicine from 2018-2021.