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
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Advancing Clinical Care Through Virtual Reality: Lessons Learned and Future Directions

Burrows, B. T., De Leo, G., Kwon, S. & Hernandez, R., 2026, HCI International 2025 - Late Breaking Papers - 27th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCII 2025, Proceedings. Chen, J. Y. C., Fragomeni, G. & Fang, X. (eds.). Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, p. 261-275 15 p. (Lecture Notes in Computer Science; vol. 16338 LNCS).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

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Abortion and Infant Mortality: Termination Does Not Prevent Death

Colgrove, N. & Snyder, M., 2026, (Accepted/In press) In: New Bioethics.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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A multidimensional research productivity dataset of 21st-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

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The Moral Difficulty of Embryo-Friendly IVF

Colgrove, N. & Blackshaw, B. P., Dec 2025, In: Philosophy and Technology. 38, 4, 169.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review

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Life Satisfaction and Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption Among US Adults

Sripadrao, S., Patel, M., Natarajan, V. & Datta, B., Dec 2025, In: International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology. 10, 4, 57.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Addressing health literacy gaps in adjuvant endocrine therapy adherence: Post hoc insights from a randomized remote monitoring trial

Graetz, I., Hernandez, S., Hu, X., Krukowski, R. A., Anderson, J. N., Waters, T. M., Stepanski, E., Vidal, G. A. & Schwartzberg, L. S., Oct 2025, In: Breast. 83, 104552.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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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

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Impact of Diabetes and Metformin on Cardiovascular Outcomes in Prostate Cancer Patients Aged 66 and Older: The Role of Social Determinants of Health and Racial Disparities †

Nain, P., Makram, O. M., Shah, V., Hyma Kunhiraman, H., Stabellini, N., Datta, B., Jiang, S., Patel, V., Seth, L., Bhave, A., Malik, S. A., Gong, Y., Fradley, M. G., Leong, D. P., Harris, R. A., Hung, Y. H., Lin, A. Y. H., Weintraub, N. L. & Guha, A., Sep 2025, In: Cancers. 17, 17, 2854.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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PRIDE-FTG advances academic careers of underrepresented early-stage investigators performing blood disorders research

Pace, B. S., Onwuemene, O. A., Starlard-Davenport, A., Markowitz, R. B., Heboyan, V., Datsov, P. & Rice, T., Aug 12 2025, In: Blood Advances. 9, 15, p. 3919-3928 10 p.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Persons Experiencing Housing Instability Perspectives on Medicaid Managed Care Organizations and Homeless Shelters

Clear, E. R., Scott, A. M., Kwok, K., Ribott, M. A., Waters, T. M. & Hogg-Graham, R., Aug 1 2025, In: Health Equity. 9, 1, p. 425-432 8 p.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Patients and Provider Experiences with Telemedicine for Follow-up Care in Military Settings

Heboyan, V. & De Leo, G., Aug 1 2025, In: Telemedicine Reports. 6, 1, p. 220-227 8 p.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Systematic Review of Surveys Used to Evaluate Patient and Provider Perspectives on Teleophthalmology

Fowler, T. E. & De Leo, G., Aug 1 2025, In: Telemedicine Reports. 6, 1, p. 195-215 21 p.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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The Role of Public Health Informatics in the Coordination of Consistent Messaging from Local Health Departments and Public Health Partners During COVID-19

Nguyen, T. H., Shah, G. H., Karibayeva, I. & Shah, B., Aug 2025, In: Information (Switzerland). 16, 8, 625.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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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

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Body mass index and colorectal cancer screening among cancer survivors: the role of sociodemographic characteristics

Meng-Han, T., Elinita, P., Marlo, V. & Chen, J., Jul 2025, In: Cancer Causes and Control. 36, 7, p. 641-651 11 p.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Letter to the editor regarding “Artificial womb technologies-innovation at the edge of viability: Ethical considerations”

Colgrove, N., 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Journal of Pediatric Surgery. 162850.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Letter › peer-review

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Adoption of Machine Learning in US Hospital Electronic Health Record Systems: Retrospective Observational Study

Huang, H., Lyu, W., Hasan, M. M. & Houser, S. H., 2025, In: Journal of Medical Internet Research. 27, e76126.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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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

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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

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Effects of Nursing Home Participation in the Medicare Shared Savings Program on Staffing and Deficiency Citations

Huang, H., Zhu, X. & Wehby, G., 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Journal of Applied Gerontology. 07334648251392996.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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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

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Wired for Wellness: A Difference-In-Differences Assessment of Health and Healthcare Use Outcomes From China's Internet Speedup Initiative

Gao, M., Luo, T., Heboyan, V. & De Leo, G., 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Review of Development Economics.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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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

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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

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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

View All Publications.

Department News

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AU researchers use library checkouts to check in on cardiovascular health

AU researchers use library checkouts to check in on cardiovascular health
Two men and two women sit in chairs on a stage in front of a large group of people gathered for a health care conference. One of the men is speaking into a microphone while the other three individuals on the stage sit and listen.

Leaders share insights of AU, Wellstar partnership at Health Connect South

Leaders share insights of AU, Wellstar partnership at Health Connect South
Two women talk in a hallway. One is explaining how her photo booth works while the other listens.

Public Health program fosters small business ventures for those in recovery

Public Health program fosters small business ventures for those in recovery

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