The Institute for Health is composed of three major divisions, four centers, a community health collaborative, a research group, an undergraduate research training program, and a national program office funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The Center for State Health Policy Center for State Health Policy, Established in 1999, the Center for State Health Policy (CSHP) is a major initiative within the Institute to create a formal capacity for policy analysis, research, training, technical assistance, facilitation, and consultation on state health policy. With initial and continuous funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Center was conceived and operates in response to the devolution of significant health policy responsibilities to state governments. The Center combines Rutgers University’s traditional academic strengths in public health, health services research, the social sciences, and medicine with a strong set of applied research and policy analysis initiatives. Center faculty and staff work with various academic programs within the University to train tomorrow’s health policy-makers and health services/health policy researchers.
The Center for Health Services Research is directed by Stephen Crystal, Ph.D., a sociologist, and was initially funded through a Rutgers University Academic Excellence Fund. The Center’s research focuses on understanding the complex factors and processes that shape utilization of psychotropic medications to provide a stronger knowledge base for more-effective and safe use of medications and improved quality of care in managing the overall treatment of individuals with chronic health conditions especially severe mental illnesses.
The Center for Pharmacoepidemiology and Treatment Science (PETS), Established in 2017, the Center for Pharmacoepidemiology and Treatment Science (PETS) facilitates and performs innovative, multidisciplinary science related to the use and outcomes of therapeutics and diagnostics in large populations. Its mission is to advance pharmacoepidemiology and related fields by conducting world-class research and facilitating high-quality training. Core faculty members possess expertise in the study of therapeutics and diagnostics including the analysis of large databases, observational research methods and intervention studies. The Center brings together faculty from various schools, departments, and institutes at Rutgers as well as colleagues from academia, industry and regulatory agencies with expertise ranging from epidemiology, biostatistics, and biomedical informatics to clinical medicine, economics and the social sciences.
亚裔保健－华人医疗服务中心。 The Chinese Health Initiative within The Center for Asian Health was developed to meet the health care needs of the Chinese-American population in Northern, New Jersey. We offer culturally relevant medical care and provide individualized support for patients to obtain the medical services they need. 亚裔保健－华人医疗服务中心,旨在服务新州北部的华人群体,我们的宗旨：为华人提供优质的 健康服务。
Su Wang, MD, MPH, is the Medical Director of the Center for Asian Health at Saint Barnabas Medical Center. A practicing internist, she was the Assistant Director of Medical Affairs at the Charles B.Wang Community Health Center (CBWCHC), a large multidisciplinary health center dedicated to serving Asian-Americans in the greater New York City area.
New Jersey Health Initiatives (NJHI) is a statewide grant making program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation located on the Camden campus of Rutgers University. The program’s director is Robert L. Atkins, Ph.D., R.N. Calvin Bland, Research Professor, serves as an advisor to the program. NJHI supports innovations and drives conversations to build healthier communities through grantmaking across the State of New Jersey. To meet the many health needs of the state’s diverse populations, regions and communities, the NJHI program encourages collaboration across sectors in the state’s communities to foster deep relationships committed to long-term improvements in health and health care. NJHI’s mission mirrors that of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation — to improve the health and health care of all Americans. NJHI does this by striving to build a Culture of Health in New Jersey, the Foundation’s home state, that will enable the state’s populations to live longer, healthier lives now and for generations to come.
Chinese Health, Aging, and Policy Program is dedicated to improving the quality of life of the Chinese population through education, research, and sustainable community-engagement. We aim to foster and support the development of research programs across a broad spectrum of disciplines that will provide solutions to the problems associated with aging at the level of the individual, the community, and the population. Special emphasis is placed on multidisciplinary efforts that harness the available resources in the Chinese community centers and Rutgers University. The goal of this community-academic partnership is to reciprocally transfer expertise between community and academic institutions, in order to synergistically improve the health and well-being of Chinese population.
Community Health & Aging Outcomes Lab (CHAO) research focuses on how to improve health care in the community for diverse populations that have historically been at risk for receiving poor care: minorities, frail older adults, low-income families, and people living with disabilities or multiple chronic illnesses. Community Health & Aging Outcomes Lab (CHAO) provides mentored research and training opportunities for Rutgers students to foster skills in health services research, data science, communication, and health policy. Diversity of thought and experience within our team is highly valued.
Project L/EARN is an undergraduate research training program that recruits students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, racial/ethnic minority groups, first generation college attenders, and those with an interest in health disparities to expand the breadth of health research with a broader range of ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic issues, concerns and perspectives. The program is administered by Jane Miller, Ph.D. faculty director, and Diane Davis, B.A., program director.
The Greater New Brunswick Community Health Collaborative promotes best practices in community and stakeholder-engaged research and team science approaches to improve community health and health systems and build health equity. The persistence of health disparities is rooted in multiple social, economic and environmental conditions, many of which exist outside of the health care system and limit opportunities of individuals to make healthy choices. It is widely recognized that engagement of patients, communities, and providers with health researchers is needed to identify and disseminate more effective solutions to persistent health disparities among diverse populations. With an initial planning grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in April 2014, the Collaborative has undertaken several linked initiatives aimed at creating substantive improvements in health and well-being in the surrounding diverse communities in the greater New Brunswick area.
The research of AIDS Policy Research Group places HIV health services use and outcomes at the intersection of the social, economic and psychological behaviors of the target population and the role and functioning of health care delivery programs. Studies have included socioeconomic differences in access to health care; meeting the needs of special subgroups, such as those with psychiatric and substance abuse comorbidities, pregnant women and older individuals; effective utilization of pharmaceutical regimens; diffusion of new treatments; the role of Medicaid and Medicare in HIV care; and the functional status trajectories for various subgroups of persons with HIV disease. The research group has worked closely with public agencies especially in New Jersey and New York to provide information for policy planning. In their work with large administrative claims data and surveys these investigators have demonstrated innovative methods for examining access to care and outcomes. Research group members also participate in various professional developmental activities. The AIDS Policy Research Group is a member of the New York AIDS Centers Consortium.