FOCUS
Matthew is committed to designing innovative solutions that address the use, lack of use, and misuse of scientific evidence in public health policy and practice. His research focuses on enhancing the implementation and sustainability of social policies and structural interventions, particularly in the areas of health equity and minority health. He aims to apply translational and implementation science in order to build bridges between marginalized populations, policymakers, researchers, and practitioners.
MORE ABOUT MATTHEW
Matthew draws from training in anthropology and health promotion, as well as his personal, local government, and international experiences, to understand how policies and everyday life intersect to impact health and healing in diverse communities.
DISSERTATION GRANT AWARDEE — FEBRUARY 2019
Advancing Understandings of Policy Implementation and Sustainability to Address Health Equity: A Mixed Methods Case Study of Tobacco Control in New York City
Public health and social policies are often debated, designed, and adopted without implementation, sustainability, or equity in mind, which can generate profound uncertainty about how to equitably deliver them initially and over time. Although sustainability and equity considerations are sometimes considered in post-hoc policy analysis and evaluation, little is known about how to plan for and track planned and unplanned adaptations to policy implementation, as well as the ways that key sustainability factors and strategies can relate to the equitable delivery or relative effectiveness of policies on the ground and in community settings. The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the long-term sustainability and equity of tobacco control policies and programs in New York City to understand and contextualize their limited reach and impact on persistent smoking and tobacco-related health disparities in underserved Asian American communities.
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