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CPHSJ Research Roundup: June 2025

06/17/2025

The Research Roundup is a collection of recently published Saint Louis University College for Public Health and Social Justice faculty research, faculty featured in the news as expert sources, and professional achievements from February until mid-June. 

Recent Publications and Articles

Kimberly Enard, Ph.D., associate professor of health management and policy, was quoted and interviewed by St. Louis Public Radio in the article "Missouri officials tout new digital platform verifying social service program income" about programming created to help verify income for Medicaid, food assistance programs and temporary assistance for needy families.

Keon L. Gilbert, DrPH (Department of Behavioral Science and Health Equity) co-authored a chapter in the book "Power, Privilege, and Public Health in the United States: Theory and Practice." The chapter Gilbert helped write is titled "Why Racial Capitalism and Scientific Racism Threaten Promoting Antiracism and Health Equity in Public Health."

Cheryl Rathert, Ph.D. (Department of Health Management and Policy) co-authored the editorial in Health Care Management Review titled "Conducting health care management research during changing political conditions."

Thomas E. Burroughs, Ph.D. (Department of Health Management and Policy), with colleagues, contributed to the research "Development of a mentee behaviour scale for workplace mentoring partnerships" in the International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching & Mentoring.

Research from Keon Gilbert, DrPH (Behavioral Science and Health Equity) about public safety was cited by WABE.

CPHSJ faculty Thomas E. Burroughs, Ph.D. (Department of Health Management and Policy) and Hong Xian, Ph.D. (Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics) contributed to the research article "Decreased Life Expectancy in Patients with Acute and Chronic Pancreatitis" in the Digestive Diseases and Sciences Journal.

Michael Rozier, SJ, Ph.D. (Health Management and Policy) and Katie Stamatakis, Ph.D., M.P.H. (Epidemiology and Biostatistics) contributed to the publish of the research titled "Access to Outreach Athletic Trainers Improves Orthopedic Specialty Appointment Adherence" in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Allied Health Sciences along with SLU colleagues from other colleges.

Nancy L. Weaver, Ph.D., M.P.H., Behavioral Science and Health Equity professor, collaborated to publish "Emerging Virtual Reality Technologies and Opportunities for Public Health Programming" in the Evaluation and Program Planning Journal.

Faculty, researchers, alumni and former faculty from Saint Louis University and the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics contributed to the publishing of the research "Chlorinated Paraffins Exposure in Particulate Matter Increase the Risk of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms in Children and Adolescents" in the Environmental Pollution Journal.

Kimberly Enard, PhD, FACHE, associate professor in the College for Public Health and Social Justice and M.H.A. program director at Saint Louis University interviewed and featured in the Journal of Healthcare Management.

Zhengmin Qian, Ph.D., M.D. (Epidemiology and Biostatistics) and Hong Xian (Epidemiology and Biostatistics) collaborated with fellow Saint Louis University researchers Xiao Li and Michael Vaughn to publish the research "Time Spent on Social Media and the Risk of Substance Use Among US Adolescents" in the Journal of Adolescence. The research investigated the link between social media usage and substance use among adolescents is crucial for developing effective interventions and public health policies.

Interim Vice President for Research and Partnerships Ellen Barnidge, Ph.D., M.P.H. and Ph.D. student Ally Terhaar, M.P.H., published, with collaboration from Heather Bednarek from SLU, "Choosing between health and hunger: a qualitative study of medicaid expansion’s role in food security" in the Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition. The study identified that Medicaid expansion enhances food security when health care costs are reduced, individuals have more funds for food.

College for Public Health and Social Justice Dean Leslie McClure, Ph.D. was interviewed on the Saint Louis University Mission & Identity Podcast: Mission Matters.

SangNam Ahn, Ph.D. co-authored a peer-reviewed article titled "Artificial Intelligence and Aging in Place: A Scoping Review of Current Applications and Future Directions," published in The Gerontologist. The paper provides a comprehensive overview of how artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are currently being utilized to support aging in place (AIP) for older adults. The authors examine various AI applications, such as smart home systems, health monitoring tools, and assistive robots, highlighting their potential to enhance the independence and well-being of older individuals. The review also identifies existing challenges, including ethical considerations, data privacy concerns, and the need for user-friendly designs tailored to the elderly population. Furthermore, the paper discusses future research directions, emphasizing the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration to develop AI solutions that are both effective and acceptable to older users. Overall, the study underscores the promise of AI in facilitating AIP while calling attention to the critical factors that must be addressed to ensure its successful implementation.

Katie Stamatakis, Ph.D., M.P.H. (Epidemiology and Biostatistics) collaborated to develop the research "Is there an association between anthropogenic heat flux and sleep problems among children? Findings from a multicity study in China" in the journal 'International Journal of Environmental Health Research.

Echu Liu, Ph.D., MBA (associate professor; Health Management and Policy) contributed in collaboration with researchers from the Saint Louis University School of Medicine to publish the research "Assessing the Efficacy of Multimodal Approaches in Chronic Pain Management" in The Journal of Pain. This study evaluates the efficacy of multimodal pain management strategies based on self-reports using data from the 2019 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults.

Keon Gilbert, DrPh (Behavioral Science and Health Equity) was quoted in a Reuters article about how tariffs could impact Black farmers. The article also appeared on MSN, Yahoo! News, AOL, U.S. News and World Report, Daily Mail, Colorado Gazette and multiple TV stations nationwide.

Kimberly Enard, Ph.D. (Public Health and Social Justice) was mentioned in a Washington Post announcement about a May 6 Washington Post Live forum when she will discuss the progress made in fighting cancer and ways to promote trust, access and care.

Ricardo Wray, Ph.D. (Behavioral Science and Health Equity) was mentioned in a Spectrum News article about the need to track mosquitoes in St. Louis.

CPHSJ faculty Thomas E. Burroughs, Ph.D. (Department of Health Management and Policy) and Hong Xian, Ph.D. (Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics) contributed with other researchers in St. Louis to the development of the research "Assessing NODM Patients for Early PDAC Diagnosis: Incidence of NODM Before PDAC Diagnosis and Subsequent PDAC Risk" in the 'Cancer Medicine' journal.

Cheryl Rathert, Ph.D. (Department of Health Management and Policy) was the lead author on the Journal of Healthcare Management research article "Do Patient-Provider Therapeutic Connections Vary by Race or Ethnicity? A Comparison of Black, White, and Hispanic/Latino Patient Experiences."

Mintesnot T. Teni, Ph.D. (Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics) was the lead author on a study with CPHSJ's Anne K. Sebert Kuhlmann, Ph.D., M.P.H. and Travis Loux, Ph.D. with SLU's Ness Sandoval titled "Examining the low uptake of LARC in Ethiopia: An analysis of individual-level predisposing and enabling factors" in the Frontiers in Global Women's Health journal.

Saint Louis University College for Public Health and Social Justice Dean Leslie McClure, Ph.D., was recently selected to participate in FOCUS St. Louis’s 2025-26 Leadership St. Louis cohort.

Ricardo Wray, Ph.D. (Public Health) was interviewed on HEC-TV about Mosquito Alert and the SWAT Team.

Xiaoyu Liu, Ph.D., MBA (Health Management and Policy) led the research "Assessing the accuracy and explainability of using ChatGPT to evaluate the quality of health news" with contributions from Echu Liu, Ph.D., M.B.A. and SLU CPHSJ students. The research tested the feasibility of utilizing GPT, as an example of a widely used LLM, to evaluate and explain the quality of health news from a dataset annotated by experts, covering a wide range of health topics.

College for Public Health and Social Justice

The Saint Louis University College for Public Health and Social Justice is the only academic unit of its kind, studying social, environmental and physical influences that together determine the health and well-being of people and communities. It also is the only accredited school or college of public health among nearly 250 Catholic institutions of higher education in the United States. Guided by a mission of social justice and focus on finding innovative and collaborative solutions for complex health problems, the college offers nationally recognized programs in public health and health administration.