Susan J. Shaw

Associate Professor

Research Interests

Dr. Shaw is a medical anthropologist with expertise and research interests in health disparities, chronic disease, access to health care, health literacy, and medication adherence. She takes a mixed-methods approach to investigating the structural and contextual factors that produce health disparities and community responses to inequality. She is currently PI on the RxHL study (1R01HL120907), which investigates the relationships among health literacy, culturally-variable health and medication beliefs, and health insurance formulary changes on medication adherence among diverse low-income patients with chronic disease.

Current Research

Dr. Shaw joined the faculty of the School of Public Health and Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts in January 2017, to establish a new Center for Community Health Equity Research (CCHER) that will serve as a hub for community engagement and translational research. CCHER-affiliated researchers use community-based mixed-method research to understand health inequality and generate effective solutions for individuals and communities. We welcome interdisciplinary collaborations with researchers interested in chronic disease self-management, health literacy, mental health, and well-being in diverse, low-income communities.

Academic Background

PhD University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, 2001

Publications

S. Shaw. 2018. The pharmaceutical regulation of chronic disease among the U.S. urban poor: An ethnographic study of accountability. Critical Public Health. 28(2): 165-176.

Lee, J.K., Shaw, S.J., Torres, C.H., Korchmaros, J.D., Totman, M., 2016. Creative Partnership to Assess Health Beliefs, Health Literacy and Medication Adherence Among Ethnically Diverse Populations. Am J Pharm Educ 80(5), Article S2:102-103.

haw, S., Vivian, J., Orzech, K.M., Torres, C.H., Armin, J. 2012b. Consistency in Attitudes across Cancer Screenings in Medically Underserved Minority Populations. Journal of Cancer Education 27(1):165-171. PMCID: PMC4160142.

zech, K.M., Torres, C.H., Armin, J., Vivan, J., Shaw, S. 2012. Diet and Exercise Adherence and Practices among Medically Underserved Patients with Chronic Disease: Variation across Four Ethnic Groups. Health Education & Behavior 40(1): 56–66. PMCID: PMC3670684.

Shaw, S., Vivian, J., Huebner, C., Orzech, K., Armin, J. 2009. The Role of Culture in Health Literacy and Chronic Disease Screening and Management. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health 11(6):460-8. PMID:18379877.

Susan J. Shaw

Institute for Applied Life Sciences