Elizabeth Evans

Elizabeth Evans

Professor of Community Health Education
Acting Chair, Department of Health Promotion and Policy

Opioids and other substances of abuse; women’s health; life course; social determinants; health services utilization and outcomes.

Location

Arnold House

715 North Pleasant Street
Amherst, MA 01003
United States

312 Arnold House

I research how health care systems and public policies can better promote health and wellness among vulnerable and underserved populations, particularly for individuals at risk for opioid and other substance use disorders. My current research focuses on how the criminal justice system can impact health outcomes. I lead the following projects:

  • Massachusetts HIV and Justice-Involved Populations Research Network. NIH NIDA R61/R33 DA060588. mPIs: Wurcel and Evans. 5/15/24 – 4/30/29. 
  • Massachusetts Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (Mass JCOIN). NIH NIDA UG1DA050067. mPIs: Friedmann and Evans. 9/1/19 – 8/30/24, with NCE through 8/30/26.
  • Chicopee and Holyoke Access to Treatment and Services (CHATS) Project. DOJ BJA FY 2023 Field Initiated: Encouraging Innovation. Evaluation PI: Evans. 10/1/23-9/30/26.
  • HEALing Franklin County. SAMHSA FOA :TI-21-006. Evaluation PI: Evans. 09/30/21 – 09/29/26. 
  • Involuntary substance use disorder treatment in Massachusetts: Impacts on fatal and nonfatal opioid-related overdoses. PI: Bovell-Ammon. Co-Is: Yan, Evans, Evans, Friedmann, LaRochelle, Walley, Bagley, Ventura.  2/1/24-7/1/25.
  • Health Economics Seminar Series. UMass Office of Faculty Development, Mutual Mentoring Grant. PI: Wang. Co-I: Evans. 6/1/24-5/30/25.

Community Engagement

  • UMass Amherst Spotlight Scholar
  • The Greenwall Foundation Big Data and Ethics Scholar
  • UMass Amherst Distinguished Community Engagement Award for Research, Awardee
  • Institute for Social Science Research (ISSR), Scholar
  • Center for Community Health Equity Research, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Fellow
  • UMass Chan Medical School Community Research Innovative Scholars Program (CRISP), Awardee
  • UMass Amherst Public Engagement Project (PEP), Fellow
  • UMass Chan Medical School Institute for Healthcare Delivery and Population Science, Adjunct Fellow

Media

SPHHS News

In the media

Education

  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for the Study of Healthcare Innovation, Implementation and Policy (CSHIIP), Health Services Research and Development (HSR&D), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Greater Los Angeles, 2017
  • PhD, University of California, Los Angeles, 2016
  • MA, Indiana University, 1995
  • BA, University of California, San Diego, 1993

Key Publications

Evans, E., Pivovarova, E., Stopka, T.J., Santelices, C., Ferguson, W.J., Friedmann, P.D.  (2022). Uncommon and preventable: Perceptions of diversion of medication for opioid use disorder in jail. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment. 138:108746.

Evans, E., Wilson, D., Friedmann, P.  (2022). Recidivism and mortality after in-jail buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 231:109254.

Evans, E., Delorme, E., Cyr, K., Geissler, K. (2022). The Massachusetts public health data warehouse and the opioid epidemic: A qualitative study of perceived strengths and limitations for advancing research. Preventive Medicine Reports. 28:101847.

Evans, E., Stopka, T. J., Pivovarova, E., Murphy, S. M., Taxman, F. S., Ferguson, W. J., Bernson, D., Santelices, C., McCollister, K. E., Hoskinson, R., Jr, Lincoln, T., Friedmann, P. D., & Mass JCOIN Research Group (2021). Massachusetts Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (MassJCOIN). Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment. 128:108275.

Evans, E., Goff, S., Upchurch, D., Grella, C. (2020). Childhood adversity and mental health comorbidity in men and women with opioid use disorders. Addictive Behaviors. 102: 106149.