Student Research

satisfy the essay requirement. Master of Health Administration (MHA) students are now required to link their master’s essay to an issue, problem, or initiative relevant to their field placement. Although Master of Public Health (MPH) students are also encouraged to draw on their field experiences for a topic, they may choose to develop a research paper on any theme relevant to public health policy, agency, or program management with the approval of their essay advisor. The table below of HPM master’s essay titles reflects the diversity of topics and methodologies of our students’ research studies.

Sample HPM Master’s Essay Titles

Student Degree Program Essay Title
Brooke Ackerman MHA Sustaining a Pediatric Burn Program in an Adult Care Hospital: A Case Study of UPMC Mercy
Joseph Agyei MHA Reducing Patient Wait Times in the Surgical Unit: Applying Basic Six Sigma Methodology
Logan Almasy MHA Disaster Planning in Assisted Living Facilities
Hanadi Attiyah MPH Barriers to Quality Health Care for Women with Disabilities
Michelle Bassman MHA Infection Control in Nursing Homes
Kimberly Brown MPH Healthcare Coalitions: The Evolving Structures of Disaster Preparedness
Amanda Paige Burns JD/MPH Evidence Influences and Patient Autonomy: Utilizing The Ecological Model to Maximize Justice and Autonomous Choice in the Legal Doctrine of Informed Consent
Nicholas Celender MPH Meaningful Use in Electronic Health Systems
Indraneel Chakraborty MPH HCAHPS: Do they Provide an Accurate Picture?
Terence Chen MPH The Use of Computer Modeling to Simulate Randomized Control Trials as a Means to Lower Pharmaceutical Costs
Nordisha Coots MHA The Effects of Employee Engagement in the Healthcare Industry
Harsh Desai MHA The Importance of Pay-For-Performance for Providers in Healthcare
Laura Griffin MHA The Process for Changing the Strategic Use of a Hospital Facility
Mobolaji Ijelu MHA Perfecting the Patient Care Process: An Analysis of Two Quality Improvement Programs at UPMC St. Margaret and UPMC McKeesport
Jennifer Jozefiak MHA Combining Discrete Event Simulation Modeling and "Transforming Care at the Bedside": Methodology to Improve the Surgical Patient Experience
Freda Koomson MHA Policy Evaluation/Analysis of Liberia's National Health and Social Welfare Plan 2011-2021: Rebuilding the Healthcare Infrastructure in Post-War Liberia
Zachary Lenhart MHA The Use of Behavioral Assessment Tools on Hiring Practices and Employee Turnover
Guangyu Luo MHA The Root Cause Analysis in American Hospitals and its Application on Chinese Hospitals
Nicholas Malenka MHA Evaluating Pharmacist Based Medication Reconcilation: A Literature Review and Case Study
Abby Miles MHA Using a Care Navigator to Reduce Hospitalizations of Nursing Facility Residents
Geoffrey Mwaungulu JD/MPH Political Use of the Prevention and Public Health Fund
Jessica Ngan MPH Analyzing the Association Between Socioeconomic Factors and Hospital Readmission Rates in California
Dana O’Sullivan MHA The Role of Telehealth in the US Healthcare System
Pragna Prahalad MHA Implementing A Culture of Change: Gaining Employee Acceptance for the Use and Application of Productivity Algorithms
Kathleen Slavish MPH Acute Care Utilization Among Women with Metastatic Breast Cancer during the Last Six Months of Life
Kara Stonebraker MPH Lack of Access to Dental Services for Medical Assistance Recipients in Southwestern Pennsylvania
Dovile Usaite MHA The Role of a Pharmacist in a Primary Care Setting
Andrea Vujanovic MPH History of Patient Advocates Participation in Cancer Research
Jesse Walters MHA Telehealth: A Literature Review and Case Study of VA Healthcare VISN 4
Laura Wilson MPH Understanding the Role of Early Childhood Adversity in Preterm-Related Infant Mortality: Alternative Approaches for Public Health Practice

CLASS OF APRIL 2013
HPM students have the opportunity to participate in the Pitt Public Health Dean’s Day Student Research Competition.
Two HPM students have won first place schoolwide awards: 2012-13: Freda Koomson and 2011-12: Avi Arora.