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 following table of 2013 HPM master’s essay titles reflects the diversity of topics and methodologies of our students’ research studies.
Department of Health Policy and Management
2013 Master’s Essay Titles
CLASS OF APRIL 2013
| 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
|
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.