Edith C. Kieffer, PhD, MPH

Professor Emerita of Social Work, University of Michigan School of Social Work

Dr. Edith Kieffer is a Professor Emerita of Social Work at the University of Michigan School of Social Work. She obtained her Ph.D. in Geography and M.P.H. in Health Services Administration and Planning from the University of Hawaii. Dr. Kieffer and her community partners in Southwest and Eastside Detroit conduct multi-level interventions that seek to reduce risk factors for diabetes and promote health among residents in these communities. Dr. Kieffer uses community-based participatory research approaches to plan, conduct, analyze and disseminate results from translational intervention research aimed at reducing health and healthcare disparities among Latino and African-American Detroit residents. Using CBPR approaches, she and her community collaborators have demonstrated the effectiveness of community health workers working in healthcare and community settings to improve self-management skills and clinical outcomes in patients with diabetes, and improve dietary behaviors and depressive symptoms among pregnant and postpartum women. She currently oversees several qualitative studies around the state of Michigan that explore the experiences of Medicaid beneficiaries and health care providers and the impact of Medicaid coverage, including its requirements and incentives, on access to and use of care, beficiary health, and other outcomes. 

Website | Email | Phone: 734-647-2739

Research Areas: Community-Based Participatory Research, Research Translation, Health Disparities, Healthcare, African-American/Black Populations, Latinx Populations,

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