Dr. Dennis P. Andrulis, PhD, MPH, Associate Dean for Research and Director of the Center for Health Equality at the Drexel University School of Public Health, was recently named to the National Medical Committee for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The three-year term begins on January 1, 2009.
Dr. Andrulis' research areas include: racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care; cultural competence for practitioners and health care settings; inner-city health care; urban and suburban social and health trends; vulnerable populations and safety net providers; community-based participatory research; chronic care and racial and ethnic disparities.
He recently co-authored a major comparison report on the 2008 presidential candidates’ health care reform proposals: Health Care Proposals of the 2008 Democratic and Republican Presidential Nominees: Implications for Improving Access, Affordability and Quality for America’s Minorities. The report was released by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.
Dr. Andrulis also directs the School of Public Health's efforts to lead a national consensus panel of experts on emergency preparedness for minority communities, which recently released the nation’s first blueprint for diversity preparedness. In addition, Dr. Andrulis also lead the development of the nation’s first, online information clearinghouse on emergency preparedness for minority communities. The clearinghouse can be found at www.diversitypreparedness.org.
Prior to joining the School of Public Health, Dr. Andrulis was a research professor at Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, where he oversaw projects, prepared major reports and published on issues affecting urban communities, the uninsured, and other vulnerable populations. He is co-author of Managed Care in the Inner City, and created a cultural competence self-assessment tool for health care organizations, as well as a National Cultural competence conference series. He has also developed a compendium and analysis of national data sources on the USA’s 100 largest cities and their surrounding areas entitled, The Social and Health Landscape of Urban and Suburban America.
Dr. Andrulis received his PhD in Educational Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin, and his MPH in Health Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The Center for Health Equality is a collaboration between the Drexel University School of Public Health and the College of Nursing and Health Professions. Founded in 2003, its mission is to partner with community and government to improve the health and well-being of communities through the elimination of health disparities. The center provides an innovative and exciting program of research and evaluation, networking and collaboration, education and practice built around a commitment to social justice and human rights. For further information, please visit the Center's website.