COVID-19 Projects

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gehr Center faculty and staff have taken an active role in responding through innovation and thought leadership. Below are some highlights.

COVID-19 Vaccine Disparities: Gehr faculty led a study to examine disparities in vaccine hesitancy in Los Angeles County. They surveyed nearly 2000 County residents at the height of the pandemic and just after a COVID-19 vaccine was approved.
Keck School of Medicine COVID-19 Evidence-Based Summary: The Gehr team has led the development of Keck’s summary of epidemiology, clinical care and operational best practices related to COVID-19. The latest version of this summary – which is updated multiple times a week – can be found on Keck’s main coronavirus page. See also a webinar on the summary.
COVID-19 Patient Self-Assessment Tool: The Gehr team has developed a patient self-assessment tool, in partnership with Akido Labs. The tool has already had more than 400,000 unique users, and is now available in English and Spanish. The tool can be accessed here (click on the “language” tab in upper right for Spanish version). The tool has been shared through the USC Center for Health Journalism, STAT News, LA Times, Fox News, and Wikipedia’s COVID-19 page.
COVID-19 Medical Student Elective: Led by Gehr faculty member Michael Cousineau, DPH, the Gehr team a four-week medical student elective on COVID-19, which featured experts in clinical case and policy related to COVID-19 from the USC community and across the state.
COVID-19 Thought Leadership: Gehr faculty have written several COVID-19-related opinion pieces on topics ranging from the impact on homeless populations, the implications for telemedicine, the rationale for a more targeted public health approach. strategies for clinical care, and the need for more rationale COVID-19 testing.
Media Coverage: Gehr faculty have been widely quoted in the media regarding the COVID-19 outbreak, including by Consumer Reports, the LA Times, the New York Times, The Washington Post, Capital and Main, the AARP, Al Jazeera, and KCAL.
Resource Allocation During a Pandemic : The Gehr Center’s Susanne Hempel, PhD, led an evidence review for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality on optimal resource allocation during a pandemic.

USC Gehr Center Affiliate Program

Affiliate Membership:

Affiliate membership offers a way to formalize collaboration between Gehr Center faculty and others at the University of Southern California and Los Angeles community with relevant interests. Potential affiliate members include health system leaders, researchers, and community members who are interested in conducting partnered research in health systems science in collaboration with Gehr faculty members. Gehr affiliates may also assist with mentoring Gehr students, teaching in the Gehr/Schaeffer health policy curriculum, and contributing to the Gehr Center blogs.

Benefits:

Affiliate members will be able to use the resources of the Gehr Center, including administrative support. Affiliate members will also be invited to regular Gehr Center meetings, as well as special speaker events. Affiliate members will be eligible to apply for pilot grant funds from the Gehr Center, typically in the amount of $5,000-$10,000, to support promising projects that could result in larger collaborations. To apply for these grants, affiliate members must complete a two-stage proposal outlining their idea and submit it for consideration to the Gehr Center director. Only Gehr affiliate members are eligible to apply for these funds.
Expectations: Gehr affiliates are expected to participate in Gehr center sponsored staff and research meetings as they are able. At minimum, affiliates should be prepared to present at Gehr Center meetings once a year.

How to Apply

If you are interested in learning more about the Gehr Center affiliate program, please email your CV to: sonali.saluja@med.usc.edu Please also send a document no longer than one page single-space addressing the questions:

What health systems science research are you currently involved in and how does this align with the Gehr Center’s mission and vision?
How will a Gehr affiliate membership help advance your work?
What are some potential collaborative projects or areas of research that you would like to work on with other Gehr faculty or affiliates?