Welcome to the Program on Medicines and Public Health within the Titus Family Department of Clinical Pharmacy at the University of Southern California. Our program focuses on the development and expansion of several research initiatives focusing on access to medications, drug utilization and pharmaceutical policy.
We conduct innovative drug utilization and pharmacoepidemiology research to better understand the underlying mechanisms responsible for the use, underuse, and unsafe use of medications, how these patterns may influence health outcomes and health disparities, and what can be done from a community and policy perspective to address these growing public health problems.
Our mission is to improve equitable access and safe use of essential medicines in the U.S. and globally. The Program will develop and lead interdisciplinary research efforts focusing on drug utilization, access to medicines, and pharmaceutical policy to better understand why medications are used, or not used, and how they can and should be used in the population to promote equity, longevity, and good health.
Our goal is to improve our understanding of the role of medicines in public health and health equity and to promote public accountability to better ensure access to, and safe use of, medications at the national, state, and local levels. In an effort to achieve these goals, we often incorporate the health and human rights concept of ‘essential medicines’ in our research and programming.
Recent Insights:
Jenny Guadamuz, Dima Qato, and their coauthors (2021) found that as of 2020, pharmacies in Black and Latino neighborhoods were more likely to close and less likely to offer immunizations, 24-hour, and drive-through services than pharmacies in other neighborhoods. Read the publication in the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association here.
In these visualizations, Guadamuz and co-authors (2021) explore trends and disparities in access to pharmacies across Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston communities based on their racial or ethnic composition from 2015 to 2020. Guadamuz et al. hypothesized that disparities in the availability and access to pharmacies would be associated with racial or ethnic segregation, with fewer pharmacies being located in segregated minority communities. Explore these visualizations, created by PMPH staff, Andrew S., to find out more!
In another recent publication, Jenny Guadamuz, Dima Qato, and their coauthors (2021) found that ‘pharmacy deserts’ disproportionately affect Black and Latino residents in many of the largest U.S cities. Read the publication in Health Affairs here. Find the press release here, and the USC Schaeffer Center coverage here. Additional coverage was also broadcasted on Fox News Los Angeles affiliate KTTV-TV and Spectrum News 1.
A Podcast discussion with lead author, Dr. Guadamuz, on the study investigating accessibility of pharmacies by neighborhood type in large US cities from 2007 to 2015. Listen to the Health Affairs Podcast with Editor-in-Chief Alan Weil:
Recent News:
Walgreens’ closing triggers fears of ‘pharmacy desert’Published February 14th, 2024 - By Avery Bleichfeld, The Bay State Banner Walgreens’ closing triggers fears of ‘pharmacy desert’ - Seniors feeling effects of latest shutdown in Roxbury Since November 2022, four Walgreens have closed in Boston, all in predominantly Black and brown neighborhoods. One was in Mattapan, one in Hyde Park and two in…
Emergency contraception sales may surge after New Year’s, study suggestsPublished Wed December 20, 2023 - By Kristen Rogers, CNN Emergency contraception sales may surge after New Year’s, study suggests Sales of emergency contraception in the United States may spike by around 10% following New Year’s celebrations, according to a new study that found the trend has occurred over the past several years. New Year’s…
Milwaukee among 8 cities with the worst pharmacy desert disparities, study showsPosted at Dec 19, 2023, By Ben Jordan, TMJ4, Milwaukee among 8 cities with the worst pharmacy desert disparities, study shows Walgreens is planning to permanently close its third Milwaukee store in the past three months. The latest closure highlights the little-known issue of pharmacy deserts in Milwaukee. A 2021 study shows the city has…- Pregnant people can get a shot to protect babies from RSV, but some hit hurdlesPosted On DEC. 13, 2023 3 AM PT, By Emily Alpert Reyes, L.A. Times Pregnant people can get a shot to protect babies from RSV, but some hit hurdles (...) The shots have been hailed as a game changer for RSV, an illness that crowds pediatric wards in fall and winter and causes tens of…
- Qato Awarded Grant from the Foundation for Opioid Response EffortsDecember 9, 2023 Dima M. Qato, Hygeia Centennial Chair at USC Mann, was awarded a $437,920 grant from the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts (FORE). The grant supports research assessing trends and impact of the availability of the medication buprenorphine for opioid-use disorder at pharmacies in communities across the U.S. Read more here
Recent Events:
- Dima M. Qato, PharmD, MPH, PhD will deliver an invited talk at the APhA Annual Meeting on Sunday, March 24, “The Problem of Pharmacy Deserts: Health Equity Implications and Potential Solutions.”
- Dima Qato, PharmD, MPH, PhD will present “Pharmacy Deserts and Disparities in Pharmacy Access to PrEP in Black/Latinx Neighborhoods,” UCSF Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (CAPS) INSIGHTS lecture series, Tuesday, March 5, 2024 at 11 am.
- Dima M. Qato, PharmD, MPH, PhD is quoted in an AARP article on foods that don’t mix with prescription drugs.
- A panel discussion featuring Dima M. Qato, PharmD, MPH, PhD, “Innovative Approaches & Sustainable Strategies,” presented during a Sept. 12 virtual workshop on supply chain disruptions organized by the National Academies’ Science and Technology for Resilience Program, was highlighted in a new summary publication by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
- Dr. Dima Qato served as a panelist for Innovative Approaches & Sustainable Strategies session at the Supply Chain Disruptions: Impacts on Vulnerable Communities workshop (Sep 12, 2023) conducted by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine