Throughout her career, Shawna Hudson has been interested in the workings – and dysfunctions – of the U.S. health care system, especially as they relate to the health outcomes of people within vulnerable populations. As a health services researcher trained in medical sociology, she’s chosen to focus her work on primary care because “it’s a patient’s entrée into the medical system,” she says. “It’s the point of screening, it’s where coordination among medical subspecialties is critical, and it’s a point of leverage to address health disparities.”
Hudson’s emphasis on examining health inequities through a sociological lens aligns with her role as a core faculty member of Rutgers Global Health Institute, which she’s been involved with for several years. Her latest ventures, as the newly named vice chancellor for dissemination and implementation science at Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences and the senior associate dean for population health research at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, also will call upon her background in studying the health care experiences of low-income populations, people of color, and cancer survivors. To read the full story.