Research Information
Research Interests
My research focuses on advancing health equity across the cancer continuum leveraging supportive care services, such as patient navigation, in community settings. My work highlights the role of supportive care in improving cancer screening and survivorship outcomes for medically underserved populations often marginalized based on their skin color, language abilities, sexual orientation, gender identity, and poverty.
The American Cancer Society funded my dissertation project in a large study of patient navigation to increase breast and cervical cancer screening in rural and border areas of Texas. My T32 postdoc at Wake Forest University School of Medicine expanded my research on financial hardship experienced during survivorship. This work forms the basis of my future project measuring delayed care due to cost in the US population using restricted geographical data from the National Health Interview Survey.
Future studies also include examining the impact of patient navigation on lung cancer screening in underserved populations in the Cleveland area. Advancing the early detection of lung cancer could dramatically improve survival rates and outcomes for racially/ethnically diverse and low-income populations.
Professional Memberships
Publications
Find Dr. Falk's publications through Google Scholar here.