Brisa Urquieta de Hernandez

Research Coordinator
Department of Family Medicine

Prior Positions and Experience

Education

2012- Present, University of North Carolina at Charlotte (Charlotte, NC); PhD Student-Geography and Urban Regional Analysis
2002, University of New Mexico (Albuquerque, NM)

Research Interest: Community Participatory Research, Health Disparities, Disease Intervention, Health Geography, and Health Care Utilization

Ms. Hernandez's main research interest include use of community participatory research to decrease health disparities, development of disease interventions and increase primary care utilization in working with underserved populations in Charlotte, NC. As research coordinator at MAPPR, The Mecklenburg Area Partnership for Primary Care Research, she works with a transdisciplinary research team to develop research projects to decrease health disparities and increate health care utilizations for vulnerable populations. Additionally, she works with a group of primary care practices devoted principally to the primary care of patients, but also with a mission to investigate questions related to community-based practice and how to improve the quality of primary care by enhancing the translation of research findings back into practice. One of the primary methods used involve an emerging model of research is known as community based participatory research (CBPR), and involves using key stake holders, including medical professionals, community members and patients as research partners.  Currently, Ms. Hernandez is coordinating a NIH funded study that will be using principals of CBPR to develop a health intervention at a neighborhood level to decrease health disparities.  

Recent Publications

Sussman AL, Helitzer D, Sanders M, Urquieta B, Salvador M, Ndiaye K.  HPV and Cervical Cancer Prevention Counseling With Younger Adolescents: Implications for Primary Care. Ann of Fam Med. 2007;5(4): 298-304. [PMID: 17664495]

Dulin MF, Blackwell J, Ludden TM, Tapp H, Smith HA, Urquieta de Hernandez, B, and  Furuseth OJ.  Using Geographical Information Systems to Understand a Community’s Primary Care Needs. J Am Board Fam Med. 2010;23(1):13-21. [PMID: 20051538]

Dulin MF, Ludden TM, Tapp H,  Urquieta de Hernandez, B,  Blackwell J, Smith HA, and  Furuseth OJ. Application of the MAPCATS Process to Improve Primary Care Access for a Transitioning Hispanic Community. J Am Board Fam Med. 2009;23(1):109-120. See article

Helitzer D, Hollis C, Urquieta de Hernandez B, Sanders M, Roybal S, Van Deusen I. Evaluation of Community Based Programs: The Integration of Logic Models and Factor Analysis. Eval Program Plann. 2010;33(3):233-33. [PMID: 19853302]

Helitzer D, Sussman L, Urquieta de Hernandez B, Kong A. The “ins” and “outs” of provider-parent communication: Perspectives from adolescent primary care providers on challenges to forging alliances to reduce adolescent risk. J Adolesc Health. 2011;48(4):404-9. [PMID: 21402271]

LaNoue M, Graeber D, Urquieta de Hernandez B, Warner, TD and Helitzer DL. Direct and Indirect Effects of Childhood Adversity on Adult Depression. Community Ment Health J. 2012;48(2):187-92. [PMID: 21127974]

Helitzer D, LaNoue M, Wilson B, Urquieta de Hernandez B, Warner T, Roter D. A randomized controlled trial of communication training with primary care providers to improve patient-centeredness and health risk communication. Patient Educ Couns. 2011;82(1):21-29. [PMID: 20219315]

Dulin MF, Tapp H, Smith HA, Urquieta de Hernandez B and Furuseth OJ.  A Community Participatory Approach to Improving Health in a Hispanic Population. Implement Sci. 2011  April;6:38. [PMID: 21481262]

LaNoue M, Graeber D, Helitzer D, Urquieta de Hernandez B, Fawcett J. Attributional Bias for Impact of Childhood Adversity in Adulthood: The Role of Negative Affect. Community Mental Health Journal. April 2012, p1-6

Dulin MF, Tapp H, Smith HA, Urquieta de Hernandez B, Coffman MJ, Ludden T, Sorenson J, Furuseth OJ. A trans-disciplinary approach to the evaluation of social determinants of health in a Hispanic population. BMC Public Health. September 2012. 12:1, 769. See article

Davis, C. S., Tapp, H., Dulin, M., Hammond, F., Hirch, M. A., Cook, J. R., Urquieta de Hernandez, B., Smith, H., Furuseth, O., Brucato, J., Tyson, A., & Jilg, A. (Accepted to present in November 2013). Measuring Fidelity to Community Based Participatory Research: Evaluating the CBPR-ness of a Community Advisory Board. Applied Communication Division, National Communication Association annual convention, Washington, D.C.