Shayna Cunningham, MHS, PhD
Assistant Professor AdjunctDownloadHi-Res Photo
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Assistant Professor Adjunct
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Shayna Cunningham, PhD, is a Research Scientist in the Social and Behavioral Sciences Department at the Yale School of Public Health. Working in both the private sector and in academic settings, she has been engaged in education, advocacy, and scholarship with the goal of promoting deeper understanding of the fundamental determinants of sexual and reproductive health disparities as well as solutions to reduce or eliminate them. She has led and collaborated on a wide variety of applied research projects focused on the multilevel factors that influence individuals' health behaviors and outcomes. Her areas of expertise include the use of mixed methods research design, implementation science, and program and policy development and evaluation. She has extensive experience working in multi-disciplinary teams, and collaborating with individuals from government, the private-sector, community-based organizations, and academic institutions.
Last Updated on April 07, 2025.
Departments & Organizations
- All Institutions
- Obesity Research Working Group
- Yale School of Public Health
Education & Training
- PhD
- Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (2007)
- MHS
- Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (2002)
Research
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Overview
Dr. Cunningham is currently the Principal Investigator for an evaluation, funded by Merck for Mothers, on the use of community health workers to improve outcomes among pregnant women with chronic disease in three United States cities and a co-investigator for Yale's Prevention of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (PLUS) Research Consortium. Recent past projects include a United Health Foundation-sponsored initiative to develop and implement an innovative group prenatal care model and assess its impact on perinatal outcomes and healthcare costs and a Health Resources and Services Administration-funded study aimed at describing patterns and identifying multi-level factors that impact variation in utilization and costs of maternity services.
Public Health Interests
Reproduction; Mental Health; Health Equity, Disparities, Social Determinants and Justice; Chronic Diseases; Community Health; Aging
ORCID
0000-0001-8876-9962
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Frequent collaborators of Shayna Cunningham's published research.
Publications Timeline
A big-picture view of Shayna Cunningham's research output by year.
Jeannette Ickovics, PhD
Jessica Lewis, PhD, LMFT, MPhil
Deepa Camenga, MD, MHS, FAAP
Leslie M. Rickey, MD, MPH
Ashley Hagaman, PhD, MPH
Claire Masters, MS, PMP
33Publications
160Citations
Publications
2026
Sociodemographic Status and Interest in Public Health Work Post-Medical Training in First-Year Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study
Aviles A, Buono F, Cunningham S, Brown S, Boatright D, Chaudhry S, O'Connell M, Nguyen M, Venkataraman S, Mohammad A, Hajduk A. Sociodemographic Status and Interest in Public Health Work Post-Medical Training in First-Year Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study. American Journal Of Preventive Medicine 2026, 108334. PMID: 41831701, DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2026.108334.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPublic health degreeFirst-year medical studentsU.S. medical studentsMedical studentsPublic healthMedical trainingHealth degreeFactors associated with higher oddsChildhood socioeconomic disadvantagePublic health careersCareer intentionsPublic health workWorkforce development effortsCross-sectional studyLongitudinal evaluationPopulation healthSocioeconomic disadvantageHealth careersSociodemographic statusHealth workPhysician pipelineDisadvantaged childhoodsHigher oddsBirth countryAdjusted modelsCommunity health knowledge and access to care in post-conflict Northern Uganda: Perspectives of community health workers in Pader District.
Albee B, Atiya P, Denish O, Denish O, Faustino I, Abeyaratne D, Cunningham S, Carandang R, Bongomin F, Ebbs D. Community health knowledge and access to care in post-conflict Northern Uganda: Perspectives of community health workers in Pader District. PLOS Global Public Health 2026, 6: e0005249. PMID: 41746971, PMCID: PMC12944800, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0005249.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsCommunity health workersCommunity health workers’ perspectivesVillage health teamsHealth knowledgePader districtsNorthern UgandaHealth workersCommunity health prioritiesPost-conflict northern UgandaCommunity health programsPriority health concernsHealth system constraintsPoor health outcomesNon-communicable diseasesSemi-structured guideQualitative descriptive studyChild health complicationsFocus group discussionsCare-seekingHealth teamsThematic synthesisHealth facilitiesHealth outcomesCommunity healthHealth programsThe Case for Standardized Maternal Cardiac Arrest Simulation Training in Prehospital and Hospital-Based Settings.
Shields A, Vidosh J, Trimarco T, Becker L, Sutton B, Carandang R, Murphy M, Holland A, Cunningham S. The Case for Standardized Maternal Cardiac Arrest Simulation Training in Prehospital and Hospital-Based Settings. O&G Open 2026, 3: e155. PMID: 41767250, PMCID: PMC12947991, DOI: 10.1097/og9.0000000000000155.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsAdvanced Cardiac Life Support certificationSevere maternal morbidityPregnancy-related deathsMaternal cardiac arrestCardiac arrest managementAdvanced cardiac life supportCardiac arrestAdult cardiac arrestCardiac life supportTeam-based simulationMaternal emergenciesMaternal healthMaternal mortalityObstetric emergenciesMaternal morbiditySentinel eventsSafety culturePreventable deathsTraining programStandardized training curriculaSimulation trainingTraining curriculumLife supportSystem readinessKnowledge retentionOptimizing obstetric life support training in rural healthcare settings in New England: protocol for a multisite prospective study
Cunningham S, Carandang R, Lowe W, Day A, Trimarco T, Becker L, Balakumar P, Phelps J, Sutton B, Mosesso V, Murphy M, Grady J, Vidosh J, Shields A. Optimizing obstetric life support training in rural healthcare settings in New England: protocol for a multisite prospective study. BMC Pregnancy And Childbirth 2026, 26: 219. PMID: 41629857, PMCID: PMC12955256, DOI: 10.1186/s12884-026-08715-z.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsHospital-based healthcare workersRural healthcare settingsHealthcare settingsRural settingsEvidence-based health practiceMedical emergencyRural emergency servicesLife support trainingHospital-based administrationLow-resource healthcare settingsHigh-resource settingsImplementation outcomesImplementation researchHealth practicesAppropriate careClinical skillsHealth AssociationFocus groupsPost-courseHealthcare workersHealthcare institutionsSkill retentionRefresher coursesEvidence-basedSelf-EfficacyIs cannabis legalization associated with treatment completion? A study of pregnant women admitted for cannabis use in substance use treatment facilities, 2020–2022
Carandang R, Rhee T, Ha T, Cunningham S. Is cannabis legalization associated with treatment completion? A study of pregnant women admitted for cannabis use in substance use treatment facilities, 2020–2022. Drug And Alcohol Dependence 2026, 279: 113023. PMID: 41519026, DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2026.113023.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsPregnant womenCannabis useTreatment completionStudy of pregnant womenMultivariable-adjusted logistic regressionCannabis legalizationRetrospective cross-sectional analysisCannabis legislationTreatment Episode Data Set-DischargesAssociated with prevalenceSubgroup analysisCross-sectional analysisOutpatient settingCannabisLogistic regressionIllicit substancesWomenOdds of treatment completionLegal cannabisTreatmentEvidence-based interventionsReferralTreatment settingsPolicy-related barriersAssociation
2025
Response to Letter and Commentary: Cross-Sectional Associations of Depressive Symptoms, Anxiety Symptoms, and Emotional Support Seeking with Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms and Bladder Health
Brady S, Camenga D, Coyne-Beasley T, Falke C, Fitzgerald C, Harlow B, Kenton K, Klusaritz H, Lewis C, Rodriguez-Ponciano D, Rudser K, Smith A, Smith A, Sutcliffe S, Wilson-Powers E, Cunningham S. Response to Letter and Commentary: Cross-Sectional Associations of Depressive Symptoms, Anxiety Symptoms, and Emotional Support Seeking with Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms and Bladder Health. International Urogynecology Journal 2025, 37: 795-797. PMID: 41432907, DOI: 10.1007/s00192-025-06469-4.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConnecticut's substance use primary prevention resource assessment and interactive map initiative
Cunningham S, Sussman J, Tabor S, Wiser A, O'Grady M. Connecticut's substance use primary prevention resource assessment and interactive map initiative. Public Health In Practice 2025, 11: 100721. PMID: 41550430, PMCID: PMC12809077, DOI: 10.1016/j.puhip.2025.100721.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPrevention resourcesPrevention strategiesEnvironmental prevention strategiesLow participation ratesFunding sourcesPopulation-level changesPrevention fundingRates of alcoholMulti-strategy approachParticipation ratesImplementation settingsNational averageTarget populationPrevention infrastructurePrevention plansSocial marketingLong-term impactSchool settingsPreventionCannabis usePrevention capacityDisparitiesInformation strategiesConnecticut townsSystems-levelAdult-use cannabis legalization in the united states: a scoping review of outcome monitoring recommendations
Liu Y, Suleiman A, Iverson M, Wiser A, Cunningham S, O’Grady M. Adult-use cannabis legalization in the united states: a scoping review of outcome monitoring recommendations. BMC Public Health 2025, 26: 87. PMID: 41331610, PMCID: PMC12781342, DOI: 10.1186/s12889-025-25720-7.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsHealth service dataInclusion/exclusion criteriaOutcome monitoringHealth-related indicatorsEmergency department visitsScreening of titlesEvidence-based decision-makingPublic health impactRemoval of duplicatesWeb of ScienceCannabis outcomesTheses GlobalDepartment visitsMonitoring recommendationsMonitoring outcomesTrip DatabaseService dataPrevention plansHealth impactsCannabis legalizationPolicy developmentPatient Experiences in Accessing Reproductive Health Services for Women With Cognitive, Intellectual, and Developmental Disabilities: A Systematic Review
Chang C, Carandang R, Silverberg J, Surkis C, Cunningham S, Wang K, Qasba N. Patient Experiences in Accessing Reproductive Health Services for Women With Cognitive, Intellectual, and Developmental Disabilities: A Systematic Review. Women's Health Issues 2025, 36: 20-36. PMID: 41274839, DOI: 10.1016/j.whi.2025.10.008.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsCertainty of evidenceCaregiver supportReview of qualitative researchPreventive care servicesAssessment of risk of biasDevelopmental disabilitiesPatient-centered approachSocio-ecological frameworkInter-rater reliabilityReproductive health servicesStandardized extraction formGrading of RecommendationsPerspectives of individualsRisk of biasExperiences of individualsProvider trainingCare servicesNarrative synthesisPatient experiencePatient perspectivePreventive careHealth servicesSRH servicesSocio-ecological perspectiveGrey literatureThe Experience of Bladder Health in Community-Dwelling Sexual and Gender Minority Individuals Within the RISE FOR HEALTH Study
Hardacker C, Low L, Putnam S, Klusaritz H, Cunningham S, Nodora J, Rodriguez-Ponciano D, Scal P, McGwin G. The Experience of Bladder Health in Community-Dwelling Sexual and Gender Minority Individuals Within the RISE FOR HEALTH Study. JU Open Plus 2025, 3 DOI: 10.1097/ju9.0000000000000348.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsConceptsLower urinary tract symptomsNon-SGM participantsBladder healthSGM participantsGender minority individualsCisgender heterosexual womenDemographic informationGender identity questionPrevalence of lower urinary tract symptomsBladder function outcomeStudy of adultsLower urinary symptomsUrinary tract symptomsGender minoritiesGender identityHeterosexual womenCisgender populationSexual orientationSGM peopleHealth instrumentsMinority individualsMcNemar-Bowker testSGM populationsCommunity-dwellingPeople's participation
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