Saria Hassan, MD

Dr. Hassan’s research focuses on addressing morbidity and mortality due to chronic disease after natural disasters. Recognizing that the majority of deaths after natural disasters are due to poorly managed non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and heart failure, she is co-principal investigator on a pilot project award to work with the Pan American Health Organization to develop an implementation strategy for using NCD kits to manage chronic diseases in humanitarian crises. Her future research will involve working with Federally Qualified Health Centers in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands to develop organizational and individual-level plans to improve management of hypertension, diabetes, and heart failure in the setting of a natural disaster. She will employ a similar approach to addressing disaster preparedness in Mozambique, which was recently affected by Cyclone Idai. As an implementation scientist, her research employs implementation science tools to inform practice and policy so as to reduce morbidity and mortality due to NCDs in setting of natural disasters.