Portrait of HPM PhD student Meghan O'Leary

Meghan C. O’Leary, MA

Health Policy and Management PhD Candidate (2022)
Minor: Decision Science and Outcomes Research
Email: mcoleary@live.unc.edu

Curriculum Vitae

Meghan is a PhD candidate in Health Policy and Management with a concentration in decision sciences and outcomes research. She served as a Predoctoral Fellow in the Cancer Care Quality Training Program through the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. She is the recipient of the Marci K. Campbell Dissertation Award, as well as a Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network (CPCRN) Scholar.

She is particularly interested in the intersection between systems science and implementation science in the context of cancer prevention and control. In her dissertation, she is exploring how systems science tools, including simulation, process flow diagramming, and system support mapping, can be used to inform decision-making about the implementation and sustainment of colorectal cancer screening interventions.

As a doctoral student, Meghan has contributed to the implementation and evaluation of the NCI-funded “Scaling Colorectal Cancer Screening through Outreach, Referral, and Engagement” (SCORE) randomized trial. Her efforts include developing process flow diagrams describing the intervention and usual care, designing and implementing tools to capture detailed cost estimates, evaluating implementation outcomes, and engaging stakeholders in sustainment planning. In addition, as part of CPCRN, she has conducted microsimulation studies evaluating the potential impact of evidence-based interventions and policy scenarios on colorectal cancer screening and associated outcomes in diverse populations.

She received a BA in both Anthropology and American Studies from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and an MA in Anthropology from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico.


Key Publications

O’Leary MC, Lich KH, Frerichs L, Leeman J, Reuland DS, Wheeler SB. Extending analytic methods for economic evaluation in implementation science. Implementation Science, in press.

Mills SD, Golden SD, O’Leary MC, Logan P, Lich KH. Using systems science to advance health equity in tobacco control: a causal loop diagram of smoking.  Tobacco Control, 2021.

O’Leary MC, Whitley RL, Press A, Provenzale D, Williams CD, Chesnut B, Jones R, Redding TS, Sims KJ. Development of a multi-study repository to support research on veteran health: the VA Cooperative Studies Program Epidemiology Center-Durham (CSPEC-Durham) Data and Specimen Repository.  Frontiers in Public Health, 2021.

Wheeler SB, O’Leary MC, Rhode J, Yang JY, Drechsel R, Plescia M, Reuland DS, Brenner AT. Comparative cost-effectiveness of mailed fecal immunochemical testing (FIT)-based interventions for increasing colorectal cancer screening in the Medicaid population.  Cancer, 2020.

Biddell CB, O’Leary MC, Wheeler SB, Spees LP. Variation in cervical cancer screening preferences among medically underserved individuals in the US: a systematic review.  Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, 2020.

Lich KH, O’Leary MC, Nambiar S, Townsley R, Mayorga ME, Hicklin K, Frerichs L, Shafer P, Wheeler SB. Estimating the impact of insurance expansion on colorectal cancer and related costs in North Carolina: a population-level simulation analysis.  Preventive Medicine, 2019.

O’Leary MC, Lich KH, Gu Y, Wheeler SB, Coronado GD, Bartelmann SE, Lind BK, Mayorga ME, Davis MM. Colorectal cancer screening in newly insured Medicaid members: a review of concurrent federal and state policies. BMC Health Services Research, 2019.

Lee S, O’Leary MC, Umble K, Wheeler SB. Eliciting vulnerable patients’ preferences regarding colorectal cancer screening: a systematic review. Patient Preference and Adherence, 2018.


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CONTACT INFORMATION
BSPH, MSPH and Resident MHA:
Academic Coordinator: Yolonda N. Childs

Doctoral and Executive MHA:
Academic Coordinator: Kim Sieler

Assistant to Chair: Stephanie Forman
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