Olive M. Mbah, MHS

Olive M. Mbah, MHS

Her research interests center around the use of health policy to mitigate cancer health disparities. Her doctoral work examines the impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on cancer disparities, with a focus on the potential modifying effect of race/ethnicity and community-level contextual factors.

Before starting the PhD program, Olive worked at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD, doing community-based research to improve cancer screening outcomes. As part of this work, she managed a NCI-funded community-based randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a trained family member or other social support in changing cancer screening behaviors among African American older adults. Olive was also involved in efforts to improve minority accrual to cancer clinical trials through the EMPaCT (Enhancing Minority Participation in Clinical Trials) Consortium. The Consortium (consisting of five NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers) worked to develop a coordinated strategy to address minority accrual into clinical trials from the individual patient to healthcare provider to the health systems level.

Olive received a BS in Biochemistry from the University of Maryland at College Park, MD and a MHS in Epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD.

Key Publications

The Affordable Care Act and Disparities in Colorectal Cancer Screening among Adults Age 50-64. Mbah OM, Kinlaw AC, Trogdon JG, Wheeler SB, Samuel CA. Am J Prev Med (In Press).

The Role of Patient-Physician Relationship on Health-Related Quality of Life and Pain in Cancer Patients. Samuel CA, Mbah OM, Schaal J, Eng E, Black KZ, Baker S, Ellis KR, Guerrab F, Jordan L, Lightfoot AF, Robertson LB, Younge CM, Cykert S. Supportive Care Cancer (In Press).

Evaluating Potential Racial Inequities in Low-Dose Computed Tomography Screening for Lung Cancer. Richmond J, Mbah OM, Dard SZ, Jordan LC, Cools KS, Samuel CA, Khan JM, Manning MA. J Natl Med Assoc (In Press).

Preempting Racial Inequities in Lung Cancer Screening. Richmond J, Mbah OM, Dard SZ, Jordan LC, Cools KS, Samuel CA, Khan JM, Manning MA. (2018). Am J Prev Med., 55(6), 908-912.

Effect of Patient Navigation on Breast Cancer Screening among African American Medicare Beneficiaries: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Marshall J, Mbah O, Ford JG, Phelan-Emrick D, Ahmed S, Bone L, Wenzel J, Shapiro G, Howerton M, Johnson L, Brown Q, Ewing A, Pollack C. (2016). J Gen Intern Med, 31(1), 68-76.

A Model of Cancer Clinical Trial Decision-making Informed by African American Cancer Patients. Wenzel JA, Mbah O, Xu J, Moscou-Jackson G, Saleem H, Sakyi K, Ford JG. (2015). J. Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 2(2), 192-199.

Targeting and Tailoring Health Communications in Breast Screening Intervention. Shirazi M, Engelman KK, Mbah O, Shirazi A, Robbins I, Bowie J, Popal R, Wahwasuck A, Whalen-White D, Greiner A, Dobs A, Bloom J. (2015). Progress in Community Health Partnerships, 9.