Besa H. Bauta, PhD, MPH, MSW

I am a health services researcher interested in understanding how disparities and social determinants of health impact access to care and how those barriers affect the health and well-being of children and families. My current work focuses on building and optimizing technological infrastructures to support health systems by leveraging the latest applications in data integration, predictive/prescriptive analytics, and artificial intelligence applications. In the past few years, I have worked on system-level factors, both at the program and policy level in supporting families at risk of violence/child maltreatment due to familial, economic, and environmental stressors. As an Adjunct Assistant Professor at New York University, I support students in their public health and clinical training through instruction in therapeutic approaches, assessment, and diagnosis of behavioral and mental health issues. I have training in implementation science, public health, clinical social work, with specialized training in behavioral and mental health interventions. I also have secondary training and experience in technology, health systems, health disparities, with a focus on issues related to maternal and child health. My doctoral studies focused on the implementation, adaptation, and transportability of evidence-based interventions in low-resource settings. Current research focuses on optimizing health systems to improve health outcomes, protections of health information including ethical practices in implementing Artificial Intelligence technologies in social services and healthcare.