Event Date
Talk by Dr. Erika Crable, UC San Diego and Ms. Heidi Steinecker, Former Deputy Director, California Department of Public Health.
This discussion focuses on how the ‘research to policy gap’ hinders widespread access to effective harm reduction and substance use treatment while highlighting proactive data-driven strategies to close that divide at state, county, and city levels. Although rigorous scientific evidence about the effectiveness and safety of these services exists, it does not always drive policy decisions. Researchers and policy leaders need better approaches to communicate findings and use analytics for prevention in ways that are timely, digestible, and action-oriented. This presentation will focus on improving the intersection of research, policy, healthcare and public health to promote bi-directional collaboration and improved population health outcomes.
Dr. Erika Crable is an Assistant Professor at UC San Diego with faculty appointments in the School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, and in the H.W. School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science. Her research program investigates how evidence is used in public policymaking processes, and how policy, politics, and public trust in science influence health equity outcomes for people who are living with substance use disorders. Dr. Crable’s research is funded by the National Institute of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). She earned a Ph.D. in Health Services Research at Boston University.
Ms. Heidi Steinecker DrPH (candidate) has over twenty years of experience leading public health policy and healthcare delivery systems. As the Deputy Director of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) under the Brown and Newsom administrations, Ms. Steinecker led policy oversight for the largest healthcare system in the country. Currently, Ms. Steinecker is the Principal of Health and Human Services for Resultant Consulting and also serves as the Vice Chair for the World Trade Center Board in Northern California, working with the US Department of State on global health and geo-political diplomacy.
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