About

Dr. Cheryl Wisseh is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Pharmacy in the Department of Clinical Pharmacy Practice at the School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, Irvine. She is a board-certified ambulatory care pharmacist with specialized training in public health, minority health and health disparities, and community engagement. Her clinical expertise focuses on cardiometabolic chronic disease management. Dr. Wisseh's research examines the determinants of health and their effects on racially and ethnically minoritized individuals and communities facing medication-related challenges, including access, adherence, and appropriateness of medications. Her work emphasizes social, behavioral, and structural determinants of health, community-based participatory research, and medication optimization. She has received several awards, including the Wendell T. Hill Award and the Young Pharmacist Award from the National Pharmaceutical Association, and the Athalie Clarke Achievement Award for Pharmaceutical Research at UCI. Her research projects include interventions to improve medication adherence and health outcomes among diverse populations, with a focus on reducing racial and ethnic health disparities.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Gerontology
• Nursing
• Environmental health
• Political Science
• Demography
• Computer Science
• Internal medicine
• Immunology
• Public relations
• Family medicine
• Psychiatry
• Geography
• Psychology
• Medical education

Selected publications

• Development and initial validation of the interprofessional clinical competency evaluation tool (ICET): A clinical evaluation tool used in student assessment of interprofessional collaboration competency

  Journal of Interprofessional Education & Practice · 2025-11-20

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Associations between Diabetes-Specific Medication Regimen Complexity and Cardiometabolic Outcomes among Underserved Non-Hispanic Black Adults Living with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

  Pharmacy · 2024-05-26

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) management and glycemic control in underserved non-Hispanic Black adults presents with multifaceted challenges: balancing the optimal complexity of antihyperglycemic medications prescribed, limited medication access due to socioeconomic status, medication nonadherence, and high prevalence of cardiometabolic comorbidities. This single-center, cross-sectional, retrospective chart analysis evaluated the association of Medication Regimen Complexity (MRC) with cardiometabolic outcomes (glycemic, atherogenic cholesterol, and blood pressure control) among non-Hispanic Black adults with type 2 diabetes. Utilizing 470 independent patient electronic health records, MRC and other covariates were examined to determine their associations with cardiometabolic outcomes. Chi-square tests of independence and multiple logistic regression were performed to identify associations between MRC and cardiometabolic outcomes. Our findings indicate significant negative and positive associations between MRC and glycemic control and atherogenic cholesterol control, respectively. However, there were no associations between MRC and blood pressure control. As diabetes MRC was shown to be associated with poor glycemic control and improved atherogenic cholesterol control, there is a critical need to standardize interdisciplinary diabetes care to include pharmacists and to develop more insurance policy interventions that increase access to newer, efficacious diabetes medications for historically marginalized populations.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use among Underserved Older Latino Adults

  Journal of Clinical Medicine · 2023-04-23 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: Previous studies identified alarming increases in medication use, polypharmacy, and the use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) among minority older adults with multimorbidity. However, PIM use among underserved older Latino adults is still largely unknown. The main objective of this study is to examine the prevalence of PIM use among underserved, community-dwelling older Latino adults. This study examines both the complexity of polypharmacy in this community and identifies associations between PIM and multimorbidity, polypharmacy, and access to medical care among this segment of our population. METHODS: This community-based, cross-sectional study included 126 community-dwelling Latinos aged 65 years and older. The updated 2019 AGS Beers Criteria was used to identify participants using PIMs. We used multinomial logistic regression to examine the independent association of PIM with several independent variables including demographic characteristics, the number of chronic conditions, the number of prescription medications used, level of pain, and sleep difficulty. In addition, we present five cases in order to offer greater insight into PIM use among our sample. RESULTS: One-third of participants had at least one use of PIM. Polypharmacy (≥5 medications) was observed in 55% of our sample. In addition, 46% took drugs to be used with caution (UWC). In total, 16% were taking between 9 and 24 medications, whereas 39% and 46% were taking 5 to 8 and 1 to 4 prescription medications, respectively. The multinomial logit regression analysis showed that (controlling for demographic variables) increased PIM use was associated with an increased number of prescription medications, number of chronic conditions, sleep difficulty, lack of access to primary care, financial strains, and poor self-rated health. DISCUSSION: Both qualitative and quantitative analysis revealed recurrent themes in the missed identification of potential drug-related harm among underserved Latino older adults. Our data suggest that financial strain, lack of access to primary care, as well as an increased number of medications and co-morbidity are inter-connected. Lack of continuity of care often leads to fragmented care, putting vulnerable patients at risk of polypharmacy and drug-drug interactions as clinicians lack access to a current and complete list of medications patients are using at any given time. Therefore, improving access to health care and thereby continuity of care among older Latino adults with multimorbidity has the potential to reduce both polypharmacy and PIM use. Programs that increase access to regular care and continuity of care should be prioritized among multimorbid, undeserved, Latino older adults in an effort toward improved health equity.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Health Disparities in Pharmacy Practice Within the Community: Let's Brainstorm for Solutions

  Frontiers in Public Health · 2022 · 21 citations

  • Political Science
  • Computer Science
  • Medicine

  Health disparity is defined as a type of health difference that is closely linked with social, economic and/or environmental disadvantage. Over the past two decades, major efforts have been undertaken to mitigate health disparities and promote health equity in the United States. Within pharmacy practice, health disparities have also been identified to play a role in influencing pharmacists' practice across various clinical settings. However, well-characterized solutions to address such disparities, particularly within pharmacy practice, are lacking in the literature. Recognizing that a significant amount of work will be necessary to reduce or eliminate health disparities, the University of California, Irvine (UCI) School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences held a webinar in June 2021 to explore pertinent issues related to this topic. During the session, participants were given the opportunity to propose and discuss innovative solutions to overcome health disparities in pharmacy practice. The goal of this perspective article is to distill the essence of the presentations and discussions from this interactive session, and to synthesize ideas for practical solutions that can be translated to practice to address this public health problem.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Sociodemographic characteristics differ across routine adult vaccine cohorts: An All of Us descriptive study

  Journal of the American Pharmacists Association · 2022-11-13 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: The National Institutes of Health All of Us (AoU) Research Program is currently building a database of 1million+ adult subjects. With it, we describe the characteristics of those with documented vaccinations. OBJECTIVES: To describe the sociodemographic, health status, and lifestyle factors associated with vaccinations. METHODS: This is a retrospective study involving data from the AoU program (R2020Q4R2, N = 315,297). Five vaccine cohorts [influenza, hepatitis B (HBV), pneumococcal <65 years old, pneumococcal ≥65 years old, and human papillomavirus (HPV)] were generated based on vaccination history. The influenza cohort comprised participants with documented influenza vaccinations in electronic health records (EHRs) from September 2017 to May 2018. Other vaccine cohorts comprised participants with ≥1 lifetime record(s) of vaccination documented in the EHR by December 2018. The vaccine cohorts were compared to the overall AoU cohort. Descriptive statistics were generated using EHR- and survey-based sociodemographic, health, and lifestyle information. The SAMBA (0.9.0) R package was utilized to adjust for EHR selection and outcome misclassification biases to infer sources of disparity for pneumococcal vaccinations in older adults. RESULTS: Cohort counts were as follows: influenza (n = 15,346), HBV (n = 6323), pneumococcal <65 (n = 15,217), pneumococcal ≥65 (n = 15,100), and HPV (n = 2125). All vaccine cohorts had higher proportions of White and non-Hispanic/Latino participants compared to the overall AoU cohort. The largest differences were found in pneumococcal age ≥65, with 80.2% White participants compared to 52.9% in the overall study population. Multivariable analysis revealed that race/ethnic disparities in pneumococcal vaccination among older adults were explained by biological sex, income, health insurance, and education-related variables. CONCLUSION: Racial, ethnic, education, and income characteristics differ across the vaccine cohorts among AoU participants. These findings inform future utilization of large health databases in vaccine epidemiology research and emphasize the need for more targeted interventions that address differences in vaccine uptake.

  PublisherDOI

• Worldwide characteristics and trends of pharmacist interventions contributed to minimize health disparities

  JACCP JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF CLINICAL PHARMACY · 2022-05-26 · 2 citations

  article

  Abstract Health disparities in outcomes are ubiquitous and must be addressed. Pharmacist‐led clinical services have been shown to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs. However, their involvement in addressing health disparities has not been well documented. We conducted a literature review to summarize worldwide pharmacist‐involved interventions that contributed to reducing health disparities. The overarching goal is to provide guidance on future directions to advance health equity. PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and CINAHL were searched from inception to October 2021. Studies included were those that evaluated pharmacist‐involved interventions contributing to the mitigation of health disparities. Pilot or preliminary studies and those published in non‐English languages were excluded. Study characteristics, clinical areas, targeted patient population, types of interventions, and outcomes were evaluated. A total of 151 studies were included, of which 27% were randomized controlled trials. The majority of studies (82%) conducted in high‐income countries targeted cardiometabolic conditions (49%). Infectious diseases were commonly managed conditions among studies (56%) conducted in low‐/middle‐income countries. Most pharmacist‐involved interventions were delivered to rural communities (45%), followed by patients with low income (33%) and racial/ethnic minorities (24%). A minimal number of studies (1%) addressed gender‐ or disability‐related interventions. Multidisciplinary team care (70%) and medication management (64%) were the most prevalent care models reported among the studies, followed by education (49%) and screenings/health fairs (21%). Commonly reported outcome measures included laboratory values (38%), medication utilization (29%), and medication adherence (16%). Only 7% and 9% of the studies reported humanistic and economic outcomes, respectively. Pharmacists have been involved in a variety of clinical interventions targeting a diverse range of patient populations, which unveiled pharmacists' roles in contributing to reducing health disparities. Variability of implemented interventions exists geographically and in certain groups for whom few interventions have been implemented, highlighting the need for further efforts to achieve equity in health care.

  PublisherDOI

• HSD99 Pharmacist-Led Interventions for Reducing Health Disparities: A Systematic Review

  Value in Health · 2022-06-25

  reviewOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• 24. An analysis of the National Institutes of Health All of Us Research Database: Sociodemographic Disparities Among Patients Who Received Vaccinations

  Open Forum Infectious Diseases · 2021-11-01

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Background The National Institutes of Health All of Us (AoU) research program is building a diversified database of 1 million+ adult subjects. With this database, we seek to describe the sociodemographic characteristics of those with documented vaccinations. Methods The AoU recruited subjects ≥ 18 years beginning in 2018. Eligible subjects were subsequently divided into five vaccine cohorts based on their vaccine history [influenza, hepatitis B (HepB), pneumococcal (Pneu) &amp;lt; 65, Pneu ≥ 65, human papillomavirus (HPV)]. The vaccine cohorts were compared to the general AoU cohort. Subjects in the influenza cohort had documented influenza vaccinations from 09/2017-05/2018. Other vaccine cohorts comprised subjects with ≥ 1 lifetime record(s) of vaccination by 12/2018. The Pneu &amp;lt; 65 and ≥ 65 cohorts comprised those who received pneumococcal vaccination before or after (inclusive) 65 years old, respectively. Descriptive statistics for all cohorts were generated using survey and electronic health record (EHR) data. Results We analyzed 315297 subjects in the AoU dataset R2020Q4R2. The cohort sizes were: influenza (n=15346), HepB (n=6323), HPV (n=2125), and Pneu (&amp;lt; 65 n=15217; ≥65 n=15100). For all vaccine cohorts, comparing the 95% confidence intervals (CIs), the proportions of whites and non-Hispanics/Latinos were statistically higher than the general AoU cohort, the largest being from the Pneu ≥ 65 cohort (Table 1). For educational attainment, the Pneu &amp;lt; 65 (36.5%) had the smallest proportion of college or advanced degree graduates while the largest was observed in the Pneu ≥ 65 cohort (59.0%). The proportions of subjects with &amp;lt; &amp;10k in annual household income (AHI) were largest among Pneu &amp;lt; 65 (17.1%) and smallest among Pneu ≥ 65 (3.8%). In contrast, the largest proportion of subjects with ≥ &amp;100k AHI was among Pneu ≥ 65 (25.3%) and the smallest among Pneu &amp;lt; 65 (15.8%). Table 1. Sociodemographic characteristics of subjects in the All of Us research program based on vaccine receipt Conclusion Racial and ethnic disparities in vaccinations were apparent. Pneumococcal vaccination at age 65 years and above was more prevalent among white, non-Hispanic/Latino subjects who were also more educated and affluent. Conversely, those receiving pneumococcal vaccination before age 65 years were less educated and had lower AHI. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

  PublisherDOI

• Conceptualizing Social Ecological Model in Pharmacy to Address Racism as a Social Determinant of Health

  American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education · 2021-07-22 · 27 citations

  reviewOpen access

  Racism has been declared a public health crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted inequities in the US health care system and presents unique opportunities for the pharmacy Academy to evaluate the training of student pharmacists to address social determinants of health among racial and ethnic minorities. The social ecological model, consisting of five levels of intervention (individual, interpersonal, organizational, community, and public policy) has been effectively utilized in public health practice to influence behavior change that positively impacts health outcomes. This paper adapted the social ecological model and proposed a framework with five intervention levels for integrating racism as a social determinant of health into pharmacy curricula. The proposed corresponding levels of intervention for pharmacy education are the curricular, interprofessional, institutional, community, and accreditation levels. Other health professions such as dentistry, medicine, and nursing can easily adopt this framework for teaching racism and social determinants of health within their respective curricula.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Socialized and traumatized: Pharmacists, underserved patients, and the COVID-19 vaccine

  Journal of the American Pharmacists Association · 2021-05-31 · 10 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Mohsen Bazargan

  Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science

  53 shared

• Shervin Assari

  Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science

  32 shared

• Edward Adinkrah

  Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science

  25 shared

• Ebony King

  West Los Angeles College

  18 shared

• Shanika Boyce

  Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science

  16 shared

• Sharon Cobb

  Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science

  7 shared

• Alexandre Chan

  University of California, Irvine

  5 shared

• Keri Hurley‐Kim

  University of California, Irvine

  5 shared

Education

• B.S., Biology; Chemistry Minor

  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  2007

• Other

  UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy

  2016

• Other, Urban Health Disparities

  Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science

  2020

Awards & honors

• Athalie Clarke Achievement Award for Pharmaceutical Research…
• Wendell T. Hill Award- National Pharmaceutical Association (…
• Young Pharmacist Award- National Pharmaceutical Association…