About

Ciara Zachary, MPH, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, where she also serves as Assistant Dean of Masters Programs. Her work focuses on health policy research and policy advocacy aimed at increasing access to affordable, high-quality health coverage, particularly for underserved populations. Prior to her current role, she led several policy advocacy initiatives and lobbied state and federal lawmakers to improve health care programs, working closely with grassroots and grasstops partners across North Carolina on issues such as Medicaid Transformation, Medicaid Expansion, and the Affordable Care Act. Dr. Zachary has extensive experience in state and federal health policy analysis and has worked in program evaluation for diverse communities. Her evaluation projects include efforts to reduce high school noncompletion among students in low-resource communities and injury prevention programs with American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and tribal organizations. Her work has addressed health programs such as school-based behavioral health services and injury prevention for older adults. Through her diverse stakeholder engagements, she is passionate about understanding how health policy impacts health equity and disparities.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Environmental health
• Economic growth
• Internal medicine
• Pathology
• Gerontology
• Business
• Economics
• Nursing
• Family medicine
• Immunology
• Biology

Selected publications

• The American Rescue Plan Act: Protecting and Supporting Frontline Workers.

  UNC Libraries · 2025-06-10

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Frontline workers are essential to how North Carolina navigates the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and its recovery. Throughout the pandemic, frontline workers faced increased risk of exposure, hospitalization, and death. The American Rescue Plan Act provides funding for, and has provisions that support and protect, frontline workers in various industries.

  PublisherDOI

• The Affordable Care Act in North Carolina : A Look Back and Review of Coverage Changes.

  UNC Libraries · 2025-07-10

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Prior to the passage of the Affordable Care Act, many individuals across the state and country faced numerous barriers to accessing affordable and quality health care. This paper provides a review of health coverage in North Carolina before the ACA, the impact the ACA has had on access to health care, and how North Carolina could continue to benefit from "complete" implementation of the ACA.

  PublisherDOI

• Medicaid

  Springer eBooks · 2023

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Business
  • Environmental health
  • Medicine
  PublisherDOI

• The American Rescue Plan Act: Protecting and Supporting Frontline Workers

  North Carolina Medical Journal · 2021-09-01

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Frontline workers are essential to how North Carolina navigates the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and its recovery. Throughout the pandemic, frontline workers faced increased risk of exposure, hospitalization, and death. The American Rescue Plan Act provides funding for, and has

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Medicaid Coverage for Pregnant Women

  North Carolina Medical Journal · 2020 · 3 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Environmental health
  • Medicine
  • Family medicine

  Medicaid is an essential source of health coverage that finances more than half of all births in North Carolina. This paper examines current eligibility for pregnant women and its impacts on health outcomes for mothers and children. The authors provide suggestions to increase access to this vital health insurance program and better promote the health of North Carolina's families.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The Affordable Care Act in North Carolina : A Look Back and Review of Coverage Changes

  North Carolina Medical Journal · 2020

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Immunology
  • Medicine
  • Biology

  Prior to the passage of the Affordable Care Act, many individuals across the state and country faced numerous barriers to accessing affordable and quality health care. This paper provides a review of health coverage in North Carolina before the ACA, the impact the ACA has had on access to health care, and how North Carolina could continue to benefit from "complete" implementation of the ACA.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• EPSDT as a Pathway Toward Trauma-Informed Care for Children with Medicaid Coverage

  North Carolina Medical Journal · 2018-03-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Lost in Transition

  North Carolina Medical Journal · 2017-01-01

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Medicaid consumers face some uncertainty concerning the proposed Medicaid reform plan. Concerns focus on continuity and quality of care and support for consumer protections and rights. Despite updated Medicaid managed care rules that include consumer protections, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services must implement further safeguards to address consumer concerns.

  PublisherDOI

• Decreasing barriers to data submission for multisite injury prevention programs in American Indian/ Alaska Native communities: An innovative cloud-based solution

  142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014) · 2014-11-18

  article1st authorCorresponding
  Publisher

• Enhancing multi-site technical assistance with cloud computing: bridging the digital divide for underserved communities with an affordable, scalable, ICT solution

  International Journal of Integrated Care · 2014-12-08

  articleOpen access

  The International Journal of Integrated Care (IJIC) is an online, open-access, peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes original articles in the field of integrated care on a continuous basis.IJIC has an Impact Factor of 5.120 (2020 JCR, received in June 2021)The IJIC 20th Anniversary Issue was published in 2021.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Lawrence S. Wissow

  University of Washington

  3 shared

• Anne Gadomski

  Bassett Medical Center

  2 shared

• Ivor B. Horn

  2 shared

• Jonathan D. Brown

  2 shared

• Edward L. Bartlett

  Purdue University West Lafayette

  2 shared

• Carri Casteel

  University of Iowa

  2 shared

• Maryalice Nocera

  National Center for Injury Prevention and Control

  1 shared

• Mei‐Cheng Wang

  Johns Hopkins University

  1 shared