About

Eileen B. O’Keefe, MD, MPH is a clinical professor in the Department of Health Sciences at Boston University and serves as the Chair of the department. She is also a physician and public health professional with additional titles including Faculty Associate at the Pardee Center for the Longer Range Future and Governing Counselor of the American Public Health Association. Dr. O’Keefe joined Boston University in 2004 as the inaugural director of the Health Science Program, a position she held until 2016. Her research focuses on the social determinants of health—the social and environmental conditions in which people live—and their impact on health inequities within society. Her work examines how health disparities are influenced by the distribution of resources, money, and power, and the role of social policies in either reducing or exacerbating these inequities. She has conducted health assessments of urban populations, such as Hartford, Connecticut, and rural women in Gujarat, India. Dr. O’Keefe is actively involved in national public health policy and serves as a governing councilor with the American Public Health Association and as an associate editor for Frontiers in Public Health – Epidemiology.

Research topics

• Gerontology
• Psychology
• Psychiatry
• Nursing
• Medicine

Selected publications

• Physical Activity’s Impact on Quality of Life in Older Adults with Dementia: A Systematic Review

  OBM Geriatrics · 2020 · 1 citations

  • Gerontology
  • Medicine
  • Psychology

  Individuals with dementia frequently report poor quality of life (QOL), which declines as their disease progresses. Some evidence suggests that physical activity may help maintain cognitive function in older age, but it is unclear whether physical activity affects quality of life in older adults with dementia. The purpose of this review paper is to explore whether and how physical activity impacts QOL in patients with diagnosed dementia in different residential settings. To conduct this systematic review, the following search terms were inputted into the search bars of three databases:(dementia OR Alzheimer) AND (walking OR physical activity OR exercise OR fitness) AND (community OR nursing home OR independent living OR green care) AND (Quality of Life). A total of ten articles met the study inclusion criteria. Several studies reported a positive correlation between physical activity intervention programs and QOL outcome measures, pertaining to socialization and positive emotions, and an increase in physical endurance capacity among program participants. However, most results were not statistically significant. We conclude that more large studies need to be conducted in order to establish whether there is a significant positive dose-response relationship between physical activity intervention programs and QOL measures among individuals with diagnosed dementia.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Commonwealth Secretariat on Migration ofHealth Workers

  2018-01-15

  article1st authorCorresponding
  Publisher

• RAHI–SATHI Indo-U.S. Collaboration: The Evolution of a Trainee-Led Twinning Model in Global Health Into a Multidisciplinary Collaborative Program

  Global Health Science and Practice · 2017-03-24 · 13 citations

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: In recent years there has been a surge in the number of global health programs operated by academic institutions. However, most of the existing programs describe partnerships that are primarily faculty-driven and supported by extramural funding. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Research and Advocacy for Health in India (RAHI, or "pathfinder" in Hindi) and Support and Action Towards Health-Equity in India (SATHI, or "partnership" in Hindi) are 2 interconnected, collaborative efforts between the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) and Charutar Arogya Mandal (CAM), a medical college and a tertiary care center in rural western India. The RAHI-SATHI program is the culmination of a series of student/trainee-led research and capacity strengthening initiatives that received institutional support in the form of faculty mentorship and seed funding. RAHI-SATHI's trainee-led twinning approach overcomes traditional barriers faced by global health programs. Trainees help mitigate geographical barriers by acting as a bridge between members from different institutions, garner cultural insight through their ability to immerse themselves in a community, and overcome expertise limitations through pre-planned structured mentorship from faculty of both institutions. Trainees play a central role in cultivating trust among the team members and, in the process, they acquire personal leadership skills that may benefit them in their future careers. CONCLUSION: This paradigm of trainee-led twinning partnership promotes sustainability in an uncertain funding climate and provides a roadmap for conducting foundational work that is essential for the development of a broad, university-wide global health program.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Education Mitigates the Relationship of Stress and Mental Disorders Among Rural Indian Women

  Annals of Global Health · 2017-03-08 · 30 citations

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: Common mental disorders (CMD) are a constellation of mental health conditions that include depression, anxiety, and other related nonpsychotic affective disorders. Qualitative explanatory models of mental health among reproductive-aged women in India reveal that distress is strongly associated with CMD. The relationship of perceived stress and CMD might be attenuated or exacerbated based on an individual's sociodemographic characteristics. OBJECTIVES: To screen for Common Mental Disorders (CMD) among reproductive-aged women from rural western India and explore how the relationship between perceived stress and CMD screening status varies by sociodemographic characteristics. METHODS: Cross-sectional survey of 700 women from rural Gujarat, India. CMD screening status was assessed using Self-Reported Questionnaire 20 (SRQ-20). Factors associated with CMD screening status were evaluated using multivariable logistic regression. Effect modification for the relationship of perceived stress and CMD screening status was assessed using interaction terms and interpreted in terms of predicted probabilities. FINDINGS: The analytic cohort included 663 women, with roughly 1 in 4 screening positive for CMD (157, 23.7%). Poor income, low education, food insecurity, and recurrent thoughts after traumatic events were associated with increased risk of positive CMD screen. Perceived stress was closely associated with CMD screening status. Higher education attenuated the relationship between high levels of stress and CMD screening status (82.3%, 88.8%, 32.9%; P value for trend: 0.03). Increasing income and age attenuated the link between moderate stress and CMD. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest a high burden of possible CMD among reproductive-aged women from rural western India. Higher education might mitigate the association between elevated stress and CMD. Future efforts to improve mental health in rural India should focus on preventing CMD by enhancing rural women's self-efficacy and problem-solving capabilities to overcome challenging life events and stressors, thereby reducing the risk of CMD.

  PublisherDOI

• Are There Two Types of Suicidal Ideation Among Women in Rural India?

  Annals of Global Health · 2017-03-08 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  Annals of Global Health is a peer-reviewed, fully open access, online journal dedicated to publishing high quality articles dedicated to all aspects of global health. The journal's mission is to advance global health, promote research, and foster the prevention and treatment of disease worldwide. Its goals are to improve the health and well-being of all people, advance health equity, and promote wise stewardship of the earth's environment. The latest journal impact factor is 2.90. Annals of Global Health is supported by the Program for Global Public Health and the Common Good at Boston College. It was founded in 1934 by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai as the Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine. It is a partner journal of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health. From time to time, Annals of Global Health publishes Special Collections, a series of articles organized around a common theme in global health. Recent Special Collections have included "Local evidence and strategies in addressing NCDs Non-Communicable Diseases in Tanzania", "Universal Health Coverage through Integrated Care", and "The Minderoo-Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health". Global health workers interested in developing a Special Collection are strongly encouraged to contact the Managing Editor in advance to discuss the project.

  PublisherDOI

• Health inequalities: critical perspectives

  Journal of Public Health · 2016-11-23 · 144 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Association of common mental disorder symptoms with health and healthcare factors among women in rural western India: results of a cross-sectional survey

  BMJ Open · 2016-07-01 · 39 citations

  articleOpen access

  OBJECTIVES: Information about common mental disorders (CMD) is needed to guide policy and clinical interventions in low-income and middle-income countries. This study's purpose was to characterise the association of CMD symptoms with 3 inter-related health and healthcare factors among women from rural western India based on a representative, cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Surveys were conducted in the waiting area of various outpatient clinics at a tertiary care hospital and in 16 rural villages in the Anand district of Gujarat, India. PARTICIPANTS: 700 Gujarati-speaking women between the ages of 18-45 years who resided in the Anand district of Gujarat, India, were recruited in a quasi-randomised manner. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES MEASURES: CMD symptoms, ascertained using WHO's Self-Reporting Questionnaire-20 (SRQ-20), were associated with self-reported (1) number of healthcare visits in the prior year; (2) health status and (3) portion of yearly income expended on healthcare. RESULTS: Data from 658 participants were used in this analysis; 19 surveys were excluded due to incompleteness, 18 surveys were excluded because the participants were visiting hospitalised patients and 5 surveys were classified as outliers. Overall, 155 (22·8%) participants screened positive for CMD symptoms (SRQ-20 score ≥8) with most (81.9%) not previously diagnosed despite contact with healthcare provider in the prior year. On adjusted analyses, screening positive for CMD symptoms was associated with worse category in self-reported health status (cumulative OR=9.39; 95% CI 5·97 to 14·76), higher portion of household income expended on healthcare (cumulative OR=2·31; 95% CL 1·52 to 3.52) and increased healthcare visits in the prior year (incidence rate ratio=1·24; 95% CI 1·07 to 1·44). CONCLUSIONS: The high prevalence of potential CMD among women in rural India that is unrecognised and associated with adverse health and financial indicators highlights the individual and public health burden of CMD.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Health Disparities and Cancer: Racial Disparities in Cancer Mortality in the United States, 2000–2010

  Frontiers in Public Health · 2015-04-15 · 256 citations

  reviewOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Declining cancer incidence and mortality rates in the United States (U.S.) have continued through the first decade of the twenty-first century. Reductions in tobacco use, greater uptake of prevention measures, adoption of early detection methods, and improved treatments have resulted in improved outcomes for both men and women. However, Black Americans continue to have the higher cancer mortality rates and shorter survival times. This review discusses and compares the cancer mortality rates and mortality trends for Blacks and Whites. The complex relationship between socioeconomic status and race and its contribution to racial cancer disparities is discussed. Based on current trends and the potential and limitations of the patient protection and affordable care act with its mandate to reduce health care inequities, future trends, and challenges in cancer mortality disparities in the U.S. are explored.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Clinical Coordinator Role in a Nursing Program

  Nurse Educator · 2014-08-19 · 4 citations

  article

  Pinchera, Barbara Jeanne DNP, ANP-BC; O’Keefe, Eileen MS, RN; O’Shea, Maureen DNP, ANP-BC, GNP-BC; Lawler, Kathleen M. MS, RN Author Information

  PublisherDOI

• Healthcare expenditure, quality and accessibility as differentials in health-seeking behavior among women in rural India

  141st APHA Annual Meeting (November 2 - November 6, 2013) · 2013-11-04

  article1st authorCorresponding
  Publisher

Frequent coauthors

• Martha Chinouya

  Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

  8 shared

• Nisha Fahey

  UMass Memorial Medical Center

  7 shared

• Alex Scott-Samuel

  University of Liverpool

  5 shared

• Nancy Byatt

  University of Massachusetts Boston

  4 shared

• Jeroan J. Allison

  University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School

  4 shared

• Ajay Phatak

  4 shared

• Apurv Soni

  4 shared

• Anusha Prabhakaran

  Bhaikaka University

  4 shared