Faculty

The following paragraphs present a description of the research team's expertise areas, and experience

Roberto E. Torres Zeno, Ph.D.
Director
Puerto Rico Health Services Research Institute
University of Puerto Rico, School of Public Health

Dr. Roberto E. Torres Zeno, (PRHSRI Director ) is Professor in the Department of Health Services Administration at the University Of Puerto Rico, Graduate School of Public Health. His specialty areas and research strength focus on strategic planning, indigent care, Latino Health, minority health issues, medical technology assessment and policy studies related to health care delivery systems. Scientific journals where Dr. Torres has published include the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, Latino Studies Journal, the American Journal of Electroneurodiagnostic Technology, Human Systems Management, Inquiry, and Journal of Public Health Policy. Dr. Torres taught at Eastern Michigan University for 11 years, where he also served as Director of the Health Administration Program for four years.

José A. Capriles, MD, MPH, MHSA
Principal Investigator
Patterns of Health Service Utilization by Insurance Status
Among Children and Adolescents with Asthma in Puerto Rico
University of Puerto Rico, School of Public Health

Dr. José A. Capriles Quirós is a pediatrician, neonatologist and health services administrator. He is a Professor at the Graduate School of Public Health and Director of the Graduate Program in Health Services Administration. He carries out investigation in the areas of Pediatric AIDS, Neonatal Mortality, Infant Mortality and risks factors associated to low birth weight and short gestations. He was Co-Principal Investigator of a project designed to develop and implement the Pregnancy Risks Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) Project at the San Juan Municipality in 1995-96 funded by the Puerto Rico Maternal and Child Health Block Grant Award 94B1PRMCHS. He has also participated on residency programs accreditation process in Pediatrics at the Hospital San Juan, the Graduate School of Public Health and the Hospital San Pablo. Currently, Dr. Capriles is also the Executive Director of the PR Public Health Leadership Institute.

Mario H. Rodríguez-Sánchez, Ph.D., MS, MSEH, MPH
CO- Principal Investigator
Patterns of Health Service Utilization by Insurance Status
Among Children and Adolescents with Asthma in Puerto Rico
University of Puerto Rico, School of Public Health

Dr. Mario H. Rodríguez-Sánchez is an industrial organizational psychologist with expertise in epidemiology. He is Associate Professor in the Master Program in Health Services Administration. His areas of professional experience include organizational development, health service evaluation and planning, and test construction. He has also developed research in areas of strategic management in health services organization, safety climate, workplace violence behavior, ageism, burnout and sexual risk behavior.

Carmen Albizu-García, MD
Principal Investigator
Psychometric Properties of Two Potential Indicators of the
Performance of Mental Health Services for Children and Adolescents
University of Puerto Rico, School of Public Health

Dr. Carmen Albizu-García is a physician and a Professor at the Health Services Evaluation program within the Department of Health Services Administration at the Puerto Rico Graduate School of Public Health and a researcher at the Center for Evaluation and Sociomedical Research. She has co-authored research manuscripts in mental health services research, addressing factors associated with services utilization among the medically indigent. Dr. Albizu-García recently examined the extent of turnover in mental health and substance abuse (MHSA) provider networks within public sector managed behavioral care over a one-year period and its association to provider and practice characteristics. Her current preliminary studies explore mental health services provider's perceptions of their organizational climate as well as its correlates.

Heriberto Marín-Centeno, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
The Effect of Health Care Reform on Infant Mortality: The Case of Puerto Rico

Dr. Heriberto Marín-Centeno is an economist and Associate Professor of the Evaluation Research program. Dr. Marín has been a co-investigator in most of the externally funded research and evaluation projects carried out at Center for Evaluation and Sociomedical Research since his arrival. His various research interests include the role of mental illness, particularly depression, in work performance; the economic aspects of Puerto Rico's Health Care Reform; and the costs associated with current drug policy in Puerto Rico. He has also provided technical assistance and consulted for studies projecting workforce needs for the general economy and the health services sector in Puerto Rico.

Ruth Rios-Motta, Ph.D.
Research Support Unit
School of Public Health, University of Puerto Rico

Dr. Ruth Ríos-Motta is an Associate Professor at the Health Services Evaluation program within the Department of Health Services Administration at the Puerto Rico Graduate School of Public Health and a researcher at the Center for Evaluation and Sociomedical Research. Her previous work explored the determinants of mental health services utilization among diverse minority and Latino subgroups using the NIH Epidemiologic Catchments Area (ECA) studies data from Baltimore and Los Angeles, the Miami survey data from the Florida International University, and among various Latino subgroups using the National Comorbidity Survey (NCS). She has worked previously as senior evaluator for the Puerto Rico AIDS Education and Training Project (PRAETC) and the Targeted Provider Education Demonstration Project (PRTPED) sponsored by HRSA. At this time, she is the evaluator for the Puerto Rico site from the Florida/Caribbean AETC, and serves as evaluation consultant at the Academy of Medical Director for the National Health Service Corps SEARCH Program.

Angela Pattatucci-Aragón, PhD
Faculty Development Unit
University of Puerto Rico, School of Public Health

Dr. Pattatucci-Aragón is a Professor at the Department of Health Services Administration and is Director of the Center of Evaluation and Sociomedical Research. She previously held the position of Scientific Review Administrator at the NIH Center for Scientific Review, where she directed the AARR-7 and AARR-8 scientific review groups focused on HIV/AIDS prevention and intervention research. In this capacity, Dr. Pattatucci-Aragón mentored hundreds of researchers on grant preparation and submission. She also has delivered a number of seminars on grant writing at major conferences and universities.

This website is supported by the Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality, Grant No. 1 R24 HS1 4060-02 and by a Research Centers in Minority Institutions Award, G12RR-03051, from the National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health