Yusuf Ransome, MPH, DrPH
Associate Professor of Public Health (Social and Behavioral Sciences)Cards
Contact Info
About
Titles
Associate Professor of Public Health (Social and Behavioral Sciences)
Biography
Dr. Ransome’s research investigates how social, economic, and cultural determinants influence racial/ethnic- and geography-related disparities in HIV care continuum indicators and alcohol use disorders. Two broad determinants of interest are a) social capital & cohesion, and b) religion, faith, and spirituality. Dr. Ransome currently has a K01 Mentored Research Scientist Development Award from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to study the direct association and underlying mechanisms between social capital and cohesion on HIV care continuum outcomes in the United States. Some methodological approaches Dr. Ransome uses in his research program include survey data analysis, multilevel modeling, structural equation modeling, spatial epidemiology, and geographic information systems.
Appointments
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Associate Professor on TermPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Social and Behavioral Sciences
- Studies on Religion, Ethnicity, Technology, and Contextual influences on Health (STRETCH)
- Yale School of Public Health
- Yale-UPR Integrated HIV Basic and Clinical Sciences Initiative
Education & Training
- HIV Prevention Trials Network Domestic Scholar/ Research Fellow
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (2017)
- Alonso Smythe Yerby Postdoctoral Fellow
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (2016)
- DrPH
- Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Sociomedical Sciences (2014)
- MPH
- University of Michigan School of Public Health, Health Behavior and Health Education (2009)
- BS
- Brooklyn College, Business Management and Science (2003)
Research
Overview
Dr. Ransome’s research covers two broad areas. The first line of research investigates how social, economic, and psychosocial determinants influence racial/ethnic- and geography-related disparities in HIV care continuum indicators (e.g. diagnosis, linkage to care, viral suppression). One focal determinant of interest is social capital/cohesion, broadly defined as collective resources available to individuals through their social connections. Some indicators of social capital and cohesion include connections, perceptions of general and interpersonal trust, norms of reciprocity, collective action, patterns of civic engagement, and availability of organizational resources.
Dr. Ransome received a K01 Mentored Research Scientist Development Award from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to study the direct association and underlying mechanisms of the relationship between social capital/cohesion and HIV clinical indicators such as delayed diagnosis in the United States and internationally. Dr. Ransome also is engaged in multidisciplinary collaborations to develop econometric measures of social capital and cohesion and to use information from those measures to develop community-targeted interventions to improve a broad range of health outcomes and reduce chronic disease, substance abuse, and youth homelessness.
The second line of Dr. Ransome's research is to investigate the role of religious, faith, and spiritual involvement on the impact on alcohol and drug abuse as well as physiological markers of chronic health. Dr. Ransome utilizes several national datasets such as the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Longitudinal Study of Health & Wellbeing, and the National Survey of American Life (NSAL). Dr. Ransome's work in this area also involves developing novel indicators of faith and grace, and to develop personalized faith-based interventions to prevent and reduce substance abuse and improve health outcomes among individuals with alcohol and other substance use disorders.
Dr. Ransome directs a research team that draws on multiple data sources to answer complex questions. Some methodological approaches used to accomplish his research include survey data analysis, multilevel modeling, structural equation modeling, spatial epidemiology, and geographic information systems, activity space assessment and field experiments.
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Ayana Jordan, MD/PhD
Cruz Nazario, PhD
Josefa L. Martinez, PhD, MHS
Kate Nyhan, MLS
Marcella Nunez-Smith, MD, MHS
Maxine Nunez, DPH, MSN
Publications
2024
Religion, Spirituality, and COVID-19
Ransome Y, Taggart T, Kawachi I. Religion, Spirituality, and COVID-19. 2024, 395-419. DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780197625217.003.0016.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsReligious service attendanceService attendanceLevels of religious service attendanceConstructs of religiosityReading scriptureReligious textsReligious practicesPrivate religiosityReligious effectsSpecific traditionsReligionReligiositySocial relationsCOVID-19 health outcomesEucharistScriptureCommunionGoodsSpiritualityTraditionRitualsMeditationOrganizational aspectsTextPurviewSocial Capital, Social Cohesion, and COVID-19
Kawachi I, Ransome Y. Social Capital, Social Cohesion, and COVID-19. 2024, 364-394. DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780197625217.003.0015.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsSocial capitalPopulation health outcomesPopulation health impactSocial cohesionCohesive societyHealth outcomesCommunity—areMental illnessInformal socializingSocial distancing policiesSocial participationSocial isolationCOVID outcomesHealth impactsCapitalDistancing policiesIllustrative case studyCOVID-19 pandemicHigher ratesCase studyOutcomesMask-wearingPhysical distancePolicyCOVID-19Characteristics of commercial determinants of health research on corporate activities: A scoping review
Burgess R, Nyhan K, Dharia N, Freudenberg N, Ransome Y. Characteristics of commercial determinants of health research on corporate activities: A scoping review. PLOS ONE 2024, 19: e0300699. PMID: 38669229, PMCID: PMC11051660, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0300699.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsInfluence population healthHealth equityLongitudinal quantitative studyPopulation healthHealth outcomesHigh-income regionsScoping reviewHealth researchQualitative methodsHealthAlcohol industryLower-income regionsQuantitative studyPracticeInfluence human healthCorporate activitiesCorporate practicesTobaccoFundersTime periodsReviewConflict of interestsAssociationOutcomesBeveragesUnveiling disparities: examining differential item functioning’s impact on racial health equity among white and black populations
Villalonga-Olives E, Khademi A, Pan Y, Ransome Y. Unveiling disparities: examining differential item functioning’s impact on racial health equity among white and black populations. Public Health 2024, 231: 80-87. PMID: 38636280, DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2024.03.006.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsDifferential Item FunctioningMulti-group measurement invarianceMeasurement invarianceSocial capital indicatorsWhite respondentsComparing BlackItem response theory methodsCapital indicatorsSocial capitalRacial health equitySocial capital itemsSocial capital levelsSocial capital researchFactor structureStructural equation modelingIRT analysisPsychometric propertiesHealth equityItem FunctioningCommunity itemsSocial cohesionInvolvement itemsExamining raceCapital researchEquation modelingPrevalence and correlates of alcohol use among the elderly in the Eastern Caribbean Health Outcomes Research Network (ECHORN) cohort study
Ransome Y, Martinez-Brockman J, Galusha D, Thompson T, Adams O, Nazario C, Nunez M, Nunez-Smith M, Maharaj R. Prevalence and correlates of alcohol use among the elderly in the Eastern Caribbean Health Outcomes Research Network (ECHORN) cohort study. Addictive Behaviors 2024, 153: 108001. PMID: 38447411, DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2024.108001.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsEastern Caribbean Health Outcomes Research NetworkCorrelates of alcohol useCohort studyAlcohol useAlcohol problemsBinge drinking daysResearch NetworkDrinking daysLogistic regression analysisDrinking statusDescriptive statisticsCollege educationReligious attendanceCaribbean peopleSample characteristicsAlcohol measuresLongitudinal studySchool educationReligious servicesRegression analysisDrinking problemsOddsAlcohol dependenceCohortPrevalenceSpatiotemporal Patterns of Late HIV Diagnosis in Philadelphia at a Small‐area Level, 2011–2016: A Bayesian Modeling Approach Accounting for Excess Zeros
Luan H, Ransome Y, Dean L, Nassau T, Brady K. Spatiotemporal Patterns of Late HIV Diagnosis in Philadelphia at a Small‐area Level, 2011–2016: A Bayesian Modeling Approach Accounting for Excess Zeros. Geographical Analysis 2024, 56: 494-513. DOI: 10.1111/gean.12391.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchThe impact of racism on Black American mental health
Cogburn C, Roberts S, Ransome Y, Addy N, Hansen H, Jordan A. The impact of racism on Black American mental health. The Lancet Psychiatry 2024, 11: 56-64. PMID: 38101873, DOI: 10.1016/s2215-0366(23)00361-9.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsMental illnessMental healthUnfavorable health outcomesMental health systemMental health issuesDSM-5 classification systemEpidemiological surveyHealth outcomesInadequate treatmentAmerican mental healthHealth systemExperience disparitiesHealth issuesIllnessBlack individualsBlack AmericansBlack populationHealthClassification systemMorbidityMisdiagnosisDisparities
2023
Church Closings Were Associated with Higher COVID-19 Infection Rates: Implications for Community Health Equity
Ransome Y, Luan H, Song I, Duncan D. Church Closings Were Associated with Higher COVID-19 Infection Rates: Implications for Community Health Equity. Journal Of Urban Health 2023, 100: 1258-1263. PMID: 37989815, PMCID: PMC10728374, DOI: 10.1007/s11524-023-00791-2.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsA “Dark Side” of religion? Associations between religious involvement, identity and domestic violence determinants in Australia
Priest N, Esler M, Ransome Y, Williams D, Perry R. A “Dark Side” of religion? Associations between religious involvement, identity and domestic violence determinants in Australia. Australian Journal Of Social Issues 2023, 59: 186-205. DOI: 10.1002/ajs4.298.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsDomestic violenceReligious involvementReligious identityPatriarchal beliefsFaith communitiesReligious service attendanceFrequency of prayerRepresentative cross-sectional dataNational issuesService attendanceGender rolesViolenceSocial attitudesAustralian surveyIdentityDark sideBeliefsPopulation healthCross-sectional dataAttitudesCommunityReligionPrayerAcknowledgementAustralian adults
Academic Achievements and Community Involvement
activity Social Capital/Cohesion and HIV research
ResearchDetails02/01/2017 - PresentPhiladelphia, PA, United StatesCollaborators- Dr.Kathleen BradyPhiladelphia Department of Public Health
Links & Media
News
- October 25, 2023Source: Black News
Depression and mental health screening month offers key resources for healinghm
- August 23, 2023
Honorary doctorate latest accolade for YSPH alum Shadrack Osei Frimpong
- May 12, 2023Source: SIGHT
Ongoing role: COVID-19 health emergency is ending but in the US, faith-based vaccine clinics continue
- November 28, 2022
Voices: Quotables from YSPH faculty in the news
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Yale Only Shannon Whittaker - Yusuf Ransome, MPH, DrPH - Trace Kershaw, PhD