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Ayorkor Gaba PsyD

TitleAssistant Professor
InstitutionUMass Chan Medical School
DepartmentPsychiatry
AddressUMass Chan Medical School
365 Plantation Street Biotech I
Worcester MA 01605
Phone508-856-6563
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    Other Positions
    InstitutionT.H. Chan School of Medicine
    DepartmentPsychiatry


    Collapse Biography 
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    Rutgers University- New Brunswick, New Brunswick, NJ, United StatesBSPsychology
    Rutgers University- New Brunswick, New Brunswick, NJ, United StatesPSYDClinical Psychology

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    I am is a Clinical Psychologist, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and Director of the Behavioral Health Equity Advancement Lab (B-HEAL). I study behavioral health treatment and support interventions, within underserved populations including individuals experiencing homelessness, justice-involved persons, veterans, women, and systemically minoritized groups. As a recent mentored career development (KL2) awardee, my current research is utilizing a health equity implementation science framework to study and advance behavioral health equity in care delivery models for justice-involved adults. Ultimately, my research aims to promote equity and reduce disparities. I complement my research with advocacy efforts as an American Psychological Association NGO representative to the United Nations and clinical work in private practice. I integrate cross-cultural, social justice, systems, and human rights perspectives across my work. 



    Collapse Bibliographic 
    Collapse selected publications
    Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Faculty can login to make corrections and additions.
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    PMC Citations indicate the number of times the publication was cited by articles in PubMed Central, and the Altmetric score represents citations in news articles and social media. (Note that publications are often cited in additional ways that are not shown here.) Fields are based on how the National Library of Medicine (NLM) classifies the publication's journal and might not represent the specific topic of the publication. Translation tags are based on the publication type and the MeSH terms NLM assigns to the publication. Some publications (especially newer ones and publications not in PubMed) might not yet be assigned Field or Translation tags.) Click a Field or Translation tag to filter the publications.
    1. Gaba A, Flores R, Rebecca Ward M, Pridgen B. Addressing Gender-Based Violence Using Evidence-Based Practices During COVID-19: The Case of Puerto Rico. Violence Against Women. 2022 06; 28(8):1736-1749. PMID: 35475669.
      Citations:    Fields:    
    2. Dixon LB, Lewis-Fernández R, Isom J, Bellamy C, Gaba A, Rossom RC, Adams L, Legha RK, Carlo AD, Sokol Y, Norquist GS, Roy M, Jackson D. Reporting on and Reviewing for Race/Racialization, Ethnicity, and Culture. Psychiatr Serv. 2022 05; 73(5):482-483. PMID: 35392661.
      Citations:    Fields:    
    3. Leach R, Carreiro S, Shaffer PM, Gaba A, Smelson D. Digital Health Interventions for Mental Health, Substance Use, and Co-occurring Disorders in the Criminal Justice Population: A Scoping Review. Front Psychiatry. 2021; 12:794785. PMID: 35126204.
      Citations:    
    4. Shaffer PM, Rodriguez CP, Gaba A, Byrne T, Casey SC, Harter J, Smelson D. Engaging vulnerable populations in drug treatment court: Six month outcomes from a co-occurring disorder wraparound intervention. Int J Law Psychiatry. 2021 May-Jun; 76:101700. PMID: 33864989.
      Citations:    Fields:    Translation:Humans
    5. Pinals DA, Gaba A, Shaffer PM, Andre MA, Smelson DA. Risk-need-responsivity and its application in behavioral health settings: A feasibility study of a treatment planning support tool. Behav Sci Law. 2021 Feb; 39(1):44-64. PMID: 33569766.
      Citations:    Fields:    Translation:Humans
    6. Hayaki J, Holzhauer CG, Epstein EE, Cook S, Gaba A, Lorenzo AC, McCrady BS. Menstrual cycle phase, alcohol consumption, alcohol cravings, and mood among women in outpatient treatment for alcohol use disorder. Psychol Addict Behav. 2020 Sep; 34(6):680-689. PMID: 32250129.
      Citations: 2     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    7. Hayaki, J., Holzhauer, C. G., Epstein, E. E., Cook, S., Gaba, A., Lorenzo, A. C., & McCrady, B. S. . Menstrual cycle phase, alcohol consumption, alcohol cravings, and mood among women in treatment for alcohol use disorder. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. 2020.
    8. Smelson DA, Gaba A, Pressman K, Clary KM, Shaffer PM, Pinals DA. Embedding a Co-occurring Disorders Rehabilitation Intervention in Veterans Courts: A Pilot Study with Male Veterans. Community Ment Health J. 2020 07; 56(5):970-977. PMID: 32006293.
      Citations:    Fields:    Translation:Humans
    9. Shaffer, P., Gaba, A., Sprinckmoller, S., Starratt, E. & Smelson, D. . Treatment Needs and Gender Differences Among Clients Entering a Rural Drug Treatment Court with a Co-occurring Disorder. Drug Court Review Volume III. Winter 2020. 2020.
    10. Pinals DA, Gaba A, Clary KM, Barber J, Reiss J, Smelson D. Implementation of MISSION-Criminal Justice in a Treatment Court: Preliminary Outcomes Among Individuals With Co-occurring Disorders. Psychiatr Serv. 2019 11 01; 70(11):1044-1048. PMID: 31337322.
      Citations:    Fields:    Translation:Humans
    11. Hanna J, Kubiak S, Pasman E, Gaba A, Andre M, Smelson D, Pinals DA. Evaluating the implementation of a prisoner re-entry initiative for individuals with opioid use and mental health disorders: Application of the consolidated framework for implementation research in a cross-system initiative. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2020 01; 108:104-114. PMID: 31285078.
      Citations: 2     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    12. Clary, K., Shaffer, P., Gaba, A., Pinals, D., Smelson, D. Comparing the treatment needs of participants with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders in drug and veterans treatment courts. Journal of Substance Use. 2019.
    13. Olmstead TA, Graff FS, Ames-Sikora A, McCrady BS, Gaba A, Epstein EE. Cost-effectiveness of individual versus group female-specific cognitive behavioral therapy for alcohol use disorder. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2019 05; 100:1-7. PMID: 30898323.
      Citations: 2     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    14. Epstein EE, McCrady BS, Hallgren KA, Gaba A, Cook S, Jensen N, Hildebrandt T, Holzhauer CG, Litt MD. Individual versus group female-specific cognitive behavior therapy for alcohol use disorder. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2018 05; 88:27-43. PMID: 29606224.
      Citations: 9     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    15. Flores R., Gaba, A., Jaipal, R., Quintero, N., Rubin, N. . Why Global Health Matters: How to (actually) make a difference in the world?. Surviving to Thriving: The role of mental health in facilitating global health and attaining sustainable development. 2017.
    16. Grosso JA, Epstein EE, McCrady BS, Gaba A, Cook S, Backer-Fulghum LM, Graff FS. Women's motivators for seeking treatment for alcohol use disorders. Addict Behav. 2013 Jun; 38(6):2236-45. PMID: 23501141.
      Citations: 15     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    17. Coups EJ, Gaba A, Orleans CT. Physician screening for multiple behavioral health risk factors. Am J Prev Med. 2004 Aug; 27(2 Suppl):34-41. PMID: 15275672.
      Citations: 46     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    18. Coups EJ, Gaba A, Orleans CT. Physician screening for multiple behavioral health risk factors.Am J Prev Med. 2004 Aug;27(2 Suppl):34-41.
    19. Hunt KA, Gaba A, Lavizzo-Mourey R. Racial and ethnic disparities and perceptions of health care: does health plan type matter? Health Services Research. 2005 Apr;40(2):551-76.
    20. Asanbe, C., Gaba, A., & Yang, J. Mental Health is a Human Right. Psychology International. December 2018.
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