Paula Palmer is a professor at Claremont Graduate University’s School of Community & Global Health. Her research interests include social and cultural determinants of health among ethnically diverse populations in the United States and abroad; community-based participatory research among underserved, underrepresented populations (Pacific Islanders, South Asians in the United States) and in other global settings; technology applications for health behavior interventions and graduate and professional training. Within these topic areas, Palmer studies tobacco control, mental health, disaster management, health of migrants and indigenous peoples, and maternal and child health.
Palmer has been a clinical health and community psychologist by training since completing her PhD at the California School of Professional Psychology. She began her research career at the University of Southern California as co-investigator of the Pacific Rim Transdisciplinary Tobacco and Alcohol Use Research Center, a transnational collaboration between university researchers and Chinese public health leaders focusing on the environmental, social, and cultural determinants influencing tobacco and alcohol use behavior among adolescents. Related studies in China have included the role of rapid social, economic, and cultural change on a wide range of public health challenges, such as the rising rates of obesity and internal migration.
She has published numerous peer-reviewed publications that have been featured in such journals as the Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care, Californian Journal of Health Promotion, Health Promotion Practice, and Nicotine & Tobacco Research. She has also published two book chapters in the third edition of Health Promotion in Multicultural Populations: “Pacific Islanders Health and Disease: An Overview” and “Improving Pacific Islander Health through Community Participation: A Case Study.”
Palmer’s current research focuses on the reduction of cancer health disparities among ethnically diverse and underrepresented populations. Through the NCI Community Network Programs, she and her team are developing and testing a smoking cessation program for young adult Native Hawaiian Pacific Islanders utilizing a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach and communication technologies, including a Facebook app and cell phones. She is also working on another study to develop and test educational materials that will inform Pacific Islander populations about biospecimen collection, biobanking, and genetic research.
Co-authored with Bin Xie, et al. “Environmental tobacco use and indicators of metabolic syndrome in Chinese adults.” Nicotine & Tobacco Research 12, no. 3 (2010): 198–206.
Co-authored with S. P. Tanjasiri, et al. “Developing a Community-Based Collaboration to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities among Pacific Islanders in California.” Pacific Health Dialog 14, no. 1 (2007): 119–27.
Co-authored with C. Anderson Johnson, et al. “Socio-demographic and cultural comparison of overweight and obesity risk and prevalence in adolescents in Southern California and Wuhan, China.” Journal of Adolescent Health 39, no. 6 (2007): 925.
Co-authored with C. Anderson Johnson, et al. “Tobacco use among youth and adults in mainland China: The China Seven Cities Study.” Public Health 120, no. 12 (2006): 1156–69.
Co-authored with J. M. Silvestri, et al. “Factors that influence use of a home cardiorespiratory monitor for infants: the collaborative home infant monitoring evaluation.” Archives of Pediatrics Adolescent Medicine Journal 159, no. 1 (2005): 18–24.
Co-authored with C. E. Hunt, et al. (2004). “Cardiorespiratory events detected by home memory monitoring and one-year neurodevelopmental outcome.” Journal of Pediatrics 145, no. 4 (2004): 465–71.
Global Public Health Approaches to Disasters & Complex Humanitarian Emergencies
Global Perspectives on Maternal & Child Health
Foundations of Global Health: An Interdisciplinary Perspective
Ethics, Human Rights & Cultural Diversity
Management of International Programs & Organizations