Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Simon Laboratory
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Publications

Find complete list of publications from the Simon Lab on PubMed. Links to select publications are listed below, by topic area. 

 Improving low-income women’s reproductive health justice and equity

As a practicing Obstetrician Gynecologist who focuses all of her clinical time on caring for medically underserved women and scientist with a health equity focus, Dr. Simon's work has helped changed the way clinicians approach 2 important clinical challenges: 1) contraceptive counseling of patients and 2) gestational diabetes self-management. Dr. Simon's work has uncovered the numeracy and health literacy struggles faced with contraceptive use or misuse amongst low income women. This work has also highlighted perceived discrimination faced by low income women when receiving contraceptive counseling and numerous barriers to gestational diabetes management.

  1. Pregnancy Intention and Use of Contraception among Hispanic Women in the United States: Data from the National Survey of Family Growth. Masinter L, Feinglass J, Simon MA., 2006-2010. J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2013;22(10):862-70. PMCID: PMC3787323.
  2. Perceptions of Coercion, Discrimination and Other Negative Experiences in Postpartum Contraceptive Counseling for Low-Income Minority Women. Yee LM and Simon MA. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2011;22:1387-1400. PMID: 22080717.
  3. Association of Group Prenatal Care with Gestational Weight Gain. Kominiarek MA, Crockett A, Covington-Kolb S, Simon M, Grobman WA. J Midwifery Womens Health. 2017;129(4):663-670. PMCID: PMC5988955. 
  4. “I Was Tired of All the Sticking and Poking”: Identifying Barriers to Diabetes Self-Care Among Low-Income Pregnant Women.Yee LM, Maguire JM, Taylor ST, Niznik C, Simon MA. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2015;26(3):926-40. PMID: 26320923. 

 Dissemination and implementation research strategies to improve health equity

Through extensive health equity work, Dr. Simon and her team have been at the forefront of innovation in adapting and culturally tailoring research as an important strategy to scale evidence informed equity relevant interventions.
  1. ‘There’s nothing you can do…it’s like that in Chinatown’: Chinese immigrant women’s perceptions of experiences in Chicago Chinatown healthcare settings. Simon MA, Tom L, Taylor S,  Leung I, Vicencio D. Ethn Health. 2019 Jan; 28:1-18. PMCID: PMC6933085. 
  2. Leveraging an implementation science framework to adapt and scale a patient navigator intervention to improve mammography screening outreach in a new community. Simon MA, Tom L, O’Brian C, Kanoon J, Ignoffo S, Venegas A, Picard C, Margellos H, Allgood K. J Cancer Educ.  2020 Jun;35(3):530-537. PMCID: PMC6934925. 
  3. Organization- and System- Level Factors Influencing Implementation- Patient Navigation and Cancer Care Delivery. Freeman HP and Simon MA.  In: Advancing the Science of Implementation Across the Cancer Continuum. Chambers DA, Vinson CA, Norton WE, editors. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2018.
  4. Evaluating a bilingual patient navigation program for uninsured women with abnormal screening tests for breast and cervical cancer: Implications for future navigator research. Simon MA, Tom LS, Nonzee NJ, Murphy KR, Endress R, Feinglass J. Am J Public Health 2015;105(5):e87-94. PMCID: PMC4386517. 

 Patient navigation in multiple communities and health care settings

Dr. Simon's patient navigation work has been adapted and disseminated to several populations around the Chicago area and various communities throughout Illinois. Her patient navigation work has directly informed a bill that became a law- the Breast Cancer Screening and Treatment Quality Act (IL 95-1045).

  1. Using Public Claims Data for Neighborhood Level Epidemiologic Surveillance of Breast Cancer Screening: Findings from Evaluating a Patient Navigation Program in Chicago’s Chinatown. Feinglass J, Cooper JM, Rydland K, Tom LS, Simon MA. Progress in Community Health Partnerships 2019; 13(15): 95-102. 
  2. Impact of patient navigation on timely cancer care: the Patient Navigation Research Program. Freund KM, Battaglia TA, Calhoun E, Darnell JS, Dudley DJ, Fiscella K, Hare ML, LaVerda N, Lee JH, Levine P, Murray DM, Patierno SR, Raich PC, Roetzheim RG, Simon MA, Snyder FR, Warren-Mears V, Whitely EM, Winters P, Young GS, Paskett ED; Writing Group of the Patient Navigator Research Program. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2014;106(6):dju115. Doi:10.1093/jnci/dju115. PMCID: PMC4072900. 
  3. Navigating veterans with an abnormal prostate cancer screening test: a quasi-experimental design. Simon MA, Nonzee NJ, McKoy JM, Liu D, Luu TH, Byer P*, Richee EA, Eklund E, Dong X, Rademaker F. BMC Health Serv Res. 2013;13:314. PMCID: PMC3844412. 
  4. Use of a patient navigator to improve postpartum care in an urban women's health clinic. Yee, L, Martinez N, Chen M, Nugyen A, Hajjar N, Simon MA Obstet Gynecol. 2017;129(5):925-933. PMCID: PMC5400713. 

 Violence prevention, identification and reduction: elder abuse, self-neglect and elder wellbeing

This body of work has significantly contributed to the field of elder abuse, which disproportionately impacts older minority women. This groundbreaking work in the U.S. and China has garnered significant publications and awards in high impact journals. This work has also supported efforts to inform the Elder Justice Act. 
  1. Vulnerability Risk Index Profile for Elder Abuse in Community Dwelling Population.Dong XQ and Simon MA. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2014;62:1:10-15. PMCID: PMC4155408.
  2. Elder Abuse As a Risk Factor for Hospitalization in Older Persons. Dong XQ and Simon MA. JAMA Intern Med. 2013;173(10):911-7. PMID: 23567991. 
  3. Enhancing National Policy and Programs to Address Elder Abuse. Dong X and Simon MA. JAMA. 2011;305(23): 2460-2461. PMID: 21673299.
  4. Elder Self-Neglect and Abuse and Mortality Risk in a Community-Dwelling Population.Dong XQ, Simon MA, Mendes de Leon CF, Fulmer TT, Beck TT, Dyer C, Paveza G, Evans DA. JAMA. 2009;302(5):517-26. PMCID: PMC2965589. 

 Research mentoring and improving diversity in the science (STEM) and health-related workforce

Dr. Simon has led multiple projects to develop programs that will help to diversify the healthcare workforce and train the next generation of researchers.
  1. Institutional alliances to reduce cancer disparities in Chicago. Simon, MA, Malin EL, Hitsman B, Ciecierski CC, Victorson D, Banas, J, Stuart M, Luedke T, NU NEIGHBORS Advisory Committees, Cella D. Journal of Healthcare for the Poor and Underserved 2016;27(1):97-113. 
  2. Path toward Economic Resilience for Family Caregivers: Mitigating Household Deprivation and the Health Care Talent Shortage at the Same Time. Simon MA, Gunia B, Martin E, Foucar C, Kundu T, Ragas D, Emanuel L. The Gerontologist. 2013;53(5):861-73. PMCID: PMC3771674. 
  3. Integrating Cultural Humility into Health Care Professional Education and Training.Chang ES, Simon MA, Dong XQ.  Advances in Health Sciences Education, Theory, and Practice 2010. PMID: 21161680.
  4. Improving Health Care Career Pipeline Programs for Underrepresented Students: Program Design that Makes a Difference. Taylor S, Iacobelli F, Luedke T, Matthews PA, Monge M, Cooper J, Moreira J, Grippo P, Girotti J, Molina Y, Yanez B, Simon MA. Progress in Community Health Partnerships 2019;13(5):113-122.

 Capacity building for systemic change

Dr. Simon's research centers community partners throughout the research process and supporting them in building research infrastructure for their own sustainability needs.

  1. Systematic Patient Navigation Strategies to Scale Breast Cancer Disparities Reduction by Improved Cancer Prevention Processes. Simon MA, Weldon C, O’Brian C, Tom L, Rapkin B, Adetoro E, Rittner S, Trosman J.JCO Oncol Pract 2020 16(12):e1462-e1470. PMID: 32574137.
  2. Development of a Web tool to Increase Research Literacy in Underserved Populations Through Public Library Partnerships. Simon MA, O’Brian CA, Tom L, Wafford QE, Mack S, Mendez SR, Nava M, Dahdouh R, Paul-Brutus R, Carpenter KH, Kern B, Holmes KL. PLoS One 2021. Feb 3;16(2):e0246098.
  3. Building Cross-Institutional Collaborative Infrastructure and Processes: Early Lessons from the Chicago Cancer Health Equity Collaborative. Simon MA, Fitzgibbon M, Ciecierski C, Cooper JM, Martinez E, Tom L, Kanoon J, Feinglass J, Warnecke R, Stuart M, Stern M, Filus L, Winn RA. Progress in Community Health Partnerships 2019;13(5):5-13. PubMed PMID: 31378727.

 Structural/systemic racism

  1. Addressing Systemic Racism Through Clinical Preventive Service Recommendations from the US Preventive Services Task Force. Doubeni CA, Simon MA, Krist A. JAMA. Published online January 25, 2021.  Doi:10.1001/jama.2020.26188. PMID: 33492333. Full Article
  2. Vaccine distrust: A predictable response to structural racism and an inadequate public health infrastructure. Madorsky TZ, Adebayo NA, Post SL, O’Brian CA, Simon MA.  American journal of public health. 2021 Oct;111(S3):S185-8. Full Article
  3. Structural racism and COVID-19 response: higher risk of exposure drives disparate COVID-19 deaths among Black and Hispanic/Latinx residents of Illinois, USA. Holden TM, Simon MA, Arnold DT, Halloway V, Gerardin J. BMC public health. 2022 Dec;22(1):1-3. Full Article
  4. Health Equity Tourism: Ravaging the Justice Landscape. Lett E, Adekunle D, McMurray P, Asabor EN, Irie W, Simon MA, Hardeman R, McLemore MR. Journal of medical systems. 2022 Mar;46(3):1-6. Full Article
The Simon Lab welcomes your questions. For more information, please visit the Center for Health Equity website or email healthequity@northwestern.edu.