Chandra L. Ford, PhD, MPH, MLIS

Chandra L. Ford, PhD, MPH, MLIS, an Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, received a Doctorate of Philosophy in Public Health from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, a Master of Library and Information Sciences and a Master of Public Health in Health Services Administration from the University of Pittsburgh, PA. Dr. Ford’s expertise is in social epidemiologic approaches to the study of health disparities among racial and ethnic minority as well as sexual minority populations, and the overarching aim of her research is to explain mechanisms by which social inequities contribute to disparities in human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) and other health outcomes.

Cohort

2009-10 & 2010-11

Projects

• 2010-2011 Pilot Project, “HIV testing and older adults: Roles of HIV conspiracy beliefs and racism.” Dr. Ford’s two RCMAR/CHIME funded projects – funded in 2009-10 and 2010-11 – built on each other to explore HIV conspiracy beliefs, medical distrust and medical discrimination relative to HIV testing (i.e., ever HIV tested, past year HIV tested) among diverse older adults (i.e., 50+ years) at risk for HIV infection. Consistent with the HIV prevention literature, older adults were defined as persons 50 years of age or older and age that marks a critical point in the life course at which traditional HIV prevention approaches become inadequate.
• 2009-2010 Pilot Project, “HIV conspiracy beliefs and perceived racism among racial/ethnic minority older adults.”