David Abramson

Clinical Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Professional overview

Dr. David Abramson is a Clinical Professor at NYU’s School of Global Public Health and the director of the research program on Population Impact, Recovery and Resilience (PiR2). His research employs a social ecological framework to examine the health consequences of disasters, individual and community resilience, and long-term recovery from acute collective stressors. His work has focused on population health consequences, interactions of complex systems, and risk communication strategies associated with hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, the Joplin tornado, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, H1N1, and Zika, among other natural, technological, and man-made disasters.  Before joining NYU’s faculty, Dr. Abramson was the Deputy Director at Columbia University’s National Center for Disaster Preparedness at the Earth Institute.

In 2005 Dr. Abramson launched the Gulf Coast Child and Family Health study, an ongoing longitudinal cohort study of over 1,000 randomly sampled Katrina survivors in Louisiana and Mississippi, which is presently a core research project in the NIH-funded Katrina@10 Program (P01HD082032, NICHD).  After Superstorm Sandy he partnered with colleagues at Rutgers University, Columbia University, and the University of Colorado to conduct the Sandy Child and Family Health study, an observational cohort study modeled on the Katrina study. More recently, he was funded by the National Science Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to study the risk salience of an evolving threat, the Zika virus, among the US population in general and among women of child-bearing age.  In addition, Dr. Abramson serves on two National Academies of Medicine panels, the Standing Committee on Medical and Public Health Research During Large-Scale Emergency Events, and the Committee on Evidence-Based Practices for Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response.

Prior to entering the field of public health, Dr. Abramson spent a decade as a national magazine journalist, having worked at or written for such publications as Rolling Stone, Esquire, and Outside magazines, and was a nationally-certified paramedic.  He has a PhD in sociomedical sciences, with a sub-specialization in political science, and an MPH, both from Columbia University.

Education

BA, English (High Honors), Queens College, New York, NY

MPH, Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY

PhD, Sociomedical Sciences/Political Science, Columbia University, New York, NY

Honors and awards

Columbia University Alumni Association Scholarship (2003)

Eugene Litwak Prize for best doctoral dissertation proposal, Mailman School of Public Health (2002)

Columbia University School of Public Health Alumni Association Scholarship Award (1982)

Nyack Hospital Paramedic Program Valedictorian (1989)

Areas of research and study

Community Health

Disaster Health

Disaster Impact and Recovery

Environmental Impact

Population Health

Public Health Systems

Social Behaviors

Social Determinants of Health

Publications

Publications

Adverse Effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill Amid Cumulative Disasters: A Qualitative Analysis of the Experiences of Children and Families

COVID-19 Vaccine Information Seeking Patterns and Vaccine Hesitancy: A Latent Class Analysis to Inform Practice

Piltch-Loeb, R., Silver, D., Kim, Y., & Abramson, D. (n.d.).

Publication year

2024

Journal title

Journal of Public Health Management and Practice

Volume

30

Issue

2

Page(s)

183-194

10.1097/PHH.0000000000001834

Abstract

Abstract

Context: Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, state and local health departments served as risk communicators to the public; however, public health practitioners have limited resources at their disposal when trying to communicate information, especially when guidance is rapidly changing. Identifying how the population gathers information across channels and which subsets of the population utilize which channels can help practitioners make the best use of these limited resources. Objective: To identify how individuals utilized different information channels to get COVID-19–related information and determine its effect on one COVID-19–related action: vaccine intentions. Design: This study applies latent class analysis to utilization of information channels to characterize information consumption patterns during the COVID-19 infodemic and then explores the relationship between these patterns and vaccine hesitancy. Setting: The data were collected from the COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Survey, which is a nationally representative sample of US adults 18 years and older recruited from Social Science Research Solutions (SSRS)’s Opinion Panel. Participants: The online survey was conducted between April 7 and April 11, 2021, after the COVID-19 vaccine was available to all adults and enrolled more than 3000 respondents (n = 3014). Main Outcome Measure(s): Respondents were asked about their frequency of information seeking related to the COVID-19 vaccine, sociodemographics, and vaccine perceptions. Results: Based on fit statistics and prior research, we identified 6 latent classes that characterize information seeking: Nonseekers, Legacy, Legacy + Facebook/Instagram, Traditional Omnivore, Omnivore + Broad Social Media, and Twitter. Sociodemographics, political, economic, and COVID-19 exposure variables are associated with different patterns of seeking information about COVID-19. Membership in 3 of these classes was associated with higher rates of vaccine refusal and vaccine hesitancy. Discussion: The study has implications for public health officials and policymakers who use media channels to share news and health information with the public. Information should be tailored to the sociodemographic profiles of those users who are likely consuming information across multiple different channels.

Ethnic and Racial Disparities in Self-Reported Personal Protective Equipment Shortages Among New York Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

One year later: What role did trust in public officials and the medical profession play in decisions to get a booster and to overcome vaccine hesitancy?

Silver, D., Kim, Y., Piltch-Loeb, R., & Abramson, D. (n.d.).

Publication year

2024

Journal title

Preventive Medicine Reports

Volume

38

10.1016/j.pmedr.2024.102626

Abstract

Abstract

Physicians may have an important role to play in promoting boosters as well as reducing COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, but the relationship between hesitancy and trust in the medical profession and these behaviors has been underexplored. A representative online panel of 1,967 US adults that included oversamples of minoritized and rural populations were surveyed in April 2021 and June 2022 regarding their booster and vaccine status and intentions, their views of the medical profession, and their levels of trust in their own doctors, and national and state/local officials. Eighty percent of those vaccinated in 2021 had received a booster by 2022, while fewer than half of those initially reluctant to get a vaccine had gotten one by Wave 2 of the survey. Mean factor scores were calculated for response to a validated scale measuring trust in the medical profession. Linear and logistic regression models estimated the relationship between these factors scores and trust in other officials for those vaccinated as well initial hesitaters/refusers in Wave 1, controlling for population factors. Trust in one's own physician was associated with those vaccinated/eager to be vaccinated getting a booster, while trust in the medical profession was associated with getting a vaccine among those who had previously refused or were hesitant. Trust in other experts was not significantly associated with these behaviors, but wide confidence intervals suggest a need for future research. Innovative strategies, including mobilizing the medical community is needed to address reluctance, uncertainty, and distrust of therapeutic agents in pandemic response.

The influence of risk perception on disaster recovery: A case study of new Jersey families impacted by hurricane sandy

Examining the effects of cumulative environmental stressors on Gulf Coast child and adolescent health

Meltzer, G. Y., Merdjanoff, A. A., Xu, S., Gershon, R., Emrich, C. T., & Abramson, D. M. (n.d.).

Publication year

2023

Journal title

Population and Environment

Volume

45

Issue

3

10.1007/s11111-023-00436-1

Abstract

Abstract

This study examines how community-level cumulative environmental stress affects child and adolescent emotional distress and chronic health conditions both directly and indirectly through stressors at the household, family, and individual levels. Data comes from the Women and their Children’s Health (WaTCH) Study, which sought to understand the health implications of exposure to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DHOS) among a cohort of 596 mothers with children ages 10 to 17 in southeastern Louisiana. Community-level environmental stress was measured using a newly developed geospatial index. Household-level stressors included previous hurricane impacts, impacts of DHOS, degree of financial difficulty, and degree of housing physical decay. Family stressors included maternal depression, self-rated physical health, and degree of parenting stress. Child stress was based on perceived stress; child mental health was based on serious emotional disturbance; and child physical health was based on diagnosis of chronic illness. Structural equation modeling used weighted least squares means and variance and theta parameterization. Results showed a significant negative direct path between community-level cumulative environmental stress and child/adolescent serious emotional disturbance and chronic illness. However, the indirect relationship through household, family, and individual-level stressors was significant and positive for both child/adolescent serious emotional disturbance and chronic illness. These findings point to the centrality of the household and family in determining child and adolescent physical and mental health outcomes in communities exposed to frequent disasters and ongoing environmental stressors.

Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status and Women’s Mental Health: A Longitudinal Study of Hurricane Katrina Survivors, 2005–2015

The New York State COVID-19 Healthcare Personnel Study: One-Year Follow-up of Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, and Physician Assistants, 2020-2021

Association between city-wide lockdown and COVID-19 hospitalization rates in multigenerational households in New York City

Association between COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and trust in the medical profession and public health officials

Determinants of the COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy spectrum

Disasters, Displacement, and Housing Instability: Estimating Time to Stable Housing 13 Years after Hurricane Katrina

Examining the Dose–Response Relationship: Applying the Disaster Exposure Matrix to Understand the Mental Health Impacts of Hurricane Sandy

Factors Related to Self-Reported Distress Experienced by Physicians During Their First COVID-19 Triage Decisions

Hopelessness in New York State physicians during the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak

Impact of Hurricanes and Associated Extreme Weather Events on Cardiovascular Health: A Scoping Review

Occupational Conditions Associated with Negative Mental Health Outcomes in New York State Health Professionals during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 Healthcare Personnel Study (CHPS): Overview, methods, and preliminary findings

Adverse Physical and Mental Health Effects of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill among Gulf Coast Children: An Environmental Justice Perspective

Bowling together: Community social institutions protective against poor child mental health

Differences in post-disaster mental health among Vietnamese and African Americans living in adjacent urban communities flooded by Katrina

Rapid Behavioral Health Assessment Post-disaster: Developing and Validating a Brief, Structured Module

The effects of cumulative natural disaster exposure on adolescent psychological distress

Meltzer, G. Y., Zacher, M., Merdjanoff, A., Do, M. P., Pham, N. N. K., & Abramson, D. (n.d.).

Publication year

2021

Journal title

Journal of Applied Research on Children

Volume

12

Issue

1

10.58464/2155-5834.1454

The formation of belief: An examination of factors that influence climate change belief among Hurricane Katrina survivors

Towards integrated modeling of the long-term impacts of oil spills