Dr. PhuongThao Le’s research focuses on examining mental health and sociocultural issues among marginalized populations to inform the design, implementation, and evaluation of health programs and policies. She has also served on multiple NIH-funded studies, including the Queens Library HealthLink Project conducted by the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to utilize local libraries and community centers to increase cancer awareness and prevention among the diverse neighborhoods in Queens, NY, and a study to assess the barriers and facilitators of task sharing mental health interventions implemented by NIMH-funded U19 “Collaborative Hubs” for global mental health research in low-resource settings. The latter project incorporates implementation science frameworks and methodologies, which is part of my training as a T32 Trainee at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Le also serves as a research consultant for two non-governmental organizations, HealthRight International, an organization promoting health has a human right, and Global Focus on Cancer, which aims to improve patient supportive services and patient advocacy for cancer survivors in low-resource settings.
This presentation will showcase how human rights and implementation science approaches have informed public health research projects to promote better understanding of and responses to address health issues among marginalized populations in low-resource settings. Case studies include the reintegration of trafficked women in Vietnam, promoting family planning among nomadic and seminomadic populations in Kenya, implementing task sharing in mental health care, and addressing psychosocial issues among cancer patients and survivors.