Diana R Silver
Diana R Silver
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Vice Dean of Faculty Affairs
Professor of Public Health Policy and Management
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Professional overview
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Dr. Diana Silver's research explores the impact of variation in the implementation, adoption and repeal of state and local public health policies on health outcomes, particularly alcohol consumption, motor vehicle crashes, tobacco use, and food safety. Some of her other work has examined variation in access to publicly funded services such as clinics, after-school programs, parks and playgrounds. Her work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and several other funders.
Dr. Silver's work has been published in a variety of prominent journals, including the American Journal of Public Health, the American Journal of Health Promotion, Public Health, Tobacco Control, Journal of Safety Research, Social Science and Medicine, the American Journal of Evaluation, PLoS One, Journal of Community Health, Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, International Journal of Equity in Health, Globalization and Health, Youth and Society, Public Administration Review and Policy Studies Journal. She is an associate editor for the American Journal of Health Promotion, and serves on the New York City Department of Health’s Health Advisory Committee. She began her career focused on the developing policies and programs that could address the epidemics of AIDS, substance abuse and violence in New York City, in such settings as schools, workplaces, jails, and homeless shelters.
Dr. Silver teaches undergraduate and master’s level courses at the School of Global Health, and trains doctoral students. In 2015, Dr. Silver received NYU’s Distinguished Teaching Award, the university’s highest honor for teaching excellence.
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Education
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BA, History, Bates College, Lewiston, MEMPH, Health Education, Hunter College, New York City, NYPhD, Public Administration, New York University, New York City, NY
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Honors and awards
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Distinguished Teaching Award, New York University (2015)Steinhardt Goddard Award (2011)Annual Award for Outstanding Evaluation, American Evaluation Association (2010)Public Affairs Resident Scholar, The Rockefeller Foundation (2007)
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Areas of research and study
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Access to HealthcareAlcohol, Tobacco and Driving PoliciesFood Safety PoliciesImplementation and Impact of Public Health RegulationsInjury PreventionNew York Department of Health and Mental HygienePublic Health LawPublic Health Policy
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Publications
Publications
Alcohol and violent deaths in the United States, 2015-2022
AbstractKappelman, J., Silver, D. R., & Macinko, J. (n.d.).Publication year
2026Journal title
Injury epidemiologyAbstractThis study describes alcohol involvement in violent deaths using the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) from 2015 to 2022 in 24 states where at least 90% of decedent records had available alcohol assessment data.Characterizing driving under the influence arrest detection, 2002-2023
AbstractMacinko, J., Xu, M. A. A., & Silver, D. R. (n.d.).Publication year
2026Journal title
Journal of safety researchVolume
96Page(s)
277-284AbstractDriving under the influence of alcohol is a serious threat to public health. While U.S. states have employed a range of measures to curb drink driving, the majority of those who engage in this behavior go undetected.Ghost gun recovery and firearm deaths in California, 2014-2023
AbstractBather, J. R., Mauri, A. I., Lindenfeld, Z., Rouhani, S., Chen, R., Fang, J., Pagán, J. A., Silver, D. R., & Goodman, M. S. (n.d.).Publication year
2026Journal title
Journal of epidemiology and community healthAbstractWe investigated whether ghost gun recovery rates are significantly associated with firearm mortality rates in the following year across California's 58 counties from 2014 to 2023.Sensitive places, persistent violence: Effectiveness of "Bar Ban" laws in reducing gun violence near alcohol vendors
AbstractKappelman, J., Silver, D. R., Bae, J. Y. Y., Butler, K., Shinkre, T., Bargagli Stoffi, F. J., & Macinko, J. (n.d.).Publication year
2026Journal title
Social science & medicine (1982)Volume
400Page(s)
119304AbstractAmericans have differing opinions on whether greater regulation of firearms results in improved public safety. One area that seems to enjoy broad support is to limit firearm access in specific locations. "Bar Ban" laws - which prohibit firearms where alcohol is served - represent one such approach, yet their effectiveness remains largely unexamined nationally. This paper provides the first comprehensive evaluation of the impact of Bar Ban laws on shootings near alcohol-related establishments. Using a geospatial panel dataset of over 1.6 million alcohol vendors active across the United States between January 2019 and January 2025, we analyze the relationship between restrictions on carrying a gun where alcohol is served and gun violence. Results show that shootings occur close to alcohol-serving establishments: across 263,464 shooting incidents, the median distance to the nearest alcohol vendor was 222 meters. To assess the effectiveness of Bar Ban laws, we employ a stacked difference-in-differences design examining monthly shooting exposure rates of alcohol vendors across counties in five states (Hawaii, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, South Dakota) that adopted Bar Ban laws during our study period. Our findings reveal a policy puzzle: while spatial analyses confirm that shootings routinely occur near alcohol establishments, Bar Ban laws targeting these locations show no discernible effect on reducing shooting incidents. Thus, states adopting these restrictions saw no substantial change in county-level shooting exposure rates near alcohol vendors.Assessing the Deterrent Effects of Ignition Interlock Devices
Failed retrieving data.Beyond social determinants : Fiscal determinants of overdose death in U.S counties, 2017–2020
Failed retrieving data.Experiences of patient-provider concordance in healthcare among All of Us participants, 2017–2023
AbstractHolm, J., Cuevas, A., Wang, V. H., Pagán, J. A., & Silver, D. R. (n.d.).Publication year
2025Journal title
Patient Education and CounselingVolume
139AbstractObjective: To examine differences in care experiences and preferences related to patient-provider relationships across both cultural and personal patient identities. Methods: Logistic regression was used to test the associations between patient characteristics and patient survey responses using 2017–2023 data from the All of Us dataset. Results: Nearly two thirds of the All of Us participants considered it important that their providers were like them (63.2 %) and could often see them (66.3 %). The odds of reporting that it was important that their providers were like them were higher among all groups compared to non-Hispanic White participants (non-Hispanic Black: aOR 2.59 95% Confidence Interval (CI) [2.41–2.78]; Hispanic: aOR 1.42 95% CI [1.33–1.51]; non-Hispanic Asian: aOR 1.45 95% CI [1.33–1.59]; non-Hispanic Other: aOR 1.16 95% CI [1.08–1.25]). Female participants (aOR 1.29 95% CI [1.25–1.33]), those that spoke a language other than English at home (aOR 1.45 95% CI [1.38–1.53]), those with Medicaid (aOR 1.23 95% CI [1.15–1.32]) or no insurance (aOR 1.17 95% CI [1.10–1.25]) compared to those privately insured, and those with a disability (aOR 1.15 95% CI [1.11–1.20]) were more likely to report that it was very/somewhat important their provider be similar to them. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that the dimensions of patient identity contribute to inequities in receiving culturally concordant care. Practice implications: The significant subgroup differences across all survey questions suggest that previous interventions addressing cultural competence in providers may not reach all the patient populations. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach to improving the care experiences of different patient populations, adopting the key behaviors derived from both patient-centered and culturally competent care and by using the guiding principles of cultural humility would enable providers to tailor care that is centered on patient needs and preferences.Population, demographic and socioeconomic characteristics associated with state preemption laws in the United States, 2009-2018
Failed retrieving data.Sociodemographic variation in experiences with medication shortages among US adults
Failed retrieving data.What substance use services are advertised by local governments? An analysis of data from county websites in New York state
Failed retrieving data.An assessment of court fees, surcharges, and penalties for alcohol-impaired driving in five midwestern U.S. states : implications for exacerbating poverty and health inequalities
Failed retrieving data.Beyond Laws : Governors’ Roles in Shaping State Firearm Environments, 2020–2022
Failed retrieving data.Cost-Associated Unmet Dental, Vision, And Hearing Needs Among Low-Income Medicare Advantage Beneficiaries
Failed retrieving data.COVID-19 Vaccine Information Seeking Patterns and Vaccine Hesitancy : A Latent Class Analysis to Inform Practice
Failed retrieving data.Enrollment Patterns of Medicare Advantage Beneficiaries by Dental, Vision, and Hearing Benefits
Failed retrieving data.Examining the relationship between social determinants of health, measures of structural racism and county-level overdose deaths from 2017–2020
Failed retrieving data.Lower social vulnerability is associated with a higher prevalence of social media-involved violent crimes in Prince George’s County, Maryland, 2018–2023
Failed retrieving data.Medicare Advantage Plan Star Ratings and County Social Vulnerability
Failed retrieving data.Mental Health Referrals Among Medicare Advantage Enrollees Receiving Home-Based Annual Wellness Visits in Puerto Rico During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Failed retrieving data.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?
Failed retrieving data.Policy dissemination and implementation research
Failed retrieving data.Protocol for creating a dataset of U.S. state alcohol-related firearm laws 2000–2022
Failed retrieving data.The Impact of Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations on Health Care Utilization, Quality Measures, Health Outcomes and Costs from 2012 to 2023 : A Scoping Review
Failed retrieving data.Documenting the Impact Potential of a Menthol Cigarette Ban at Point-of-Sale : A Photograph-Based Analysis of the Presence and Placement of Menthol Versus Regular Cigarette Packs on the Shelves of Tobacco Retail Outlets in New York City
Failed retrieving data.Firearm Laws Enacted by Municipalities in 6 States With Diverse Policy Frameworks
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