Ralph DiClemente
Ralph DiClemente
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Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences
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Professional overview
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Dr. Ralph DiClemente was trained as a Health Psychologist at the University of California, San Francisco where he received his PhD in 1984 after completing a ScM at the Harvard School of Public Health. He earned his undergraduate degree at the City University of New York.
Dr. DiClemente’s research has four key foci:
- Developing interventions to reduce the risk of HIV/STD among vulnerable populations
- Developing interventions to enhance vaccine uptake among high-risk adolescents and women, such as HPV and influenza vaccine
- Developing implementation science interventions to enhance the uptake, adoption and sustainability of HIV/STD prevention programs in the community
- Developing diabetes screening and behavior change interventions to identify people with diabetes who are unaware of their disease status as well as reduce the risk of diabetes among vulnerable populations.
He has focused on developing intervention packages that blend community and technology-based approaches that are designed to optimize program effectiveness and enhance programmatic sustainability.
Dr. DiClemente is the author of ten CDC-defined, evidence-based interventions for adolescents and young African-American women and men. He is the author of more than 540 peer-review publications, 150 book chapters, and 21 books. He serves as a member of the Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council.
Previously, Dr. DiClemente served as the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Public Health at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. He was also Associate Director of the Center for AIDS Research, and was previously Chair of the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education at the Rollins School of Public Health.
Dr. DiClemente is Past President of the Georgia chapter of the Society for Adolescent Health & Medicine. He previously served as a member of the CDC Board of Scientific Counselors, and the NIMH Advisory Council.
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Education
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BA, The City College of the City University of New York (CCNY), New York, NYScM, Behavioral Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MAPhD, Health Psychology, University of California San Francisco Center for Behavioral Sciences, San Francisco, CAPostdoctoral Fellow, University of California, San Francisco, CA
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Areas of research and study
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Community InterventionsDiabetesHIV/AIDSImplementation scienceInfluenzaPsychology
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Publications
Publications
Adapting substance use treatment for Black adolescents in the U.S. legal system: A protocol for a mixed-method, exploratory, feasibility, and acceptability study using the eight-step ADAPT-ITT framework.
AbstractDiClemente, R., Bryant, B., Tolou-Shams, M., Ezimora, I., Zapolski, T., Jordan, A., Becker, S., & Squeglia, L. (n.d.).Publication year
2026Journal title
British Medical Journal OpenAbstract~Incarceration History, Stigma, and Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Use Intentions among African American Young Adults.
AbstractDiClemente, R., & Kerr, J. (n.d.).Publication year
2026Abstract~Interrogating the Relationship Between Agency, Intimate Partner Violence, and Depression among African American Emerging Adult Women.
AbstractDiClemente, R., Ariadna, C., Stotts, A., & Brown, J. (n.d.).Publication year
2026Abstract~Understanding the factors that may influence African American MSM’s acceptance of a theoretical HIV vaccine
AbstractDiClemente, R., Xu, M., Choi, J., Rosenberger, J., Zimmerman, R., & Turner, M. (n.d.).Publication year
2026Journal title
Behavioral MedicineVolume
52Issue
1Page(s)
39-49Abstract~Association of stress from racism and high depressive symptomatology among a community sample of young African American women
AbstractDiClemente, R., Xu, M., Choi, J., & Capasso, A. (n.d.).Publication year
2025Journal title
Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health DisparitiesAbstract~Clinical Research Nurses’ Vital Role in Recruiting for Trials to Reduce Alcohol-exposed Pregnancies: Lessons from the Safe Start Study.
AbstractDiClemente, R., Capasso, A., Stotts, A., & Brown, J. (n.d.).Publication year
2025Abstract~Comparing the influences of spouses or partners with other family members in the ability of young Asian Americans to maintain a healthy lifestyle
AbstractDiClemente, R., Kwon, S., & Ali, S. (n.d.).Publication year
2025Journal title
Am J Lifestyle MedicineAbstract~Culturally Congruent Latino-Adapted Telemonitoring of Underrepresented Adults With Type 2 Diabetes : The CULTURA-DM2 Trial
AbstractPekmezaris, R., Martinez, S., Gomez, V. C., Marino, J., Goris, N., Williams, M. S., Cigaran, E., Nouryan, C. N., Patel, V. H., Myers, A. K., Barbero, P., Granville, D., Murray, L. F., Guzman, J., Makaryus, A. N., McFarlane, S. I., Zeltser, R., Pena, M., Sison, C., … Harris, Y. T. (n.d.).Publication year
2025Journal title
Clinical DiabetesVolume
43Issue
1Page(s)
79-91AbstractThis study reports on the development and testing of a comprehensive diabetes telemonitoring program tailored to meet the needs of underserved Hispanic/ Latino patients with diabetes. Individuals participating in the culturally tailored program had significantly better 6-month outcomes than those receiving comprehensive outpatient management for A1C, blood pressure, and diabetes self-efficacy, with no differences between groups in quality of life, medication adherence, emotional functioning, patient activation, or unscheduled physician visits. These findings suggest that culturally congruent diabetes telemonitoring may be effective for this underserved population.Development of the Safe Start intervention: A computer- and nurse-delivered alcohol reduction intervention for pregnant women.
AbstractDiClemente, R., Brown, J., Rubi, S., Wingood, G., Capasso, A., Villareal, Y., & Stotts, A. (n.d.).Publication year
2025Journal title
Journal of Addictions NursingAbstract~Enhancing vaccine uptake among boys and girls: the importance of targeting both genders for optimal HPV vaccine coverage in LMICs
AbstractDiClemente, R., Xu, M., Choi, J., & Capasso, A. (n.d.).Publication year
2025Journal title
VaccineAbstract~Family profiles and perceived family influence on health behaviors: A person-centered approach in young Asian American adults
AbstractDiClemente, R., Kwon, S., Hahm, K., & Ali, S. (n.d.).Publication year
2025Journal title
Journal of Health PsychologyAbstract~How do Asian American young adults influence the health of family members? Structural equation modeling of age, acculturation, interactivity, and closeness
AbstractDiClemente, R., Ali, S., Nayak, A., Qi, X., & Misra, S. (n.d.).Publication year
2025Journal title
Discover Social Science and HealthAbstract~How shared dietary behaviors within Asian American families are influenced by emotional interaction qualities: a nationwide cross-sectional analysis
AbstractDiClemente, R., Ali, S., Meltzer, G., Islam, N., Yi, S., Yang, L., & Misra, S. (n.d.).Publication year
2025Journal title
Discover Social Science and HealthAbstract~Maternal Perceptions of PrEP: A Qualitative Sub-Study of Women Using Substances at Risk for HIV
AbstractDiClemente, R., Stotts, A., Capasso, A., Brown, J., & Villareal, Y. (n.d.).Publication year
2025Abstract~Murnane PM, Xia F, Afshar M, Brown JL, Chamie G, Cook RL, Couture MC, DiClemente RJ, Fatch R, Ferguson T, Francis JM, Haberer JE, Jacobson KR, Justice AC, Kapiga S, Kim TW, Krupitsky E, Marcus GM, McGinnis KA, Molina P, Muyindike WR, Myers B, Page K, Phillips SA, Piano MR, Richards VL. So-Armh K, Stewart S, Sulkowski MS, Tien PC, Welsh D, Woolf-King S, Hahn JA. Identifying a phosphatidylethanol cutoff to differentiate unhealthy alcohol use from low level/no drinking.
AbstractDiClemente, R. (n.d.).Publication year
2025Journal title
Alcohol Clinical and Experimental Research.Abstract~Reach and Capacity of Black Protestant Health Ministries as Sites of Community-Wide Health Promotion : A Qualitative Social Ecological Model Examination
AbstractFuller, T. J., Lambert, D. N., DiClemente, R., & Wingood, G. M. (n.d.).Publication year
2025Journal title
Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health DisparitiesVolume
12Issue
2Page(s)
887-898AbstractBlack communities in the Southeast United States experience a disproportionate burden of illness and disease. To address this inequity, public health practitioners are partnering with Black Protestant churches to deliver health promotion interventions. Yet, the reach of these programs beyond the organizational level of the Social Ecological Model (SEM) is not well defined. Thus, the aim of this study is to understand Black Protestant church leaders’ and members’ perceptions about the capacity of their ministries to reach into their communities, beyond their congregations, as providers or hosts of health education or promotion interventions. From 20 Black Protestant churches in Atlanta, GA, 92 church leaders and members participated in semi-structured interviews. Grounded theory guided data analysis and a diverse team coded the interviews. Most participating churches had health ministries. Participants saw the boundaries between their churches at the organizational level of the SEM and the broader Black community to be porous. Those who described their “community” as being broader than their congregation also tended to describe community-wide health promotion their church engaged in. They described church-based health fairs as a strategy to promote engagement in their communities. Some participants, particularly those in a health-related profession, discussed visions of how to utilize their church as a site for community-wide health promotion. We suggest these participants may be boundary leaders who can build relationships between public health professionals, pastors, and congregants. Based on the findings, we suggest that church-based health fairs may be effective sites of community-wide health promotion.Reach and capacity of Black protestant health ministries as sites of community-wide health promotion: A qualitative social ecological model examination
AbstractDiClemente, R., Fuller, T., Lambert, D., & Wingood, G. (n.d.).Publication year
2025Journal title
J Racial Ethnic Health DisparitiesVolume
12Issue
2Page(s)
887-898Abstract~Reach and capacity of Black protestant health ministries as sites of community-wide health promotion: A qualitative social ecological model examination
AbstractDiClemente, R., Fuller, T., Lambert, D., & Wingood, G. (n.d.).Publication year
2025Journal title
J Racial Ethnic Health DisparitiesVolume
12Issue
2Page(s)
887-898Abstract~Risk Communication: A Contemporary Perspective.
AbstractDiClemente, R., & Xu, M. (n.d.). (C. G. L. A. A. A, Ed.).Publication year
2025Volume
In International Encyclopedia of Public Health (3rd ed.)Abstract~Safe Start, a hybrid intervention to reduce alcohol exposed pregnancies: Protocol for a randomized controlled trial.
AbstractDiClemente, R., Capasso, A., Stotts, A., Manuel, B., Xu, M., Zelaya, S., Juarez Casillas, S., Villarreal, Y., Dorow, A., Brown, J., Xu, S., Concheiro-Guisan, M., Pego, A., & Wingood, G. (n.d.).Publication year
2025Journal title
BMC Public HealthAbstract~Social and psychological mediators of sexual and physical male-perpetrated intimate partner violence against young African American women: the role of alcohol use and drinking context
AbstractDiClemente, R., Capasso, A., Pahl, K., & Tozan, Y. (n.d.).Publication year
2025Journal title
Journal of Interpersonal ViolenceAbstract~Social and psychological mediators of sexual and physical male-perpetrated intimate partner violence against young African American women: the role of alcohol use and drinking context
AbstractDiClemente, R., Capasso, A., Pahl, K., & Tozan, Y. (n.d.).Publication year
2025Journal title
Journal of Interpersonal ViolenceAbstract~Storytelling in public health promotion: An adolescent health risk data collection conundrum
AbstractDiClemente, R., Kershner, S., Kerr, J., Walker, W., Massey, D., Brown, L., Carey, M., Romer, D., Vanable, P., & Valois, R. (n.d.).Publication year
2025Journal title
Health Behavior ResearchVolume
8Issue
1Abstract~The Association between Life Satisfaction and Depression Symptoms by Sex in a Sample of African American Adolescents
AbstractDiClemente, R., & Valois, S. (n.d.).Publication year
2025Abstract~The hidden burden of extragenital chlamydial and gonorrheal infections in a population of U.S. Army service members and their medical beneficiaries
AbstractDiClemente, R., Bartolanzo, D., Romo, M., Reynolds, A., Wingood, G., Ake, J., Calvano, T., Sevilla, M., & Colby, D. (n.d.). (Military Medicine).Publication year
2025Volume
190Page(s)
242-251Abstract~