Alden Lai

Assistant Professor of Public Health Policy and Management

Professional overview

Alden Lai studies how the jobs and work environments of health care workers can be improved to increase employee outcomes (e.g., wellbeing, retention) as well as organizational performance (e.g., program implementation, patient safety). He uses theories and frameworks from psychology, organization science, and health services research in his work. Dr. Lai's research has appeared in both management and health care journals, including Academy of Management Discoveries, Health Care Management Review, Medical Care Research and Review, and The Milbank Quarterly. He has an affiliated faculty appointment in the Department of Management and Organizations at NYU Stern.

At GPH, he teaches courses on management, leadership, and strategy in public health.

Dr. Lai has advised federal and state governments, health systems, international and non-profit organizations, corporations, and philanthropies internationally. His professional experiences include being a management consultant, social enterprise strategist, and education researcher. He currently serves as Executive Advisor to the Global Wellbeing Initiative, a collaboration between the Wellbeing for Planet Earth Foundation and Gallup Inc. to foster a more globally inclusive understanding of wellbeing for research, practice, and policy. Dr. Lai also serves as Chair of the Health Care Research Stream for the Industry Studies Association. He is Co-Editor of an upcoming book by Springer on professional development for early career researchers. Previously, he served as Chair of the European Health Psychology Society’s early career researcher division, and was an executive committee member in the Academy of Management's Division of Health Care Management.

Education

BA, Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore

MPH, Social & Behavioral Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Japan

PhD, Health Policy & Management (Organizational Behavior), Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

Honors and awards

NYU GPH Leadership Development Award (2021)

19 Washington Square North Faculty Fellowship (2021)

Outstanding Paper based on a Dissertation Award, Division of Health Care Management, Academy of Management (2021)

Show Chwan Scholar in Health Care Management (2018)

Sir Arthur Newsholme Scholar (2015)

The University of Tokyo President Award (2013)

University of Copenhagen-International Alliance of Research Universities Scholar (2012)

Government of Japan Monbukagakusho Scholar (2011)

Sato-Yo International Foundation Scholar (2009)

Areas of research and study

Health Care Workforce

Managerial Cognition

Patient Safety

Population Health

Primary Care

Proactivity at Work

Qualitative and Mixed Methods

Qualitative Research

Well-Being at Work

Consulting and Community Engagement

Asian Venture Philanthropy Network
Carnegie UK Trust
Clinical Directors Network Inc.
Earth Company
G1 Institute Japan
Gallup Inc.
Harvard University Human Flourishing Program
John Templeton Foundation
Unson Foundation
National Healthcare Group
New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
New York City Health + Hospitals
New York City Office of Labor Relations
Nikkei Inc.
OECD Statistics and Data Directorate
OECD Center for Well-Being, Inclusion, Sustainability and Equal Opportunity
Otsuka Pharmaceutical
Oxford University Wellbeing Research Centre
PERSOL Holdings
Physician Affiliate Group of New York
Templeton World Charity Foundation
The Consumer Goods Forum
Wellbeing for Planet Earth Foundation
Woodlands Health Campus
World Happiness Council

Publications

Publications

Patient safety in primary care: Conceptual meanings to the health care team and patients

Towards a greater global understanding of wellbeing: A proposal for a more inclusive measure

Collaborative Processes of Developing A Health Literacy Toolkit: A Case from Fukushima after the Nuclear Accident

Prescription drug monitoring program design and function: A qualitative analysis

Identifying teaching award criteria for health professional educators

Leveraging Public Health Nurses for Disaster Risk Communication in Fukushima City

Health literacy training for public health nurses in fukushima: A multi-site program evaluation

Health literacy training for public health nurses in Fukushima: A case-study of program adaptation, implementation and evaluation

Leveraging public health nurses for disaster risk communication in Fukushima City: A qualitative analysis of nurses' written records of parenting counseling and peer discussions

Non-adherence in patients on peritoneal dialysis: A systematic review

Communicative and critical health literacy, and self-management behaviors in end-stage renal disease patients with diabetes on hemodialysis

Perspectives of patients, families, and health care professionals on decision-making about dialysis modality-the good, the bad, and the misunderstandings!

Starting on haemodialysis: A qualitative study to explore the experience and needs of incident patients