Saba Rouhani

Assistant Professor of Epidemiology

Professional overview

Dr. Saba Rouhani is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at GPH. She conducts research in social epidemiology, policy evaluation, and overdose prevention. 

Prior to joining NYU Dr. Rouhani worked as research faculty in the Department of Health, Behavior and Society at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She also completed a fellowship funded by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Drug Abuse. Her research has been published in the International Journal of Drug Policy, Drug and Alcohol Dependence, the Journal of Urban Health, and the American Journal of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.

Dr. Rouhani received her PhD in global disease epidemiology and control from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She holds an MSc in the control of infectious diseases from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and a BSc in medical microbiology from the University of Edinburgh.

Education

PhD Global Disease Epidemiology & Control, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

MS Control of Infectious Diseases, The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom

BS Medical Microbiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Honors and awards

Drug Dependency Epidemiology Training (T32) Fellowship, National Institute of Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health (2018)

The R. Bradley Sack Family Scholarship Award, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (2016)

Global Health Established Field Placement Scholarship, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (2014)

Save the Children Program Management Award, Save the Children International (2012)

Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Award for Best Poster Presentation of Research in Progress (2012)

Publications

Publications

Beliefs of US chiefs of police about substance use disorder, fentanyl exposure, overdose response, and use of discretion: results from a national survey

Disparities in willingness to call the police in a 2023 survey of US adults: Implications for alternative crisis response programs

Rouhani, S., Machavariani, E., McSorley, A. M., Todd, T. L., & Purtle, J. (n.d.).

Publication year

2025

Journal title

Preventive Medicine

Volume

198

10.1016/j.ypmed.2025.108358

Abstract

Abstract

Objective: To estimate willingness to call the police in an emergency among US adults to inform policies addressing emergency response and help-seeking. Methods: We utilized cross-sectional data from a web-based 2023 Survey of Racism and Health of (N = 5059) adults in 12 Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states and D.C. We estimated odds of willingness to call the police as a function of gender, race/ethnicity, and lifetime diagnosis with a behavioral health (substance use or mental health) condition using unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression. Results: Most of the sample (80 %) reported willingness to call the police in an emergency. Dds were observed among Black (aOR 0.33; 95 % CI 0.27–0.41), American Indian/Native American (aOR 0.43; 95 % CI 0.27, 0.70), and Multiracial (aOR 0.36; 95 % CI 0.25–0.52) compared to White respondents, and those with behavioral health diagnoses (aOR 0.73; 95 % CI 0.61, 0.88). Women (aOR 1.23; 95 % CI 1.05, 1.43) and older adults (Age 55+: aOR 4.62; 95 % CI 3.70, 5.80) reported higher willingness to call the police. Conclusions: Findings highlight subpopulations for whom the police may not be a viable source of emergency response, particularly individuals who are racially minoritized and/or have behavioral health conditions. This has implications for alternative response programs which rely on 911 dispatch to triage calls and highlights a need for targeted messaging and alternative mechanisms to call for service in communities with police mistrust.

Examining the association between psychological resilience and chronic versus discrete stressors among individuals who use opioids in Baltimore, Maryland

Harms associated with injecting in public spaces: a global systematic review and meta-analysis

Khezri, M., Kimball, S., McKnight, C., Rouhani, S., Bunting, A. M., Karamouzian, M., Ompad, D. C., & Des Jarlais, D. (n.d.).

Publication year

2025

Journal title

International Journal of Drug Policy

Volume

140

10.1016/j.drugpo.2025.104819

Abstract

Abstract

Background: Despite increasing backlash against harm reduction efforts and the need to understand the risk environments encountered by people who inject drugs (PWID), a quantitative systematic review on public injecting and associated health and drug-related outcomes is lacking. We aimed to summarize the global evidence on the prevalence and harms associated with injecting in public spaces. Methods: We searched MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Scopus, Global Health, and Web of Science from inception to March 21, 2024. We pooled data from included studies using random-effects meta-analyses to quantify the associations between recent (i.e., current or within the last year) public injecting and associated outcomes. Public injecting was defined as injecting in public or semi-public spaces, including streets, parks, and abandoned buildings. Risk of bias was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute's critical appraisal tool. Results: Of the 6144 initial records, 84 studies were eligible for inclusion. The pooled prevalence of recent public injecting was 48.85 % (95 % confidence intervals [CI] 43.87, 53.85). Public injecting was associated with increased odds of recent non-fatal overdose (odds ratio [OR] 2.51, 95 % CI 2.01, 3.13), HCV infection (OR 1.55, 95 % CI 1.18, 2.02), recent needle/syringe sharing (OR 2.41, 95 % CI 1.97, 2.94), recent sex work (OR 1.75, 95 % CI 1.03, 2.97), recent incarceration (OR 2.10, 95 % CI 1.78, 2.47), and recent unstable housing/homelessness (OR 4.23, 95 % CI 3.17, 5.65). Public injecting showed a statistically non-significant association with HIV infection (OR 1.41, 95 % CI 0.80, 2.46). Public injecting was also associated with a higher willingness to use supervised injection facilities (OR 2.66, 95 % CI 1.86, 3.80). Conclusion: Public injecting is prevalent among PWID and associated with various adverse drug- and health-related outcomes, highlighting the need for increased access to safe injection spaces. Findings support developing interventions to reduce harms from public injecting, such as addressing structural risks from law enforcement, expanding naloxone programs, and establishing overdose prevention centers. Housing interventions, in particular, could serve as an effective upstream strategy to reduce public injecting and related harms.

Implementation of Overdose Prevention in Maryland: Implications for Resource Allocation, Program Scale-Up, and Evaluation

Navigating US illicit drug market volatility: Harm reduction strategies employed by people who inject drugs

Racial Discrimination and Substance Use: Results from a 2023 Survey of Racism and Public Health in the United States

Specialized Mental Health Crisis Response Activities Within US Law Enforcement Agencies

Substance Checking Outreach and PrEP Engagement (SCOPE) Study: protocol for a non-randomised clinical trial in Baltimore, Maryland USA

“All You Can Do is What You Know to Do”: Naloxone Knowledge and Uncertainty Among People Who Use Drugs in Maryland amid a Volatile Drug Market

Education, Income, Wealth, and Discrimination in Black-White Allostatic Load Disparities

Emerging models of de facto drug policy reforms in the United States

Epidemiology of drug arrests in the United States: Evidence from the national survey on drug use and health, 2015–2019

Factors associated with daily use of benzodiazepines/tranquilizers and opioids among people who use drugs

Love after lockup: examining the role of marriage, social status, and financial stress among formerly incarcerated individuals

Bather, J. R., McSorley, A. M. M., Rhodes-Bratton, B., Cuevas, A., Rouhani, S., Nafiu, R. T., Harris, A., & Goodman, M. (n.d.).

Publication year

2024

Journal title

Health and Justice

Volume

12

Issue

1

10.1186/s40352-024-00264-x

Abstract

Abstract

Background: Upon reintegration into society, formerly incarcerated individuals (FIIs) experience chronic financial stress due to prolonged unemployment, strained social relationships, and financial obligations. This study examined whether marriage and perceived social status can mitigate financial stress, which is deleterious to the well-being of FIIs. We also assessed whether sociodemographic factors influenced financial stress across marital status. We used cross-sectional data from 588 FIIs, collected in the 2023 Survey of Racism and Public Health. The financial stress outcome (Cronbach’s α = 0.86) comprised of five constructs: psychological distress, financial anxiety, job insecurity, life satisfaction, and financial well-being. Independent variables included marital and social status, age, race/ethnicity, gender identity, educational attainment, employment status, and number of dependents. Multivariable models tested whether financial stress levels differed by marital and perceived social status (individual and interaction effects). Stratified multivariable models assessed whether social status and sociodemographic associations varied by marital status. Results: We found that being married/living with a partner (M/LWP, b = -5.2) or having higher social status (b = -2.4) were protective against financial stress. Additionally, the social status effect was more protective among divorced, separated, or widowed participants (b = -2.5) compared to never married (NM, b = -2.2) and M/LWP (b = -1.7) participants. Lower financial stress correlated with Black race and older age, with the age effect being more pronounced among M/LWP participants (b = -9.7) compared to NM participants (b = -7.3). Higher financial stress was associated with woman gender identity (overall sample b = 2.9, NM sample b = 5.1), higher education (M/LWP sample b = 4.4), and having two or more dependents (overall sample b = 2.3, M/LWP sample b = 3.4). Conclusions: We provide novel insights into the interrelationship between marriage, perceived social status, and financial stress among FIIs. Our findings indicate the need for policies and programs which may target the family unit, and not only the individual, to help alleviate the financial burden of FIIs. Finally, programs that offer legal aid to assist in expungement or sealing of criminal records or those offering opportunities for community volunteer work in exchange for vouchers specific to legal debt among FIIs could serve to reduce financial stress and improve social standing.

Public support for reinvesting resources from enforcing drug possession to health-promoting alternatives: A nationally representative poll of adults in the United States

Sleep-related impairment among people who use opioids: The critical role of structural vulnerability

The effects of message framing on US police chiefs’ support for interventions for opioid use disorder: a randomized survey experiment

Understaffed and beleaguered: a national survey of chiefs of police about the post-George Floyd era

Understanding sensitivity and cross-reactivity of xylazine lateral flow immunoassay test strips for drug checking applications

“What I should be doing is harm reduction, if I'm doing my job right”: Engagement with harm reduction principles among prosecutors enacting drug policy reform in the United States

De Facto Decriminalization for Drug Possession and Sex Work in Baltimore, Maryland

Sherman, S. G., Tomko, C., & Rouhani, S. (n.d.).

Publication year

2023

Journal title

American journal of preventive medicine

Volume

64

Issue

4

Page(s)

567-568

10.1016/j.amepre.2022.10.021

Disruptions to naloxone training among lay and occupational responders in Maryland during the emergence of COVID-19: Early impacts, recovery, and lessons learned

Factors associated with receptive injection equipment sharing among people who inject drugs: findings from a multistate study at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic

High willingness to use overdose prevention sites among suburban people who use drugs who do not inject