Diana N. Carvajal, MD, MPH

2008 - 2011: Primary Care Health Services Research Fellowship, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD

2008 - 2010: Master of Public Health (MPH), Concentration: Women’s Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD

2005 - 2008 : Family Medicine Residency, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY

2001 - 2005 : Medical Doctor (MD),, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS), Piscataway/Camden NJ, Camden, NJ

1997 - 2001 : Bachelor of Arts, Sociology (Undergraduate), Georgetown University, Washington D.C.

NAME:  Diana N. Carvajal, MD. MPH

eRA COMMONS USER NAME (credential, e.g., agency login): DCARVAJ1

POSITION TITLE: Assistant Professor, Family and Community Medicine; Director of RHEDI (Reproductive Health EDucation In Family Medicine)

EDUCATION/TRAINING:

A.        Personal Statement

My work focuses on understanding how and why women make decisions about their reproductive health, particularly contraception.  I also research how healthcare providers and the health system as a whole can work to facilitate or impede contraceptive decision-making for women.  Specifically, populations of interest for me include low-income, urban dwelling women of color who tend to be the most vulnerable and most susceptible to reproductive injustice.

B.        Positions and Honors

Positions and Employment

6/05-5/08                         Family Medicine Resident, Department of Family Medicine, New York Presbyterian Medical Center, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY

7/07-5/08                         Chief Resident, Department of Family Medicine, New York Presbyterian Medical Center, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY

8/08- 8/11           Primary Care Research Fellow/Clinical Instructor, Joint Program of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Department of Family and Community Medicine and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Baltimore, MD.

10/11-11/12         Research Fellow, Department of Family and Social Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY.

12/12 – 9/13        Assistant Professor, Department of Family and Social medicine, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY.

10/13 – present    Assistant Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD

01/14 – present   Director of the RHEDI (Reproductive Health EDucation In Family Medicine) program

Other Experience and Professional Memberships

2001-05                 American Medical Student Association (AMSA) 

2004-                     American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)                   

2008-                     North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG)

2011-                     Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM)

2012-                     North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG), International Committee

2012                      Peer Reviewer, Maternal and Child Health Journal; Journal of Primary Care and Community Health

2012-13                 Grant Generating Project, Virginia Commonwealth University, Department of Family Medicine and Population Health

2013-                     Early Career Reviewer (ECR) program: Health Delivery Methodologies SBIR Review Section, Center for Scientific Review (CSR), National Institute of Health

2014-                     Maryland Academy of Family Physicians (MAFP)

2014-                     Society of Family Planning (SFP)

2016-                     National Reproductive Health Advocacy Network, Baltimore-DC leader

Honors

2004                      Urban Health Initiative, Award for Service

2004                      American Academy of Family Physicians, Outstanding Performance in Family Medicine

2005                      UMDNJ, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Outstanding Leadership in Community Outreach Award  

2008                      Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Department of Family Medicine Chief Resident Award

2009                      National Institute of Health, Loan Repayment Award

2011                      Inductee, Delta Omega Public Health Honor Society, Alpha Chapter

2011                      Faculty Teaching Award, Division of Medical Student Education, Dept. of Family and Community Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine

2011                      National Institute of Health, Loan Repayment Award (Renewal)

2014                      National Institute of Health, Loan Repayment Award (Renewal)

2014                      RWJ Foundation, Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program Award

C.        Contributions to Science

1. My earliest publications focused on understanding important factors related to prevention of unintended pregnancy including factors that influence contraception use.  This research focused on identifying the elements that influence contraceptive motivations, intentions, and use among low-income women of color in Baltimore, MD.  My work found a strong association between contraceptive self-efficacy, intention, and actual use; depression was also noted to be a mitigating factor for contraceptive decision-making.  Perhaps, more importantly, my team and I found that patient-provider communication is very important for pregnancy prevention self-efficacy and contraceptive use.  This research served as the foundation for subsequent studies specifically investigating the role of healthcare providers in contraception counseling and decision-making.  I was the first author and principal/co-investigator for each of these studies.

1. Carvajal, D.N., Burrell L., Duggan A.K., Barnet B..  Repeat Pregnancy Prevention Self-Efficacy in Adolescents:  Associations with Provider Communication, Provider Type, and Depression. Southern Medical Journal. 105(11): 2012.
2. Carvajal, D.N., Ghazarian S., Crowne, S., Brown, P.B., Carter-Pokras, O., Duggan, A.K., Barnet, B. Is depression associated with Contraceptive Motivations, Intentions, and Use among a Sample of Low-Income Latinas?  Women’s Health Issues.  24(1); 105-113:  2014.

1. Because I am physician and teacher (I direct the women’s reproductive health education program within the residency of my department), I am also interested in understanding and providing the most efficient care for our patients.  Within this realm, I successfully instituted a healthcare delivery system that ultimately increased patient access to family planning appointments including full spectrum contraceptive services and abortion care.  The program demonstrated that attention to care-provision systems and education enhances resident training and increases patient access to family planning services.  I am the director of the program, first author of the manuscript, and principal investigator of the study. 

1. Carvajal, D.N., Khanna N., Williams, M., Gold, M.  Systems Change Enhances Access to Family Planning Training and Care Delivery.  Family Medicine. 48(8); 642-644; September 2016.

1. My current research builds off of my earliest studies and is dedicated to a four-year, three-phase study sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.  The overall purpose of this mixed methods study is to examine associations among women’s (specifically low-income immigrant Latinas) healthcare provider experiences, contraceptive decision making, and unintended pregnancy rates over time.  The research is in the midst of developing a valid, culturally targeted survey that will examine Latinas’ decisions to use contraceptives and the relationship with provider trust and communication.  I am the principal investigator for this study.  The first publication of this study (of which I am the first author) reports the results of the initial-phase qualitative study.  Two other manuscripts are pending.

1. Carvajal, DN; Gioia, D., Rivera E.M., Brown, P.B., Barnet, B. How can primary care physicians best support contraceptive decision-making? A qualitative study exploring the perspectives of Baltimore Latinas.  Women’s Health Issues. November2016.

Complete List of Published Work Available at:  

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/myncbi/1bsuwXernabAn/bibliography/44982225/public/?sort=date&direction=ascending.

D.        Additional Information: Research Support and/or Scholastic Performance

Ongoing research Support:

Grant# 71587

Role: Principal Investigator; Awardee

Dates: Jan 1, 2014 – Dec 31, 2017

Agency: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program

Title: “Understanding the Role of Primary Care Providers in Latinas' Contraceptive Decision-Making and Prevention of Unintended Pregnancy”

Goal: To assess and understand the role of primary care providers in the facilitation of contraceptive decision-making and prevention of unintended pregnancy among low-income Latinas in Baltimore, MD.

Completed research support:

Grant# N/A

Role: Research Fellow and Co-Investigator

Dates: Aug 21, 2011 – Sep 30, 2013

Agency: Empire Clinical Research Investigator Program

Title: “Evaluation of Quality Outcomes in the Transformation to Patient Centered Medical Homes (PCMH) in Urban Primary Care”

Goal: Evaluation of PCMH transformation and processes in urban primary care practices in the Bronx, NY.

Grant # G0909RS

Role: Principal Investigator

Dates: Nov 16, 2009 – June 15, 2011

Agency: American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation. 

Title: “Psychosocial Factors Associated with Contraceptive Motivations, Intentions, and Behaviors Among Latinas”

Goal: To describe Latinas’ contraceptive knowledge, motivations, intentions, and use, to investigate associations among their contraceptive motivations, intentions, and use, and to determine the influence of psychosocial factors (depression, intimate partner violence) and primary care experiences on their contraceptive motivations, intentions, and use.  

Grant # 107759

Role: Principal Investigator

Dates: June 16, 2009 – June 01, 2011

Agency: The Thomas Wilson Sanitarium for Children of Baltimore City

Title: “Psychosocial Factors Associated with Contraceptive Motivations, Intentions, and Behaviors Among Latina Adolescents”

Goal: To describe Latina adolescents’ contraception knowledge, motivations, intentions, and use as well as the influence of psychosocial factors (depression, intimate partner violence) and primary care experiences on their contraceptive motivations, intentions and use. 

Grant # APRPA006010

Role: Research Fellow/Trainee and Sub-Investigator

Dates: August 11, 2008 – August 1, 2011

Agency: Department of Health and Human Services; Office of Population Affairs, Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs. Principal Investigator:  Beth Barnet, M.D.

Title: “Contraceptive Intentions of Pregnant Adolescents and Associations among Depressive Symptoms, Intimate Partner Violence, and Primary Care Experiences”

Goal: To describe postpartum contraceptive intentions of pregnant adolescents and explore the associations among contraceptive intentions, depressive symptoms, IPV, and primary care experiences.

women's health; contraception; shared decision-making; reproductive justice

Diana N. Carvajal MD MPH; Deborah Gioia, PhD, LCSW-C; Estefania Rivera Mudafort, BA, MPH; Pamela Brown, BA; Beth Barnet, M.D.  How can primary care physicians best support contraceptive decision-making? A qualitative study exploring the perspectives of Baltimore Latinas.  Women’s Health Issues. November2016.  [Epub ahead of print]. PMID: 27825590

Diana N. Carvajal MD, MPH; Niharika Khanna, MD; Mozella Williams, MD; Marji Gold, MD.  Systems Change Enhances Access to Family Planning Training and Care Delivery.  Family Medicine. 48(8); 642-644; September 2016.

Diana N. Carvajal MD MPH; Sharon Ghazarian, PhD; Sarah Crowne, PhD; Pamela Brown, BA; Olivia Carter-Pokras, PhD;  Anne K. Duggan, ScD; Beth Barnet, M.D. Is Depression associated with Contraceptive Motivations, Intentions, and Use among a Sample of Low-Income Latinas?  Women’s Health Issues.  24(1); 105-113:  2014.

Diana N. Carvajal M.D., MPH; Lori Burrell, MA; Anne K. Duggan, ScD; Beth Barnet, M.D. Repeat Pregnancy Prevention Self-Efficacy in Adolescents:  Associations with Provider Communication, Provider Type, and Depression.  Southern Medical Journal. 105(11): 2012.