Erika Austin

Erika Austin
Associate Professor / Associate Dean

Scientist (C), Minority Health & Research Center , General Clinical Research Center
Associate Dean, Public Health Student & Academic Affairs , School of Public Health
Associate Professor (P), Biostatistics , School of Public Health

Overview

Dr. Austin is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the UAB School of Public Health (SOPH). She oversees the educational mission of the school, ensuring that all degree programs prepare students to join the public health workforce. Her office supports students throughout their time with SOPH, from recruitment, admissions, and enrollment to academic advising and career planning.

Selected Publications

Academic Article

Year	Title	Altmetric
2022	What do Veterans with homeless experience want us to know that we are not asking? A qualitative content analysis of comments from a national survey of healthcare experience. Health and Social Care in the Community. 30:e5027-e5037. 2022
2022	"It's behaviors, not identity": Attitudes and beliefs related to HIV risk and pre-exposure prophylaxis among transgender women in the Southeastern United States. PLoS One. 17. 2022
2021	Characteristics Associated With Unsheltered Status Among Veterans. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 61:357-368. 2021
2021	Comparison of patient experience between primary care settings tailored for homeless clientele and mainstream care settings. Medical Care. 59:495-503. 2021
2021	Perceptions of care coordination among homeless veterans receiving medical care in the veterans health administration and community care settings results from a national survey. Medical Care. 59:504-512. 2021
2021	Building Cultural Competency among Emerging Public Health Professionals: Student Experiences in Panama 2021
2021	Enhancing Primary Care Experiences for Homeless Patients with Serious Mental Illness: Results from a National Survey. Journal of Primary Care and Community Health. 12. 2021
2020	Prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Infections and Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Transgender Persons: A Systematic Review. Transgender Health. 5:90-103. 2020
2020	Exploring Quality of Primary Care for Patients Who Experience Homelessness and the Clinicians Who Serve Them: What Are Their Aspirations?. Qualitative Health Research. 30:865-879. 2020
2020	Prevalence of and Risk Factors Associated With Nonfatal Overdose Among Veterans Who Have Experienced Homelessness. JAMA Network Open. 3:e201190. 2020
2020	Veterans’ Assignment to Single-Site Versus Scattered-Site Permanent Supportive Housing 2020
2019	Applying the Housing First approach to single-site permanent supportive housing. Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless. 28:24-33. 2019
2018	Do young black men who have sex with men in the deep south prefer traditional over alternative STI testing?. PLoS One. 13. 2018
2018	Is There a Continuum of Risk for Sexually Transmitted Infections among African American Women?. Sexually Transmitted Diseases. 45:e20-e22. 2018
2017	Housing first on a large scale: Fidelity strengths and challenges in the VA's HUD-VASH program. Psychological Services. 14:118-128. 2017
2017	Sexually Transmitted Infection Risk among Women Is Not Fully Explained by Partner Numbers. Southern Medical Journal. 110:161-167. 2017
2017	Sexual orientation and sexual health services utilization among women in the United States. Preventive Medicine. 95:74-81. 2017
2016	Ethnographic Observation of a Housing First Approach to Case Management at Four VA Medical Centers.. Psychiatric Services. 67:1384-1385. 2016
2016	Letters to the editor. Psychiatric Services. 67:1384-1385. 2016
2016	Sexual Orientation and Sexual and Reproductive Health among African American Sexual Minority Women in the U.S. South. Women's Health Issues. 26:612-621. 2016
2016	Chlamydia trachomatis infection in African American women who exclusively have sex with women. International Journal of STD and AIDS. 27:978-983. 2016
2016	Substance use among persons with homeless experience in primary care. Substance Abuse. 37:534-541. 2016
2016	Trichomonas vaginalis Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing at an Urban HIV Clinic. Sexually Transmitted Diseases. 43:483-488. 2016
2016	Priorities in the primary care of persons experiencing homelessness: Convergence and divergence in the views of patients and provider/experts. Patient Preference and Adherence. 10:153-158. 2016
2015	Housing first and the risk of failure: A comment on Westermeyer and Lee (2013). Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. 203:559-562. 2015
2015	Experience of primary care among homeless individuals with mental health conditions. PLoS One. 10. 2015
2014	Making Housing First Happen: Organizational Leadership in VA’s Expansion of Permanent Supportive Housing. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 29:835-844. 2014
2014	Added benefit of nucleic acid amplification testing for the diagnosis of Trichomonas vaginalis among men and women attending a sexually transmitted diseases clinic. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 59:834-841. 2014
2014	Timing and momentum in VA's path toward housing first: In reply. Psychiatric Services. 65:836-837. 2014
2014	VA's expansion of supportive housing: Successes and challenges on the path toward housing first. Psychiatric Services. 65:641-647. 2014
2014	Development of the primary care quality-homeless (PCQ-H) instrument: A practical survey of homeless patients' experiences in primary care. Medical Care. 52:734-742. 2014
2014	Families of choice and noncollegiate sororities and fraternities among lesbian and bisexual african-American women in a southern community: Implications for sexual and reproductive health research. Sexual Health. 11:24-30. 2014
2014	Lack of evidence for sexual transmission of genital Candida species among women who have sex with women: A mixed methods study. Sexually Transmitted Infections. 90:165-170. 2014
2014	Lower sexually transmissible infection prevalence among lifetime exclusive women who have sex with women compared with women who have sex with women and men. Sexual Health. 11:592-593. 2014
2014	Sexual partnership characteristics of African American women who have sex with women; impact on sexually transmitted infection risk. Sexually Transmitted Diseases. 41:611-617. 2014
2013	Comparing homeless persons' care experiences in tailored versus nontailored primary care programs. American Journal of Public Health. 103. 2013
2013	Bacterial vaginosis among African American women who have sex with women. Sexually Transmitted Diseases. 40:751-755. 2013
2013	Trichomonas vaginalis infection among women receiving gynaecological care at an Alabama HIV Clinic. Sexually Transmitted Infections. 89:514-518. 2013
2013	Sexual behaviors, perception of sexually transmitted infection risk, and practice of safe sex among southern african american women who have sex with women. Sexually Transmitted Diseases. 40:395-400. 2013
2013	Misperceptions regarding protective barrier method use for safer sex among African-American women who have sex with women. Sexual Health. 10:138-141. 2013
2013	Sexual Orientation Disclosure to Health Care Providers Among Urban and Non-Urban Southern Lesbians 2013
2013	Suicide Ideation and Suicide Attempts Among White Southern Lesbians. Journal of Gay and Lesbian Psychotherapy. 17:4-20. 2013
2012	Sexual Orientation, Partnership Formation, and Substance Use in the Transition to Adulthood 2012
2010	Health Behaviors and Health Care Utilization of Southern Lesbians. Women's Health Issues. 20:178-184. 2010
2010	Sexual Orientation, Parental Support, and Health During the Transition to Young Adulthood 2010
2010	Age differences in the correlates of problematic alcohol use among Southern Lesbians. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. 71:295-298. 2010
2008	Ethnic Differences in the Correlates of Mental Distress Among Homeless Women. Women's Health Issues. 18:26-34. 2008
2006	Correlates of HIV-related stigma among HIV-positive mothers and their uninfected adolescent children 2006
2005	Women’s STD prevention and detection practices: The specificity of social location. 2005

Research Overview

Dr. Austin is a social scientist whose research focuses on the health of marginalized populations, including LGBT-identified people living in the South, people at risk for or living with HIV, and people experiencing homelessness. She combines her training in survey methodology (MA in Applied Social Research, University of Michigan), sociology (PhD, University of Virginia), and public health (MPH, University of Florida) to design and conduct methodologically rigorous studies of health disparities. She joined the Department of Biostatistics in 2015 as a teaching faculty member, focusing on introductory Biostatistics and Quantitative Methods courses for undergraduate and master’s students.