Rita Hamad, MD, PhD, MPH

Associate Professor

Dr. Rita Hamad is a social epidemiologist and family physician in the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies and the Department of Family & Community Medicine at UCSF. As the director of the Social Policies for Health Equity Research Program (https://sphere.ucsf.edu), her research focuses on the pathways linking poverty and education with health disparities across the life course. In particular, she studies the health effects of social and economic policies using interdisciplinary quasi-experimental methods. She also investigates the mechanisms through which adverse socioeconomic conditions get "under the skin" to cause disease.

Dr. Hamad is the Associate Director of the Center for Health Equity. She is also a member of the steering committee of the UCSF Population Health Data Initiative, serving as the Faculty Lead for the development of data infrastructure to advance population health research on campus. She previously served as the Policy Lead of the UCSF Preterm Birth Initiative, spearheading an agenda to reduce disparities in preterm birth by addressing its upstream determinants. Dr. Hamad mentors trainees at all levels in population health research, and she supervises family medicine residents at the Family Health Center at San Francisco General Hospital. She also serves on the Communications Committee of the Interdisciplinary Association of Population Health Sciences.
Education
AB, - Chemistry, Harvard University
PhD, - Epidemiology, Stanford University
- Family Medicine, UCSF - Contra Costa Family Medicine Residency
MPH, MS, - Health & Medical Sciences, University of California Berkeley
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion Training, University of California San Francisco
MD, - Medicine, University of California San Francisco
Honors and Awards
  • Outstanding Impact in Health & Social Justice Alumni Award, UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program, 2022
  • James C. Puffer, M.D./American Board of Family Medicine Fellowship, National Academy of Medicine, 2020-2022
  • Irene Perstein Award, UCSF, 2018-2021
  • Hellman Fellowship, UCSF, 2018-2020
Websites
Publications

  1. Karasek D, Batra A, Baer RJ, Butcher BDC, Feuer S, Fuchs JD, Kuppermann M, Gomez AM, Prather AA, Pantell M, Rogers E, Snowden JM, Torres J, Rand L, Jelliffe-Pawlowski L, Hamad R. Estimating the effect of timing of earned income tax credit refunds on perinatal outcomes: a quasi-experimental study of California births. BMC public health 2023. PMID: 37936102


  2. Jensen NK, Frøslev T, Foverskov E, Glymour M, Sørensen HT, Hamad R. The association of neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics with cardiovascular health: A quasi-experimental study of refugees to Denmark. Health & place 2023. PMID: 37844523


  4. Schwartz GL, Chiang AY, Wang G, Kim MH, White JS, Hamad R. Testing mediating pathways between school segregation and health: Evidence on peer prejudice and health behaviors. Social science & medicine (1982) 2023. PMID: 37716183


  5. Assaf RD, Hamad R, Javanbakht M, Arah OA, Shoptaw SJ, Cooper ZD, Gorbach PM. Associations of U.S. state-level COVID-19 policies intensity with cannabis sharing behaviors in 2020. Research square 2023. PMID: 37577641


  6. Raphael E, Barton M, Jaradeh K, Dieterich C, Hamad R. Comparing the health of refugee and asylee patients with that of non-refugee immigrant and US-born patients in a large Urban clinic. BMC public health 2023. PMID: 37501106


  8. Kathryn A Phillips, Deborah A Marshall, Loren Adler, Jose Figueroa, Simon F Haeder, Rita Hamad, Inmaculada Hernandez, Corrina Moucheraud, Sayeh Nikpay. Ten health policy challenges for the next 10 years. 2023. PMID:


  9. Mooney AC, Jackson KE, Hamad R, Fernald LCH, Hoskote M, Gosliner W. Experiences of distress and gaps in government safety net supports among parents of young children during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study. BMC public health 2023. PMID: 37287030


  11. Hamad R, Collin DF, Gemmill A, Jackson K, Karasek D. The Pent-Up Demand for Breastfeeding Among US Women: Trends After COVID-19 Shelter-in-Place. American journal of public health 2023. PMID: 37200599


  12. Collin DF, Guan A, Hamad R. Predictors of WIC Uptake Among Low-Income Pregnant Individuals: A Longitudinal Nationwide Analysis. The American journal of clinical nutrition 2023. PMID: 37088228


  13. Jackson KE, Hamad R, Karasek D, White JS. Sugar-sweetened beverage taxes and perinatal health: A quasi-experimental study. American journal of preventive medicine 2023. PMID: 36966893


  14. Raphael E, Azar KMJ, Gu D, Shen Z, Rubinsky A, Wang M, Pantell M, Lyles CR, Fernandez A, Bibbins-Domingo K, Pressman A, Nasrallah C, Hamad R. Racial and sociodemographic predictors of COVID-19 compared with influenza, appendicitis, and all-cause hospitalization: retrospective cohort analysis. Ethnicity & health 2023. PMID: 36907661


  16. Park S, Marcus GM, Olgin JE, Carton T, Hamad R, Pletcher MJ, COVID-19 Citizen Science Study Consortium. Unreported SARS-CoV-2 Home Testing and Test Positivity. JAMA network open 2023. PMID: 36696115


  17. Batra A, Jackson K, Hamad R. Effects Of The 2021 Expanded Child Tax Credit On Adults' Mental Health: A Quasi-Experimental Study. Health affairs (Project Hope) 2023. PMID: 36623218


  18. Kim MH, Foverskov E, Frøslev T, White JS, Glymour MM, Hainmueller J, Pedersen L, Sørensen HT, Hamad R. Neighborhood disadvantage and the risk of dementia and mortality among refugees to Denmark: A quasi-experimental study. SSM - population health 2022. PMID: 36589275


  19. Hamad R, Gosliner W, Brown EM, Hoskote M, Jackson K, Esparza EM, Fernald LCH. Understanding Take-Up Of The Earned Income Tax Credit Among Californians With Low Income. Health affairs (Project Hope) 2022. PMID: 36469822


  20. Wang G, Seligman H, Levi R, Hamad R. Impact of fruit and vegetable benefits on pregnancy outcomes among WIC participants: a natural experiment. Translational behavioral medicine 2022. PMID: 36073737


  21. Guan A, Batra A, Hamad R. Effects of the revised WIC food package on women's and children's health: a quasi-experimental study. BMC pregnancy and childbirth 2022. PMID: 36324108


  22. Foverskov E, White JS, Frøslev T, Sørensen HT, Hamad R. Risk of Psychiatric Disorders Among Refugee Children and Adolescents Living in Disadvantaged Neighborhoods. JAMA pediatrics 2022. PMID: 36094528


  23. Brown EM, Fernald LCH, Hamad R, Hoskote M, Jackson KE, Gosliner W. Pandemic-related socioeconomic disruptions and adverse health outcomes: a cross-sectional study of female caregivers. BMC public health 2022. PMID: 36221110


  24. Hamad R, Lyman KA, Lin F, Modrow MF, Ozluk P, Azar KMJ, Goodin A, Isasi CR, Kitzman HE, Knight SJ, Marcus GM, McMahill-Walraven CN, Meissner P, Nair V, O'Brien EC, Olgin JE, Peyser ND, Sylwestrzak G, Williams N, Pletcher MJ, Carton T. The U.S. COVID-19 County Policy Database: a novel resource to support pandemic-related research. BMC public health 2022. PMID: 36217102


  25. Wang G, Schwartz GL, Kershaw KN, McGowan C, Kim MH, Hamad R. The association of residential racial segregation with health among U.S. children: A nationwide longitudinal study. SSM - population health 2022. PMID: 36238814


  26. Karasek D, Raifman S, Dow WH, Hamad R, Goodman JM. Evaluating the Effect of San Francisco's Paid Parental Leave Ordinance on Birth Outcomes. International journal of environmental research and public health 2022. PMID: 36231264


  28. Torres JM, Alcala E, Shaver A, Collin DF, Franck LS, Gomez AM, Karasek D, Nidey N, Hotard M, Hamad R, Pacheco-Werner T. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and birth outcomes in California: a quasi-experimental study. BMC public health 2022. PMID: 35906553


  29. Pulvera R, Collin DF, Hamad R. The effect of the 2009 WIC revision on maternal and child health: A quasi-experimental study. Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology 2022. PMID: 35871753


  31. Kim MH, Schwartz GL, White JS, Glymour MM, Reardon SF, Kershaw KN, Gomez SL, Collin DF, Inamdar P, Wang G, Hamad R. School racial segregation and long-term cardiovascular health among black adults in the US: A quasi-experimental study. PLoS medicine 2022. PMID: 35727819


  32. Foverskov E, White JS, Norredam M, Frøslev T, Kim MH, Glymour MM, Pedersen L, Sørensen HT, Hamad R. Neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage and psychiatric disorders among refugees: a population-based, quasi-experimental study in Denmark. "It's not the doctor - it's me." How self-blame obscures language and other structural barriers to diabetes care mong low-income Latinos with limited English Proficiency. 2022. PMID: 35597890


  33. Wang G, Schwartz GL, Kim MH, White JS, Glymour MM, Reardon S, Kershaw KN, Gomez SL, Inamdar PP, Hamad R. School Racial Segregation and the Health of Black Children. "It's not the doctor - it's me." How self-blame obscures language and other structural barriers to diabetes care mong low-income Latinos with limited English Proficiency. 2022. PMID: 35434734


  34. Jackson KE, Yeb J, Gosliner W, Fernald LCH, Hamad R. Characterizing the Landscape of Safety Net Programs and Policies in California during the COVID-19 Pandemic. "It's not the doctor - it's me." How self-blame obscures language and other structural barriers to diabetes care mong low-income Latinos with limited English Proficiency. 2022. PMID: 35270441


  35. Hamad R, Ruffini K, Bitler M, Currie J. Leveraging the Urgency of Economic Disparities Driven by the COVID-19 Pandemic to Strengthen the U.S. Safety Net. "It's not the doctor - it's me." How self-blame obscures language and other structural barriers to diabetes care mong low-income Latinos with limited English Proficiency. 2022. PMID: 35402855


  36. Hamad R, Glymour MM, Calmasini C, Nguyen TT, Walter S, Rehkopf DH. Explaining the variance in cardiovascular disease risk factors: A comparison of demographic, socioeconomic, and genetic predictors. "It's not the doctor - it's me." How self-blame obscures language and other structural barriers to diabetes care mong low-income Latinos with limited English Proficiency. 2021. PMID: 34799480


  37. Hoskote M, Hamad R, Gosliner W, Sokal-Gutierrez K, Dow W, Fernald LCH. Social and Economic Factors Related to Healthcare Delay Among Low-Income Families During COVID-19: Results from the ACCESS Observational Study. Journal of health care for the poor and underserved 2022. PMID: 36341673


  38. Raifman JR, Raderman W, Skinner A, Hamad R. Paid Leave Policies Can Help Keep Businesses Open And Food On Workers’ Tables "It's not the doctor - it's me." How self-blame obscures language and other structural barriers to diabetes care mong low-income Latinos with limited English Proficiency. 2021. PMID:


  39. Batra A, Karasek D, Hamad R. Racial Differences in the Association between the U.S. Earned Income Tax Credit and Birthweight. Women's health issues : official publication of the Jacobs Institute of Women's Health 2021. PMID: 34654624


  40. Irish AM, White JS, Modrek S, Hamad R. Paid Family Leave and Mental Health in the U.S.: A Quasi-Experimental Study of State Policies. American journal of preventive medicine 2021. PMID: 34294424


  41. Seligman HK, Hamad R. Moving Upstream: The Importance of Examining Policies to Address Health Disparities. JAMA pediatrics 2021. PMID: 33779711


  42. Shields-Zeeman L, Collin DF, Batra A, Hamad R. How does income affect mental health and health behaviours? A quasi-experimental study of the earned income tax credit. Journal of epidemiology and community health 2021. PMID: 33990398


  43. Collin DF, Shields-Zeeman LS, Batra A, White JS, Tong M, Hamad R. The effects of state earned income tax credits on mental health and health behaviors: A quasi-experimental study. Social science & medicine (1982) 2021. PMID: 33740636


  44. Batra A, Hamad R. Short-term effects of the earned income tax credit on children's physical and mental health. Annals of epidemiology 2021. PMID: 33621630


  45. Guan A, Hamad R, Batra A, Bush NR, Tylavsky FA, LeWinn KZ. The Revised WIC Food Package and Child Development: A Quasi-Experimental Study. Pediatrics 2021. PMID: 33495370


  46. Riley AR, Collin D, Grumbach JM, Torres JM, Hamad R. Association of US state policy orientation with adverse birth outcomes: a longitudinal analysis. Journal of epidemiology and community health 2021. PMID: 33408163


  47. Arons A, Pomeranz J, Hamad R. Identifying Novel Predictors of State Legislative Action to Address Obesity. Journal of public health management and practice : JPHMP 2019. PMID: 31415263


  48. Hamad R. Natural and Unnatural Experiments in Epidemiology. Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.) 2020. PMID: 33003148


  49. Hamad R, Öztürk B, Foverskov E, Pedersen L, Sørensen HT, Bøtker HE, White JS. Association of Neighborhood Disadvantage With Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Events Among Refugees in Denmark. JAMA network open 2020. PMID: 32821923


  50. Hamad R, Penko J, Kazi DS, Coxson P, Guzman D, Wei PC, Mason A, Wang EA, Goldman L, Fiscella K, Bibbins-Domingo K. Association of Low Socioeconomic Status With Premature Coronary Heart Disease in US Adults. JAMA cardiology 2020. PMID: 32459344


  51. Collin DF, Shields-Zeeman LS, Batra A, Vable AM, Rehkopf DH, Machen L, Hamad R. Short-term effects of the earned income tax credit on mental health and health behaviors. Preventive medicine 2020. PMID: 32735990


  52. Chiang J, Arons A, Pomeranz JL, Siddiqi A, Hamad R. Geographic and Longitudinal Trends in Media Framing of Obesity in the United States. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) 2020. PMID: 32475076


  53. Raphael E, White JS, Li X, Cederin K, Glymour MM, Sundquist K, Sundquist J, Hamad R. Neighborhood deprivation and mental health among immigrants to Sweden. Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.) 2020. PMID: 31977591


  54. Lee BC, Modrek S, White JS, Batra A, Collin DF, Hamad R. The effect of California's paid family leave policy on parent health: A quasi-experimental study. Social science & medicine (1982) 2020. PMID: 32179364


  56. Hamad R, Niedzwiecki MJ. The short-term effects of the earned income tax credit on health care expenditures among US adults. Health services research 2019. PMID: 31566732


  57. Hamad R, Collin DF, Baer RJ, Jelliffe-Pawlowski LL. Association of Revised WIC Food Package With Perinatal and Birth Outcomes: A Quasi-Experimental Study. JAMA pediatrics 2019. PMID: 31260072


  58. Hlatky MA, Hamad R. Disentangling the Effects of Socioeconomic Factors on Outcomes Among Patients With Heart Failure. Volume 7 of Issue 9. JACC. Heart failure 2019. PMID: 31466672


  59. Hamad R, Batra A, Karasek D, LeWinn KZ, Bush NR, Davis RL, Tylavsky FA. The Impact of the Revised WIC Food Package on Maternal Nutrition during Pregnancy and Postpartum. American journal of epidemiology 2019. PMID: 31094428


  60. Hamad R, Nguyen TT, Bhattacharya J, Glymour MM, Rehkopf DH. Educational attainment and cardiovascular disease in the United States: A quasi-experimental instrumental variables analysis. Volume 16 of Issue 6. PLoS medicine 2019. PMID: 31237869


  61. Hamad R, Nguyen TT, Glymour MM, Vable A, Manly JJ, Rehkopf DH. Quality and quantity: The association of state-level educational policies with later life cardiovascular disease. Volume 126. Preventive medicine 2019. PMID: 31195021


  62. Vable AM, Nguyen TT, Rehkopf D, Glymour MM, Hamad R. Differential associations between state-level educational quality and cardiovascular health by race: Early-life exposures and late-life health. Volume 8. SSM - population health 2019. PMID: 31249857


  63. Hamad R, Brown DM, Basu S. The association of county-level socioeconomic factors with individual tobacco and alcohol use: a longitudinal study of U.S. adults. Volume 19 of Issue 1. BMC public health 2019. PMID: 30971249


  64. Hamad R, Templeton ZS, Schoemaker L, Zhao M, Bhattacharya J. Comparing demographic and health characteristics of new and existing SNAP recipients: application of a machine learning algorithm. Volume 109 of Issue 4. The American journal of clinical nutrition 2019. PMID: 30949659


  65. Hamad R, Collin DF, Rehkopf DH. Estimating the Short-Term Effects of the Earned Income Tax Credit on Child Health. Volume 187 of Issue 12. American journal of epidemiology 2018. PMID: 30188968


  66. Hamad R, Modrek S, White JS. Paid Family Leave Effects on Breastfeeding: A Quasi-Experimental Study of US Policies. American journal of public health 2018. PMID: 30359107


  67. Vable AM, Eng CW, Mayeda ER, Basu S, Marden JR, Hamad R, Glymour MM. Mother's education and late-life disparities in memory and dementia risk among US military veterans and non-veterans. Volume 72 of Issue 12. Journal of epidemiology and community health 2018. PMID: 30082424


  68. Hamad R, Elser H, Tran DC, Rehkopf DH, Goodman SN. How and why studies disagree about the effects of education on health: A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies of compulsory schooling laws. Volume 212. Social science & medicine (1982) 2018. PMID: 30036767


  69. Glymour MM, Hamad R. Causal Thinking as a Critical Tool for Eliminating Social Inequalities in Health. Volume 108 of Issue 5. American journal of public health 2018. PMID: 29617596


  70. Pomeranz JL, Siddiqi A, Bolanos GJ, Shor JA, Hamad R. Consolidated state political party control and the enactment of obesity-related policies in the United States. Volume 105. Preventive medicine 2017. PMID: 28865810


  71. Hamad R, Rehkopf DH, Kuan KY, Cullen MR. Predicting later life health status and mortality using state-level socioeconomic characteristics in early life. Volume 2. SSM - population health 2016. PMID: 27713921


  72. Hamad R, Tuljapurkar S, Rehkopf DH. Racial and Socioeconomic Variation in Genetic Markers of Telomere Length: A Cross-Sectional Study of U.S. Older Adults. Volume 11. EBioMedicine 2016. PMID: 27566956


  73. Hamad R, Walter S, Rehkopf DH. Telomere length and health outcomes: A two-sample genetic instrumental variables analysis. Volume 82. Experimental gerontology 2016. PMID: 27321645


  74. Hamad R, Cohen AK, Rehkopf DH. Changing national guidelines is not enough: the impact of 1990 IOM recommendations on gestational weight gain among US women. Volume 40 of Issue 10. International journal of obesity (2005) 2016. PMID: 27200502


  75. White JS, Hamad R, Li X, Basu S, Ohlsson H, Sundquist J, Sundquist K. Long-term effects of neighbourhood deprivation on diabetes risk: quasi-experimental evidence from a refugee dispersal policy in Sweden. Volume 4 of Issue 6. The lancet. Diabetes & endocrinology 2016. PMID: 27131930


  76. Hamad R, Rehkopf DH. Hamad and Rehkopf Respond to "Income and Health: Financial Credits as Instruments". Volume 183 of Issue 9. American journal of epidemiology 2016. PMID: 27056960


  77. Hamad R, Rehkopf DH. Poverty and Child Development: A Longitudinal Study of the Impact of the Earned Income Tax Credit. Volume 183 of Issue 9. American journal of epidemiology 2016. PMID: 27056961


  78. Basu S, Hamad R, White JS, Modrek S, Rehkopf DH, Cullen MR. The EARN-Health Trial: protocol for a randomised controlled trial to identify health effects of a financial savings programme among low-income US adults. Volume 5 of Issue 10. BMJ open 2015. PMID: 26443663


  79. Hamad R, Modrek S, Cullen MR. The Effects of Job Insecurity on Health Care Utilization: Findings from a Panel of U.S. Workers. Volume 51 of Issue 3. Health services research 2015. PMID: 26416343


  80. Hamad R, Fernald LC. Microcredit participation and women's health: results from a cross-sectional study in Peru. Volume 14. International journal for equity in health 2015. PMID: 26242582


  81. Hamad R, Rehkopf DH. Poverty, Pregnancy, and Birth Outcomes: A Study of the Earned Income Tax Credit. Volume 29 of Issue 5. Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology 2015. PMID: 26212041


  82. Hamad R, Modrek S, Kubo J, Goldstein BA, Cullen MR. Using "big data" to capture overall health status: properties and predictive value of a claims-based health risk score. Volume 10 of Issue 5. PloS one 2015. PMID: 25951622


  83. Modrek S, Hamad R, Cullen MR. Psychological well-being during the great recession: changes in mental health care utilization in an occupational cohort. Volume 105 of Issue 2. American journal of public health 2015. PMID: 25521885


  84. Hamad R, Pomeranz JL, Siddiqi A, Basu S. Large-scale automated analysis of news media: a novel computational method for obesity policy research. Volume 23 of Issue 2. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) 2014. PMID: 25522013


  85. Moseson H, Hamad R, Fernald L. Microcredit participation and child health: results from a cross-sectional study in Peru. Volume 68 of Issue 12. Journal of epidemiology and community health 2014. PMID: 25180005


  86. Hamad R, Fernald LCh, Karlan DS. Health education for microcredit clients in Peru: a randomized controlled trial. Volume 11 of Issue 1. BMC public health 2011. PMID: 21261988


  87. Hamad R, Fernald LC. Microcredit participation and nutrition outcomes among women in Peru. Volume 66 of Issue 6. Journal of epidemiology and community health 2010. PMID: 21051776


  88. Fernald LC, Hamad R, Karlan D, Ozer EJ, Zinman J. Small individual loans and mental health: a randomized controlled trial among South African adults. Volume 8. BMC public health 2008. PMID: 19087316


  89. Hamad R, Fernald LC, Karlan DS, Zinman J. Social and economic correlates of depressive symptoms and perceived stress in South African adults. Volume 62 of Issue 6. Journal of epidemiology and community health 2008. PMID: 18477753