Ashaunta T. Anderson

Ashaunta Anderson is a pediatrician whose research explores the origins of health disparities in the social environments of early childhood. Her work is particularly focused on the impact of early school readiness on later academic achievement and related health outcomes. She is interested in the ways parents, health care providers, policymakers, and other stakeholders interact to support school readiness in all children. To this end, she has conducted a number of qualitative assessments of early childhood educators, pediatricians, and minority parents with the goal of developing a culturally appropriate community-partnered intervention to promote early school readiness.

Dr. Anderson’s focus on upstream medicine extends from prenatal-through-infancy school readiness interventions to the pre-conception period of adolescence. She is currently evaluating the effect of the school environment on adolescent health risk behaviors. She has also examined the methods pediatricians use to ensure consistent chlamydia screening in sexually active adolescents. With this insight, classroom and clinical policies may codify health-promoting properties critical to downstream school readiness.

Dr. Anderson is also interested in the broader policy landscape in her health services research. In the wake of the Affordable Care Act, she is very interested in examining the application of the changing health care system to child health. The shifting roles of healthcare providers, the new ways patients access care, and the increasing emphasis on preventative care are topics of special interest.