I am a PhD-trained social epidemiologist researching social policy levers to improve population health and health equity, with a focus on housing policies and evictions.
Through my doctoral dissertation, I characterized the effects of evictions on child health using a data from a national birth cohort of US children. These studies analyzed effects of eviction on adverse birth outcomes, neighborhood poverty, food security, obesity, and adverse birth outcomes and were among the first to examine eviction as a social determinant of health. This research was funded through a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Predoctoral Fellowship, sponsored by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (F31HD096767).
I completed a postdoctoral fellowship with the Los Angeles Area Health Services Research Training Program, sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (5T32HS000046). During my fellowship, I applied quasi-experimental methods to measure effects of COVID-19 eviction moratoriums on population health outcomes. The research received national media coverage and was cited as evidence to support local, state, and national eviction prevention policies. I have also led work measuring the impact of COVID-19 on people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles and other large, U.S. cities.
As a faculty member, I have continued researching population health effects of eviction prevention policies, including eviction moratoriums, emergency rental assistance, and right-to-counsel. This work is funded through grants from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Healthy Eating Research program, NIH, and the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate.
I have presented my research at national conferences and published peer-reviewed articles in journals such as the American Journal of Epidemiology, the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Social Science and Medicine , JAMA Netowork Open, and JAMA Pediatrics. An up-to-date list of my publications can be found by accessing either of the following profiles:
Kathryn M. Leifheit, PhD MSPH 