Lawrence Palinkas, PhD

Professor-Social Work, Anthropology, Preventive Medicine

University of Southern California

L1 IMPLEMENTATION OF EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES: A GUIDE FOR RESEARCHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS

Lawrence Palinkas is Professor of Social Work, Anthropology and Preventive Medicine at USC.  He joined the USC School of Social Work faculty in 2005 after serving as professor of Family and Preventive Medicine and director of the Immigrant/Refugee Health Studies Program in the School of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego.

A medical anthropologist, his primary areas of expertise lie within preventive medicine, cross-cultural medicine and health services research. Dr. Palinkas is particularly interested in health disparities, implementation science, community-based participatory research, and the socio cultural and environmental determinants of health and health-related behavior with a focus on disease prevention and health promotion. Current research encompasses mental health services, immigrant health, and global health.  Specific projects explore the mental health needs of older adults, cultural explanatory models of mental illness and service utilization, evaluation of academic-community research practice partnerships, and the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based practices for delivery of mental health services to children, adolescents and underserved populations. He also provides expertise to students and colleagues in the use of qualitative and mixed research methods.

Major research studies include “Dissemination and Implementation of Evidence-Based Practices for Youth Mental Health,” “Multifaceted Depression and Diabetes Program for Hispanics,” “Improving Care for Children in Child Welfare” and “Organizational Readiness for Innovation.”  He is also Co-Principal Investigator of the USC Pacific Rim Global Health Framework, an NIH funded project designed to develop interdisciplinary research and training on global health issues with a focus on the Pacific Rim.