Dr. Steven Cohen

  • Associate Professor
  • Public Health
  • Phone: 401.874.4301
  • Email: steven_cohen@uri.edu
  • Office Location: Independence Square, Ste N, 230C
  • Website

Research

Dr. Cohen is a social epidemiologist and applied public health demographer, studying the impacts of aging on health and health care delivery.

He has two primary areas of research.  First, Dr. Cohen studies socioeconomic and demographic disparities in informal, family caregiving in the United States and their impacts on caregiver health and quality of life and is the principal investigator of the Rhode Island Caregiving Study, funded by the Rhode Island Foundation. The second examines social factors and place-based characteristics associated with health, health behaviors, and health care services use in older adults, with a primary focus on rural-urban and other sociodemographic disparities. Dr. Cohen is also the principal investigator of the Rhode Island Life Expectancy Project, which examines the social determinants of life expectancy and mortality in Rhode Island cities and towns.

Dr. Cohen is the current Chairperson of the American Public Health Association Aging and Public Health Section and the Editor-in-Chief of Health Care Analysis. 

Education

  • Dr.P.H., Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
  • M.P.H., Tufts University School of Medicine
  • B.A., Brandeis University

Selected Publications

SELECTED FROM OVER 80 PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS

Cohen, S. A., Metcalf, E., Brown, M. J., Ahmed, N. H., Nash, C., & Greaney, M. L. (2025). A closer examination of the “rural mortality penalty”: Variability by race, region, and measurement. The Journal of Rural Health, 41(1), e12876.

Brown, M. J., Zhang, J., Addo, P. N. O., Kaur, A., Amoatika, D., Crouch, E., & Cohen, S. A. (2025). Childhood Sexual Trauma, Substance Use, and Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence Among Older Adults Living With HIV: A Mediational Analysis. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 44(2), 222-230.

Kamat, S., Brown, B. R., Cohen, S. A., & Vyas, A. (2025). Prophylactic Neurokinin‐1 Receptor Antagonist Use Pre‐and Post‐Choosing Wisely Initiative Among Women with Invasive Breast Cancer. Health Services Research, e14626.

Cohen, S. A., Ahmed, N. H., Ellis, K. A., Lindsey, H., Nash, C. C., & Greaney, M. L. (2024). Rural-urban and regional variations in aspects of caregiving, support services and caregiver health in the USA: evidence from a national survey. BMJ Open, 14(10), e081581.

Greaney, M. L., Cohen, S. A., & Allen, J. D. (2024). Pap test recency and HPV vaccination among Brazilian immigrant women in the United States: a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health, 24(1), 1954.

Skaltsis, J., Sackett, A., Ellis, K. A., & Cohen, S. A. (2024). Learner perception of disaster simulation modalities: a pilot study. Nurse Educator, 10-1097.

Cohen, S. A., & Greaney, M. L. (2023). Aging in rural communities. Current Epidemiology Reports, 10(1), 1-16.

Cohen, S. A., Nash, C. C., Byrne, E. N., & Greaney, M. L. (2023). Income and rural–urban status moderate the association between income inequality and life expectancy in US census tracts. Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition, 42(1), 24.

Cohen, S. A., Brown, M. J., Xu, F., Nash, C. C., & Greaney, M. L. (2023). Geographic differences in the magnitude of black‐white disparities in having obesity. Obesity Science & Practice, 9(5), 516-528.

Cohen, S. A., Ahmed, N., Brown, M. J., Meucci, M. R., & Greaney, M. L. (2022).  Rural-urban differences in informal caregiving and health-related quality of life.  The Journal of Rural Health, 38(2), 442-456.

Gates, D. M., Cohen, S. A., Orr, K., & Caffrey, A. R. (2022). Pediatric influenza vaccination rates lower than previous estimates in the United States. Vaccine, 40(44), 6337-6343.

Cohen, S. A., Mendez-Luck, C. A., Greaney, M. L., Azzoli, A. B., Cook, S. K., & Sabik, N. J. (2021).  Differences in caregiving intensity among distinct sociodemographic subgroups of informal caregivers: Joint effects of race/ethnicity, gender, and employment.  Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 47(7), 23-32.

Cohen, S. A., Nash, C. C., & Greaney, M. L. (2021).  Informal caregiving during the COVID-19 pandemic in the US: Background, challenges, and opportunities.  American Journal of Health Promotion, 35(7), 1032-1036.

Cohen, S. A., Mendez-Luck, C. A., Greaney, M. L., Azzoli, A. B., Cook, S. K., & Sabik, N. J. (2021).  Differences in caregiving intensity among distinct sociodemographic subgroups of informal caregivers: Joint effects of race/ethnicity, gender, and employment.  Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 47(7), 23-32.

Cohen, S. A., Kunicki, Z. J., Nash, C. C., Drohan, M. M., & Greaney, M. L. (2021). Rural-urban differences in caregiver burden due to the COVID-19 pandemic among a national sample of informal caregivers.  Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, 7, 23337214211025124.

Cohen, S. A., Kunicki, Z. J., Drohan, M. M., & Greaney, M. L. (2021). Exploring caregiver burden and caregiving intensity due to COVID-19.  Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, 7, 2333721421999279.

Brown, M. J., & Cohen, S. A. (2020).  Informal caregiving, poor mental health, and subjective cognitive decline: Results from a population-based sample.  Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 46(12), 31-41.

Cohen, S. A., Broccoli, J. R., & Greaney, M. L. (2020).  Community-based social determinants of three measures of mortality in Rhode Island cities and towns.  Archives of Public Health, 78(1), 1-11.

Xu, F., Cohen, S. A., Greaney, M. L., Earp, J. E., & Delmonico, M. J. (2020).  Longitudinal sex-specific physical function trends by age, race/ethnicity, and weight status.  Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 68(10), 2270-2278.

Greany, M. L., Cohen, S. A., Xu, F., Ward-Ritacco, C. L., & Riebe, D. (2020).  Healthcare provider counselling for weight management behaviours among adults with overweight or obesity:  A cross-sectional analysis of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2011-2018.  BMJ Open, 10(11), e039295.

Cohen, S. A., Talamas, A. X., & Sabik, N. J. (2019). Disparities in social determinants of health outcomes and behaviours between older adults in Alaska and the contiguous US: Evidence from a national survey. International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 78(1), 1557980.

Xu, F., Cohen, S. A., Lofgren, I. E., Greene, G. W., Delmonico, M. J., & Greaney, M. L. (2019). The association between physical activity and metabolic syndrome in older adults with obesity.  The Journal of Frailty and Aging, 8(1), 27-32.

Cohen, S. A., Greaney, M. L., & Klassen, A. C. (2019).  A “Swiss paradox” in the United States?  Level of spatial aggregation changes the association between income inequality and morbidity for older Americans.  International Journal of Health Geographics, 18(1), 1-12.

Cohen, S. A., Cook, S. K., Sando, T. A., & Sabik, N. J. (2018). What aspects of rural life contribute to rural‐urban health disparities in older adults? Evidence from a national survey. The Journal of Rural Health, 34(3), 293-303.

Cohen, S. A., Cook, S. K., Kelley, L., Foutz, J. D., & Sando, T. A. (2017). A closer look at rural‐urban health disparities: Associations between obesity and rurality vary by geospatial and sociodemographic factors. The Journal of Rural Health, 33(2), 167-179.