Environmental Health Sciences Research Center

University of Iowa College of Public Health

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Edith A. Parker, MPH, DrPH

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A constant theme of Dr. Parker’s research is the design of community health promotion interventions that address major social determinants of health and health disparities, particularly those that use a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) approach. Her research has combined my knowledge and interest in CBPR with an interest in the intersection of environmental health and social and behavioral aspects of human behavior, from individual to policy level. Recently, her research has also focused on rural health, particularly rural health disparities. She leads the Cancer Drivers in Iowa initiative, a collaborative, state-led effort to examine why cancer incidence is high in Iowa and to identify the underlying behavioral, environmental, and genetic factors. Additionally, she previously served as the EHSRC’s Community Engagement Core director.

Publications:

  1. Wilkinson B, Santos Leon E, Vakkalanka JP, Ahmed A, Harland KK, Fuller BM, Campbell K, Swanson MB, Faine B, Zepeski A, Mack L, Bell A, DeJong K, Wallace K, Parker EA, Mueller K, Chrischilles E, Carpenter CR, Jones MP, Simpson SQ, Mohr NM. (2025) Longer Interhospital Transfer Times for Rural Sepsis Patients Not Associated with Increased Mortality. Prehospital Emergency Care. https://doi.org/10.1080/10903127.2024.2447044.
  2. Mohr NM, Merchant KAS, Fuller BM, Faine B, Mack L, Bell A, DeJong K, Parker EA, Mueller K, Chrischilles E, Carpenter CR, Jones MP, Simpson SQ, Ward MM. The Role of Telehealth in Sepsis Care in Rural Emergency Departments: A Qualitative Study of Emergency Department Sepsis Telehealth User Perspectives [in press]. PLOS ONE. 2025.
  3. Kaldjian AM, Vakkalanka P, Okoro U, Wymore C, Harland KK, Campbell K, Swanson MB, Fuller BM, Faine B, Zepeski A, Parker EA, Mack L, Bell A, DeJong K, Wallace K, Mueller K, Chrischilles E, Carpenter CR, 9 Jones MP, Ward MM, Mohr NM. (2025). The Effect of Sepsis Recognition on Telemedicine Use in Rural Emergency Department Sepsis Treatment. Telemed J E Health. doi: 10.1089/tmj.2024.0281. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40106305.
  4. Haines H, Sursely A, Pham H, Beltran R, Sewell DK, Reinders LT, Askelson N, Dixon S, Emrich K, Estle C, Lewis M, Parker E, Reyes J, Walkner L, Sittig KW and Afifi RA. (2025). Insights from the front line: uplifting stories of the COVID-19 pandemic through the eyes of the public health workforce in Iowa. Frontiers in Public Health. 13:1597941. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1597941.
  5. Baquero, B., Novak, N., Sewell, D., Kava, C. M, Daniel-Ulloa, J., Askleson, N., Ashida, S., Laroche, H., Maldonado, A., Bucklin, R., Haines, H., Janz, K., Parker, EA (2024). Effectiveness of implementing evidence-based approaches to promote physical activity in a Midwestern micropolitan area using a quasi-experimental hybrid type I study design. BMC Public Health. 24:1082. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-18523-9.
  6. Tu, K.J., Vakkalanka, J.P., Okoro, U., Harland, K., Wymore, C.C., Fuller, B., Campbell, K., Swanson, M., Parker, E., Mack, L.J., Bell, A., DeJong, K., Faine, B., Zepeski, A., Mueller, K., Chrischilles, E., Carpenter, C.R., Jones, M., Ward, M., Mohr, N.M. (2024) Provider-to-Provider Telemedicine for Sepsis Is Used Less Frequently in Communities with High Social Vulnerability. J Rural Health. https://doi.org/10.1111/jrh.12861
  7. Mohr, N.M., Okoro, U., Harland, K.K., Fuller, B.M., Campbell, K., Swanson, M.B., Wymore, C., Faine, B., Zepeski, A., Parker, E.A., Mack, L., Bell, A., DeJong, K., Mueller, K., Chrischilles, E., Carpenter, C.R., Wallace, K., Jones, M.P., Ward, M.M. (2023) Outcomes associated with rural emergency department provider-to-provider telehealth for sepsis care: A multicenter cohort study. Ann Emerg Med. 81(1):1-13. DOI: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2022.07.024.PMID: 36253295. PMCID: PMC9780149.
  8. Afifi, R. A., Parker, E. A., Dino, G., Hall, D. M. & Ulin, B. (2022). Reimagining Rural: Shifting Paradigms About Health and Well-Being in the Rural United States. Annual Review of Public Health 43 135-154. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-052020-123413.
  9. Woods-Jaeger, B., Daniel-Ulloa, J., Kleven, L., Bucklin, R., Maldonado, A., Gilbert, P. A., Parker, E. A. & Baquero, B. (2021). Building Leadership, Capacity, and Power to Advance Health Equity and Justice through Community-Engaged Research in the Midwest. Am J Community Psychol (67(1-2_) 195-204. DOI: 10.1002/ajcp.12462. PMID: 33040375.
  10. Mohr, N. M., Harland, K. K., Okoro, U. E., Fuller, B. M., Campbell, K., Swanson, M. B., Simpson, S. Q., Parker, E. A., Mack, L. J., Bell, A., DeJong, K., Faine, B., Zepeski, A., Mueller, K., Chrischilles, E., Carpenter, C. R., Jones, M. P. & Ward, M. M. (2021). TELEmedicine as an intervention for sepsis in emergency departments: A multicenter, comparative effectiveness study (TELEvISED Study). J Comp Eff Res. DOI: 10.2217/cer-2020-0141.
  11. Novak, N. L., Baquero, B., Askelson, N., Diers, L., Dunn, B., Haines, H., Afifi, R. & Parker, E. A. (2020). Health equity in midsize rural communities: challenges and opportunities in a changing rural America. American Journal of Public Health 110 (9) 1342-43. PMID: 32783728. PMCID: PMC7427216.
  12. Daniel-Ulloa, J. D., Baquero, B. I., Kava, C. M., Smith-Coronado, M. L., Novak, N. L., Sewell, D., Maldonado, A., Haines, H. L., Gates, C. & Parker, E. (2020). Demographic, Psychosocial and Perceived Environmental Factors Associated with Depression Severity in a Midwest Micropolitan Community. DOI: 10.4148/2572-1836.1077.
  13. Afifi, R. A., Sawsan, A., Betancourt, T., Btedinni, D., Berent, J., Dellos, L., Farrar, J., Nakkash, R., Osman, R., Saravanan, M., Story, W. T., Zombo, M. & Parker, E. (2020). Implementing Community-Based Participatory Research with Communities Affected by Humanitarian Crises: The Potential to Recalibrate Equity and Power in Vulnerable Contexts. American Journal of Community Psychology 66 (3-4) 381-391. DOI: 10.1002/ajcp.12453. ISSN: 0091-0562, 1573-2770
  14. Kava, C. M., Parker, E. A., Baquero, B., Curry, S. J., Gilbert, P. A., Sauder, M. & Sewell, D. K. (2019). Associations between organizational culture, workplace health climate, and employee smoking at smaller workplaces. Tobacco Use Insights. DOI: 10.1177/1179173×19835842.
  15. Kava, C. M., Parker, E. A., Baquero, B., Curry, S. J., Gilbert, P. A., Sauder, M. & Sewell, D. K. (2018). Organizational culture and the adoption of anti-smoking initiatives at small to very small workplaces: An organizational level analysis. Tobacco Prevention & Cessation 4 (December). DOI: 10.18332/tpc/100403.
  16. Parker, E. A., Baquero, B., Daniel-Ulloa, J., Diers, L., Haines, H., Kava, C. M., Hellige, K., Hernandez, H. & Novak, N. (2018). Establishing a Community-Based Participatory Research Partnership in a Rural Community in the Midwest. Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action 13 (2) 201-208. DOI: 10.1353/cpr.2019.0020. PMID: 31178455. PMCID: PMD6692912.
  17. Baquero, B., Kava, C. M., Ashida, S., Daniel-Ulloa, J., Laroche, H. H., Haines, H., Bucklin, R., Maldonado, A., Garcia, M. C., Berto, S., Sewell, D., Novak, N., Janz, K., Gates, C. & Parker, E. A. (2018). Active Ottumwa: Adapting Evidence-Based Recommendations to Promote Physical Activity in a Micropolitan New Destination Community. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 15 (5) 917. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15050917.
  18. Gilbert, P., Haines, H., Baquero, B. & Parker, E. (2018). Respondent-driven sampling to recruit Latinos in a midwest micropolitan area: Lessons learned and recommendations for translational work. Journal of Clinical and Translational Science 2 (4) 245-248. DOI: 10.1017/cts.2018.322.
  19. Reyes, J., Tripp-Reimer, T., Parker, E., Muller, B. & Laroche, H. (2017). Factors influencing diabetes self-management among medically underserved patients with type II diabetes. Global Qualitative Nursing Research 4 1-13. DOI: 10.1177/2333393617713097.