Profile

Role: Adjunct Instructor

Education: Ph.D. Portland State University School of Social Work 

Experience: Inpatient and residential mental health and chemical dependency, emergency department social work, child abuse assessment, community crisis response, health policy analysis and development

Interests: Health services research and policy, health disparities, GLBT policy and practice.

Teaching Areas: Human Behavior in the Social Environment: Macro Theory, Social Justice and Diversity

Heidi Allen, MSW, PhD received her training in social work and social research. Her dissertation examined outcomes associated with insurance instability in low-income adults at one time enrolled in Medicaid. She is committed to translation of research into policy and previously held positions include Director of the Oregon Health Research & Evaluation Collaborative (OHREC), Director of the Oregon Medicaid Advisory Committee, and lead staff of the Health Equities Committee of the Oregon Health Fund Board. She is currently serving on the Community Advisory Council of the Department of Human Services Office of Multicultural Health & Services and the steering committee of Oregon Healthy Kids.  Dr. Allen is an adjunct professor at Portland State University in the Department of Social Work and in the Department of Sociology. Previous courses taught include:  Social Justice, Social Work with GLBT Individuals, Families, and Communities, Human Behavior in the Social Environment and HBSE Macro, Drugs and Alcohol in Society, Health Inequality, and Health Policy & Practice.

Dr. Allen’s research is focused on the health of vulnerable populations and improving health equity. She is currently employed at Providence Health & Services as a research scientist.  Dr. Allen is an investigator on the Oregon Health Study and leading the qualitative data collection arm of the study.  The Oregon Health Study is a randomized controlled trial of the effects of extending health insurance coverage to a low-income, adult population. The randomized design provides an unprecedented opportunity to determine the causal effects of health insurance on a wide range of outcomes, such as health, financial status, access to care, and patterns of health-care utilization. With health-care reform high on the domestic agenda, this study will provide policymakers with crucial and timely information for evaluating policy proposals on expanding or modifying health insurance coverage in the U.S.