Mary C. Politi, PhD

Mary C. Politi, PhD

Professor, Department of Surgery, School of Medicine

Dr. Politi’s primary research interests include health communication and shared decision-making. Her work helps patients and the public understand health information, explore what is important to them when making health decisions, and collaborate to make evidence-informed decisions that meet their needs. She also trains health care professionals, public health advocates, and members of the public interested in shared decision-making and patient engagement.

Dr. Politi’s research includes a focus on reducing health disparities by engaging communities with unmet health needs and including them in both research and dissemination efforts. She has expanded her work to study the financial toxicity (burden of care costs) of health care and ways to offset the high costs of care through insurance decisions and discussions about cost-saving strategies. She works extensively with stakeholders to ensure her research is relevant to end users in clinical and community settings.

Keywords: community-engaged research & practice, decision making, decision support, health behavior, health education, health literacy, intervention research