Ann Kurth, PhD, CNM, MPH, FAAN, FACNM

About

Ann Kurth, PhD, RN, CNM, MPH, FAAN, FACNM is Dean, and Linda Koch Lorimer Professor of Nursing and professor of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health. Yale School of Nursing was the world’s first university-based school of nursing, and it advocates for “better health for all people.”

Dr. Kurth is an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Medicine (former Institute of Medicine), and a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. She was a member of the 2014-2018 US Preventive Services Task Force, which sets screening and primary care prevention guidelines for the United States. She is a member of the New York Academy of Medicine andof the CT Academy of Science and Engineering. Dr. Kurth was 2018-2020 chair of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH), the 170+-university member academic global health network whose mission is to support“academic institutions and partners to improve the wellbeing of people and the planet through education, research, service, and advocacy.(https://www.cugh.org/)

An epidemiologist and clinically-trained nurse-midwife, Dr. Kurth’s research focuses on HIV/reproductive health, and global health system strengthening, particularly in the context of climate change (see https://www.planetaryhealthnow.org/).

Her work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIAID, NIDA, NIMH, NICHD), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UNAIDS, CDC, HRSA, and others, for studies conducted in the United States and internationally. Dr. Kurth has consulted for the NIH, Gates Foundation, WHO, USAID and CDC, among others.

Dr. Kurth has published over 250 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and scholarly monographs and presented at hundreds of scientific conferences and invited talks. Dr. Kurth has received awards for her science and leadership including the Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research Award and the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame award from Sigma Theta Tau International, the global nursing honor society. She chairs the National Academy of Medicine’s Board on Global Health.

Research Interests

Dr. Kurth’s research focuses on HIV/reproductive health, and global health system strengthening, in the context of pandemics, climate change and other stresses – all of which have a disproportionate effect on structurally marginalized populations. Her work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIAID, NIMH, NICHD, NIDA), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UNAIDS, CDC, HRSA, and others, for studies in the US and internationally, with over $20 million awarded as principal investigator. Dean Kurth co-founded the Yale Institute for Global Health, a cross-university research effort. She co-chairs sustainability at Yale, the first university to enact a carbon charge and to declare a pathway for carbon-free emission goals. She is a member of Yale’s COVID-19 advisory task force, among the first universities to mandate vaccination for faculty, staff, and students. She serves on the board of Yale New Haven Hospital, which just attained its third Magnet designation and anchors a nationally innovative health system.

Dr. Kurth has published hundreds peer-reviewed articles, chapters, and scholarly monographs and presented at hundreds of scientific conferences and invited talks. She served on the US Preventive Services Task Force, which sets prevention and screening guidelines for the United States. Dr. Kurth currently chairs the National Academy of Medicine Board on Global Health, which includes a focus on issues of global import.

Dr. Kurth believes that attention to equity is crucial for the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, structural racism, and other societal and economic stresses. She understands the mandate to leverage science to advocate for individuals, communities, and populations – and of the unique and powerful contribution of universities as a public good to do so.

Selected Books/Chapters

Vermund SH, Kurth AE. (2018). Why the United States must invest in global health. In Brown PJ, Closser S, eds. Foundations of Global Health – an Interdisciplinary Reader. New York: Oxford University Press, Chapter 9b.

Selected Publications

Rosa WE, Catton H, Davidson PM, Hannaway CJ, Iro E, Klopper HC, Madigan EA, McConville FE, Stilwell B, Kurth AE. Nurses and midwives as global partners to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in the Anthropocene. J Nurs Scholarship. 2021 Sep;53(5):552-560.

Matovu JKB, Bogart LM, Nakabugo J, Kagaayi J, Serwadda D, Wanyenze RK, Ko AI, Kurth AE. Feasibility and acceptability of a pilot, peer-led HIV self-testing intervention in a hyperendemic fishing community in rural Uganda. PLoS One 2020 Aug 7;15(8):e0236141.

Gostin LO, Koh HH, Williams M, Hamburg MA, Benjamin G, Foege WH, Davidson P, Bradley EH, Barry M, Koplan JP, Periago MFR, El Sadr W, Kurth A, Vermund SH, Kavanagh MM. US withdrawal from WHO is unlawful and threatens global and US health and security. Lancet 2020 Aug 1;396(10247):293-295.

Inwani I, Chhun N, Agot K, Cleland CM, Rao SO, Nduati R, Kinuthia J, Kurth AE. Preferred HIV testing modalities among adolescent girls and young women in Kenya. J Adolesc Health 2020 Aug 10:S1054-139X(20)30404-3.

Muller A, Vlahov D, Akiyama MJ, Kurth A. Hepatitis C reinfection in people who inject drugs in resource-Limited Countries: A systematic review and analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020 Jul 9;17(14):4951.

McCauley LA, Broome ME, Frazier L, Hayes R, Kurth A, Musil CM, Norman LD, Rideout KH, Villarruel AM. Doctor of nursing practice (DNP) degree in the United States: Reflecting, readjusting, and getting back on track. Nurs Outlook 2020 Jul-Aug;68(4):494-503.

Yellin H, Beckwith C, Kurth A, Liu T, Castonguay B, Patrick R, Trezza C, Bazerman L, Kuo I. Syndemic effect of mental illness and substance use on viral suppression among recently-incarcerated, HIV-infected individuals in the CARE+ Corrections study. AIDS Care 2018 Oct;30(10):1252-1256.

Gostin LO, Hodge JG Jr, Bloom BR, El-Mohandes A, Fielding J, Hotez P, Kurth A, Larson HJ, Orenstein WA, Rabin K, Ratzan SC, Salmon D. The public health crisis of underimmunisation: a global plan of action. Lancet Infect Dis. 2020 Jan;20(1):e11-e16.

Kurth AE, Sidle JE, Chhun N, Lizcano JA, Macharia SM, Garcia MM, Mwangi A, Keter A, Siika AM. Computer-based counseling program (CARE+ Kenya) to promote prevention and HIV health for people living with HIV/AIDS: A randomized controlled trial. AIDS Educ Prev. 2019 Oct;31(5):395-406.

Weiser J, Chen G, Beer L, Boccher-Lattimore D, Armstrong W, Kurth A, Shouse RL. Sustaining the HIV care provider workforce: Medical Monitoring Project HIV provider survey, 2013-2014. Health Serv Res. 2019 Oct;54(5):1065-1074.

Akiyama MJ, Cleland CM, Lizcano JA, Cherutich P, Kurth AE. Prevalence, estimated incidence, risk behaviours, and genotypic distribution of hepatitis C virus among people who inject drugs accessing harm-reduction services in Kenya: a retrospective cohort study. Lancet Infect Dis. 2019 Nov;19(11):1255-1263.

Ratzan SC, Bloom BR, El-Mohandes A, Fielding J, Gostin LO, Hodge JG, Hotez P, Kurth A, Larson HJ, Nurse J, Omer SB, Orenstein WA, Salmon D, Rabin K. The Salzberg Statement on vaccination acceptance. J Health Commun. 2019;24(5):581-583.

Chavez F, Kelly T, Kunisch JR, Kurth A. Systems leadership doctor of nursing practice: global relevance. Int Nurs Rev. 2019 Jun 17.

Kurth AE, Cherutich P, Conover R, Chhun N, Bruce RD, and Lambdin BH. The opioid epidemic in Africa and its impact. Curr Addict Rep. 2018

Rana HB, Banjara MR, Joshi MP, Kurth AE, Castillo TP. Assessing maternal and neonatal near-miss reviews in rural Nepal: An implementation research study to inform scale up. Acta Paediatrica. 2018 Dec;107 Suppl 471:17-23.

Michaels-Strasser S, Johnston S, Treston C, Kurth A. Nursing leadership in global health: Implications for the future of nursing education, scholarship and interprofessional practice. J Assoc Nurses AIDS Care. 2018;29(5):795-799.

Kurth AE, Krist AH, Borsky AE, Baumann LC, Curry SJ, Davidson KW, Doubeni CA, Epling Jr JW, Fan T, Garcia FAR, Herzstein J, Phillips WR, Pignone MP, Tseng CW, Weinstein R. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force methods to communicate and disseminate clinical preventive services recommendations. Am J Prev Med. 2018;54(1S1):S81–S87.

Inwani I, Chhun N, Agot K, Cleland CM, Buttolph J, Thirumurthy H, Kurth AE. High-yield HIV testing, faciliated linkage to care, and prevention for female youth in Kenya (GIRLS Study): Implementation science protocol for a priority population. JMIR Res Protoc. 2017; 6(12):e179.

Kurth AE. Planetary Health and the role of nursing: A call to action. J Nurs Scholarsh. 2017; 49(6):598-605.

Alsallaq RA, Buttolph J, Cleland CM, Hallett T, Inwani I, Agot K, Kurth AE. The potential impact and cost of focusing HIV prevention on young women and men: A modeling analysis in western Kenya. PLoS One. 2017;12(4): e0175447.

Buttolph J, Inwani I, Agot K, Cleland CM, Cherutich P, Kiarie JN, Osoti A, Celum CL, Baeten JM, Nduati R, Kinuthia J, Hallett TB, Alsallaq R, Kurth AE. Gender-specific combination HIV prevention for youth in high burden settings: The MP3 Youth observational pilot study protocol. JMIR Res Protoc. 2017;6(3):e22.

Bibbins-Domingo K, Whitlock E, Wolff T, Ngo-Metzger Q, Phillips WR, Davidson KW, Krist AH, Lin JS, Mangione CM, Kurth AE, García FAR, Curry SJ, Grossman DC, Landefeld CS, Epling JW Jr, Siu AL. Developing recommendations for evidence-based clinical preventive services for diverse populations: Methods of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Ann Intern Med. 2017;166(8):565-571.

Kurth AE, Chhun N, Cleland CM, Crespo-Fierro M, Parés-Avila JA, Lizcano JA, Norman RG, Shedlin MG, Johnston BE, Sharp VL. Linguistic and cultural adaptation of a computer-based counseling program (CARE+ Spanish) to support HIV treatment adherence and risk reduction for people living with HIV/AIDS: A randomized controlled trial. J Med Internet Res2016;18(7):e195.

Owens, D. K., Whitlock, E. P., Henderson, J., Pignone, M. P., Krist, A. H., Bibbins-Domingo, K., Curry, S. J., Davidson, K. W., Ebell, M., Gillman, M. W., Grossman, D. C., Kemper, A. R., Kurth, A. E., Maciosek, M., Siu, A. L., LeFevre, M. L., & U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. (2016). Use of Decision Models in the Development of Evidence-Based Clinical Preventive Services Recommendations: Methods of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Ann Intern Med. doi: 10.7326/M15-2531. PMID: 27379742

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, Bibbins-Domingo, K., Grossman, D. C., Curry, S. J., Davidson, K. W., Epling, J. W., Jr., García, F. A., Gillman, M. W., Harper, D. M., Kemper, A. R., Krist, A. H., Kurth, A. E., Landefeld, C. S., Mangione, C. M., Phillips, W. R., Phipps, M. G., & Pignone, M. P. (2016). Screening for Syphilis Infection in Nonpregnant Adults and Adolescents: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement. JAMA, 315(21), 2321-2327. doi: 10.1001/jama.2016.5824. PMID: 27272583

Zaller, N. D., Patry, E. J., Bazerman, L. B., Noska, A., Kuo, I., Kurth, A., & Beckwith, C. G. (2016). A Pilot Study of Rapid Hepatitis C Testing in Probation and Parole Populations in Rhode Island. J Health Care Poor Underserved, 27(2A), 214-223. doi: 10.1353/hpu.2016.0049. PMID: 27133520

Kurth, A.E., Jacob, S., Squires, A.P., Sliney, A., Davis, S., Stalls, S., Portillo, C.J. Investing in nurses is a prerequisite for ensuring universal health coverage. J Assoc Nurses AIDS Care 2016;27(3):344-54. PMID: 27086193.

Kurth, A., Cleland C., Chhun, N., Sidle, J.E., Were, E., Naanyu, V., Emonyi, V., Macharia, S., Sang, E., Siika. Accuracy and acceptability of oral HIV self-testing and feasibility in a general adult population in Kenya. AIDS & Behavior 2016; 20(4):870-9. PMID: 26438487.

Were MC, Kessler J, Shen C, Sidle J, Macharia S, Lizcano J, Siika A, Wools-Kaloustian K, Kurth A. Implementation and operational research: A time-motion analysis of HIV transmission prevention counseling and antiretroviral adherence messages in Western Kenya. JAIDS 2015; 69(4):e135-41. PMID: 25950208.

Kurth, A.E., Cleland CM, Des Jarlais DC, Musyoki H, Lizcano JA, et al. HIV prevalence, estimated incidence, and risk behaviors among people who inject drugs in Kenya. JAIDS 2015;70(4):420-7. PMID: 26226249.

Kurth, A., Miller, T.L., Woo, M., Davidson, K.W. Understanding research gaps and priorities for improving behavioral counseling interventions: Lessons learned from the USPSTF. Annals of Preventive Medicine 2015; 49(3S2):S158–S165. PMID: 26296550.

Pfeffermann, G. and Kurth, A. Value of management education to enhance health systems. The Lancet (Global Health) 2014; 2(9):e504. PMID: 25304411.

Sivipalisingham, S., McClelland, R.S., Ravel, J., Ahmed, A., Cleland, C.M., Gajer, P., Mwamzaka, M., Marshed, F., Shafi, J., Masese, L., Fajans, M., Anderson, M.E., Jaoko, W., Kurth, A. An effective intervention to reduce intravaginal practices among HIV-1 uninfected Kenyan women. AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses 2014; 30(11):1046-57. PMID: 25265254.

Kurth, A., Spielberg, F., Cleland, C., Lambdin, B., Bangsberg, D., Frick, P., Severynen, A., Clausen, M., Norman, R., Lockhart, D., Simoni, J., Holmes, K. Computer counseling reduces HIV-1 viral load and secondary transmission of HIV risk: Findings from a randomized controlled trial. JAIDS 2014; 65:611–620. PMID: 24384803.

Kurth, A., Kuo, I., Peterson, J., Azikiwe, N., Bazerman, L., Cates, A., Beckwith, C.G. Information and communication technology to link criminal justice reentrants to HIV care in the community. AIDS Research and Treatment 2013, 2013:547381. PMID: 23984054.

Andrasik, M.P., Chapman, C.H., Clad, R., Murray, K., Foster, J., Morris, M., Parks, M.R., Kurth, A. Developing concurrency messages for the Black community in Seattle, Washington. AIDS Education & Prevention 2012; 24(6):527-48. PMID: 23206202.

Kurth, A., Mayer, K., Beauchamp, G., McKinstry, L., Farrior, J., Buchacz, K., Donnell, D., Branson, B., (2012). El-Sadr W. Clinician practices and attitudes regarding early antiretroviral therapy in the US. JAIDS 2012; 61(5): 61:e65–e69. PMID: 23183150.

Kurth, A., Celum, C., Baeten, J.M., Vermund, S.H., Wasserheit, J.N. Combination HIV prevention: Significance, challenges, and opportunities. Current HIV/AIDS Reports 2011; 8(1):62-72. PMID: 20941553.