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Biography

Dr. Bennett is a physician scientist who has focused his scholarly and clinical career on the delivery of primary health services to vulnerable populations in the US and in developing countries. He is a family physician providing full spectrum primary care including obstetric, family planning, pediatric and general adult health care. The targets of his scholarship are understanding and improving disparities in maternal-child health services seen in populations that have suffered from long standing inequities including race/ethnic minority and economically impoverished communities. Initial investigations related to literacy and maternal health identified the link between low literacy in a woman's primary language and increased risk of perinatal depression. This work on what we now call social determinants of health and perinatal mental health led to his ongoing focus on perinatal mental health and risk of suicide. He conducts health services research in the implementation of evidence based models in primary care with a focus on mental health in the context of pregnancy and postpartum. He has particular expertise in the delivery of health services within Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and is the PI of a national randomized trial of the implementation of collaborative care for perinatal depression in health centers. He completed a fellowship in the Implementation Research Institute funded by the NIH at Washington University. He has also been funded by the AHRQ and Grand Challenges Canada to study mHealth strategies to extend the reach of services for women from vulnerable populations in pregnancy in the US, Vietnam, and Nigeria.

 

RHRC Publications

For full listings, please visit the RHRC website

Al Achkar M, Bennett IM, Chwastiak L, Hoeft T, Normoyle T, Vredevoogd M, Patterson DG. Telepsychiatric consultation as a training and workforce development strategy for rural primary care Ann Fam Med 18(5):438-445 09-01-2020