Angela Wiley ('12)
PhD in Health Infrastructures and Learning Systems (HILS)
Angela Wiley (Class of 2012) has been working hard at the University of Michigan to complete her PhD in Health Infrastructures and Learning Systems (HILS). Her program aims to improve the health of individuals and populations by developing researchers who design, implement, and evaluate innovative change and continuous improvement in health systems.
Angela's research focuses on improving health equity in low- and middle-income countries, currently, Ghana. She works with stakeholders to determine local barriers and with facilitators impacting the successful deployment of whatever health improvement behavior is attempting to be implemented. From there, a tailored program is developed with implementation strategies to improve success of deployment, measured and adjusted as needed, with feedback from the stakeholders and target population. Angela approaches this work from qualitative and quantitative perspectives, relying on interviews and focus groups to increase her understanding of the local barriers, facilitators, and culture, as well as, use of information gained from computable knowledge, like health informatics from a health record. All this information is utilized to ensure the developed intervention is efficacious and sustainable, as well as, relevant to the target population.
Angela states: "I truly credit my educational experience at Steiner for my success, both academically and within my career. The wide breadth of knowledge I was exposed to at Steiner, as well as, all of the life-changing trips I attended, all provided me with the necessary skills to think not just critically, but also sensitively, and problem solve during complex situations, as well as, allowed me to truly value different cultures and see that from a global health perspective, it is just as important for us here in Ann Arbor to learn certain health practices from Ghana, as it is for them to learn certain practices from us. I loved my education at Steiner and I wouldn’t change a thing. Go Storm!"