PhD, MHA

Teaching Professor

Dr. Alafaireet investigates how data and information technology can best be used to advance health and the delivery of care.

Dr. Patricia Alafaireet finds solutions that enable health providers to work more effectively.

Dr. Alafaireet investigates how health providers can most effectively use information technology and data to enhance their practice. Her research interests include GUI aesthetics for physician use, recidivism in mental health delivery, and in the application of informatics tools to day-to-day health delivery operations. Dr. Alafaireet’s latest publications focus on the development of human centered service design and the use of technology to drive health equity. She is also involved in the evaluation of teen parenthood and cardio-vascular disease prevention programs and consults for programs that address hunger, substance abuse, and vaccine hesitancy.

Dr. Alafaireet has written numerous scholarly articles. Recent publications include:

• Diserens, P. and Alafaireet, P., “Creating Fairness-A Nexus Approach to Design in Healthcare Equity.” Service Design, Creativity and Innovation in Healthcare Springer. (hs-neu-ulm.de) Projected for Jan 2024
• Narindrarangkura,P., Alafaireet,P., Khan, U., Kim,M. Association rule mining of real-world data: Uncovering links between race, glycemic control, lipid profiles, and suicide attempts in individuals with diabetes, Informatics in Medicine Unlocked, Volume 42, 2023, 101345, ISSN 2352-9148, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.imu.2023.101345.
• Narindrarangkura P, Alafaireet PE, Khan U, Kim MS. Risk Patterns for Suicide Attempts among People with Diabetes Using Association Rules Mining. Diabetes 20 June 2023; 72 (Supplement_1): 687–P. https://doi.org/10.2337/db23-687-P
• Alafaireet, P., and Diserens, P., “Bridging the health gap: human -centered approaches to connect clinical and community care.” Human-Centered Service Design for Healthcare Transformation  Springer. (hs-neu-ulm.de) January 2023
• Braddock A, Malm-Buatsi E, Hicks S, Harris G, Alafaireet P. Healthcare Workers’ Perceptions of On-Site Childcare. J Healthc Manag. 2023 Jan-Feb 01;68(1):56-67. doi: 10.1097/JHM-D-22-00007. PMID: 36602455.
• Alafaireet, P., Desai, C., and Houghton, H.  “Seven Practices for Innovation in Healthcare Products Service Design” Practices for Healthcare Innovation-Paradigms, Principles, Prospects Springer. (hs-neu-ulm.de) January 2022

Additionally, Dr. Alafaireet is involved in the formulation of national policy, including having served as chair of the Rural Health Community of Practice, a national group that examines solutions to rural health issues.

At the University of Missouri, Dr. Alafaireet very much enjoys teaching courses in decision support systems, project management, and Agile. She also enjoys teaching Community Health Workers in Missouri.

Research interests

• Service delivery model creation
• Application of informatics to health delivery
• Use of technology to drive health equity

In the news