Annette E. Maxwell, DrPH

Professor of Health Policy and Management
UCLA Center for Cancer Prevention and Control Research
UCLA Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Equity
Fielding School of Public Health and UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center

Areas of Interest

  • Cancer prevention and control research
  • Community-partnered research
  • Implementation and dissemination research

Dr. Maxwell is professor of health policy and management and conducts research at the Center for Cancer Prevention and Control Research and the UCLA Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Equity. She has developed a cancer research program that focuses on reducing cancer disparities. With funding from the NIH, ACS and DOD, she has conducted randomized trials to test interventions to increase breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening, hepatitis B testing, and to improve adherence to diagnostic follow-up procedures. She has partnered with many community-based organizations and churches to develop and test these interventions and to train peer navigators and community health advisors to recruit participants, deliver program components and conduct assessments. Materials and protocols for three of Dr. Maxwell's trials have been posted at Rtips as examples of research-tested programs that are recommended for broad dissemination.

As an investigator and director of the Methodology Core for an NCI-funded Program Project (Liver Cancer Control Intervention for Asian Americans, PI Moon Chen, 2006-2012), Dr. Maxwell and colleagues evaluated a number of intervention strategies to promote hepatitis B testing among Korean Americans (small group educational sessions in churches in Los Angeles), Vietnamese (mass media and physician education in Northern California) and the Hmong (community health workers and navigation in the Sacramento area). Data from this study highlight the importance of access to care, having seen a provider and receiving a provider recommendation to obtain a Hepatitis B screening test.

Current projects related to GI/liver disease

Dr. Maxwell is currently conducting a 3-year pilot study with African American churches in South Los Angeles to reduce cancer disparities, with a focus on colorectal cancer. The pilot study will build the capacity of African American churches by training lay health advisors to interact with church members and to use evidence-based strategies to promote cancer screening. This study is funded by the NIH Comprehensive Minority Institution/Cancer Center Partnership Charles Drew University/ UCLA Cancer Center Partnership to Eliminate Cancer Health Disparities (2U54CA143931, PIs: J. Vadgama, CDU & R. Farias-Eisner, UCLA).

Selected publications

  1. Bastani R, Glenn BA, Taylor VM, Chen MS Jr, Nguyen TT, Stewart SL, Maxwell AE.Integrating theory into community interventions to reduce liver cancer disparities: The Health Behavior Framework. Preventive Medicine 50(1-2):63-67, 2010. PMC3243444

  2. Maxwell AE, Bastani R, Chen MS Jr, Nguyen TT, Stewart SL, Taylor VM. Constructing a theoretically based set of measures for liver cancer control research studies. Preventive Medicine, 50(1-2):68-73, 2010. PMC2813918

  3. Nguyen TT, McPhee SJ, Stewart SL, Gildengorin G, Zhang L, Wong C, Maxwell AE, Bastani R, Taylor VM, Chen MS Jr. Factors associated with hepatitis B testing among Vietnamese Americans. Journal of General Internal Medicine 25 (7):694-700, 2010. PMC2881980

  4. Maxwell AE, Stewart SL, Glenn BA, Wong WK, Yasui Y, Chang LL, Taylor VM, Nguyen TT, Chen MS, Bastani R. Theoretically informed correlates of Hepatitis B knowledge among four Asian groups: The Health Behavior Framework. Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 13(4):1687-92, 2012. PMC3425378

  5. Chen MS Jr., Fang D, Stewart SL, Ly MY, Lee S, Dang, JHT, Nguyen TT, Maxwell AE, Bowlus CL, Bastani R, Nguyen TT. Increasing Hepatitis B Screening for Hmong adults: Results from a randomized controlled community-based study. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention 22(5):782-791, 2013. PMC3650126

  6. Maxwell AE, Bastani R, Glenn BA, Taylor VM, Nguyen TT, Stewart SL, Burke NJ, Chen MS Jr. Developing theoretically based and culturally appropriate interventions to promote hepatitis B testing in 4 Asian American populations. Preventing Chronic Disease 11:E72. doi: 10.5888/pcd11.130245, 2014. PMC4008952

  7. Bastani R, Glenn BA, Maxwell AE, Jo AM, Herrmann AK, Crespi CM, Wong WK, Chang CL, Stewart SL, Nguyen TT, Chen MS, Jr, Taylor VM. Cluster-Randomized Trial to Increase Hepatitis B Testing among Koreans in Los Angeles. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention 24(9):1341-9, 2015. PMC4560609

  8. Stewart SL, Kwong S, Bowlus C, Nguyen TT, Maxwell AE, Bastani R, Chak EW, Chen MS Jr. Racial/ethnic disparities in hepatocellular carcinoma treatment and survival in California, 1988-2012. World Journal of Gastroenterology 14:22(38):8584-8595, 2016. PMC5064040

  9. Maxwell AE, Young S, Crespi CM, Rabelo Vega R, Cayetano RT, Bastani R. Social determinants of health in the Mixtec and Zapotec community in Ventura County, California. International Journal for Equity in Health 14 (1):16, 2015. PMC4320817

  10. Maxwell AE, Danao LL, Cayetano RT, Crespi CM, Bastani R. Implementation of an evidence-based intervention to promote colorectal cancer screening in community organizations: A cluster randomized trial. Translational Behavioral Medicine: Practice, Policy, Research, 6:295-305, 2016. PMC4927441

Contact information

650 Charles Young Drive South
A2-125 CHS, Box 956900
Los Angeles, CA 90095-6900

Email: [email protected]
http://ph.ucla.edu/faculty/maxwell