Joseph E. Ravenell, MD

My professional career has been dedicated to achieving health equity for minoritized populations through clinical practice and community-based research. My research focuses on community-engaged approaches to improving hypertension-related outcomes in Black men.  I have been Principal Investigator of multiple NIH and CDC grant-funded projects to test community-based strategies focused on improving awareness and management of hypertension and improving cancer screening among black men throughout New York City.  This work led directly to a community-based research network of over 200 community-based sites including churches, barbershops, mosques and soup kitchens throughout New York City that serve Black and Latine individuals. 

To date, my research has:

1) illuminated Black men’s perceptions of health and barriers to primary care use

2) established the barbershop as a site for service-oriented community-based intervention trials to address cardiovascular disease in high-risk populations

3) advanced translational research by testing clinically proven interventions in community-based settings to address disparities in hypertension and colorectal cancer

4) developed culturally-targeted behavioral interventions for hypertensive black patients in clinical settings

My work has expanded from effectiveness research to implementation research, exploring how evidence-based solutions to address hypertension I previously tested can be implemented in real-world settings and circumstances. I currently lead a project to test an intervention led by community health workers to facilitate hypertension prevention among 400 Black men in 22 Black-owned barbershops on the North Shore of Staten Island, New York.