Carrie Oser

Research Interests:
addiction health services
HIV risk behaviors and interventions
corrections
implementation science
social networks
health disparities
Education

Ph.D., University of Georgia

Biosketch

Dr. Carrie Oser, DiSilvestro Endowed Professor in the Sociology Department, is the Associate Director of the Center for Health Equity Transformation and Associate Director of the Substance Use Priority Research Area within the Office of the Vice President for Research at the University of Kentucky. She served as the Interim Associate Dean for Research in the College of Arts & Sciences. Her other administrative roles include service as the Associate Department Chair (2017-2021) and the inaugural Co-Director of the Health, Society, & Populations Program, an interdisciplinary health-focused social science undergraduate major (2014-2017). She earned her BA from the University of Kentucky and a MA and PhD from the University of Georgia. Dr. Oser has received numerous awards for her mentorship of more than 50 graduate students and early career-stage faculty, with a commitment to individuals from underrepresented backgrounds. As an addiction health services scholar, she leads interdisciplinary teams in conducting rigorous high-impact research to improve the lives of individuals with substance use disorders and promote health equity. Dr. Oser has been continuously funded as a Principal Investigator for over 15 years by the National Institutes of Health on seven awards totaling more than $7 million and as a Co-Investigator on awards totaling more than $135 million using epidemiological longitudinal cohort, social network, implementation science, community-engaged research, and intervention approaches. She has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers, and her work has been featured in newspapers and NPR. Dr. Oser has provided congressional testimony and advised policy makers on best practices related to substance use disorder treatment.

Teaching & Mentoring

Dr. Oser teaches a variety of criminology courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.  She co-developed a course based on the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program pedagogy (http://www.insideoutcenter.org/).  This course brings together 16 UK undergraduate students (i.e., “outside students) with 16 persons who are incarcerated (i.e., “inside students”) to study as peers in a college class behind prison walls. The goal of this course is to examine the use and misuse of drugs through the lens of sociological analysis with a specific focus on policy and treatment. In addition, she has served as a mentor to numerous graduate students, post-doctoral candidates, and junior faculty members, several of which have been supported on NIH fellowships. Dr. Oser was the receipent of the Outsanding Graduate Student Mentoring Award from the College of Arts & Sciences in 2016, the Mentor Recognition Award from the CCTS in 2015, and the Women in Science & Medicine Mentorship Award in 2018. 

Selected Publications:

Perry, B., *Cheng Yang, K., *Kaminski, P., Odabas, M., Park, J., Martel, M., Oser, C., Freeman, P., Ahn, Y., & Talbert, J. (2019).  Co-prescription network reveals social dynamics of opioid doctor prescribing. Plus One, 1-16.  http://doi.10.1371/journal/pone/022389. PMID:31652266.

 

Oser, C., Harp, K. Pullen, E., *Bunting, A., Stevens-Watkins, D., & Staton, M.  (2018). African American women’s tobacco and marijuana use: The effects of social context, substance use beliefs, and risk perceptions.  Substance Use & Misuse, 54(6), 873-884. NIHMSID994639.

 

Oser, C., Pullen, E., Stevens-Watkins, D., Perry, B., Staton-Tindall, M., Havens, J., & Leukefeld, C.  (2017).  African American women and sexually transmitted infections: The perception of the contextual influence of unbalanced sex ratios and individual risk behaviors.  Journal of Drug Issues, 47(4), 54-561.

 

Oser, C., Bunting, A., Pullen, E., & Stevens-Watkins, D.  (2016).  African American female offender’s use of alternative and traditional health services after re-entry: Examining the behavioral model for vulnerable populations. Journal of Healthcare for the Poor and Underserved, 27, 120-148. PMC4855295. 

 

Oser, C., & Harp, K.L.H.  (2015). Treatment outcomes for prescription drug misusers: The negative effect of client residence and treatment location geographic discordance. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 48(1), 1-18. PMID25200740.

 

Belenko, S., Dembo, R., Copenhaver, M., Hiller, M., Swan, H., Albizu-Garcia, C., O’Connell, D., Oser, C., Pearson, F., & Pankow, J. (2016).  HIV stigma in prisons and jails: Results from a staff survey. AIDS and Behavior, 20(1), 71-84.  PMID 26036464.

 

Luke, D., & Oser, C. (2015). Ebony and Ivory?: Interracial dating intentions and behaviors of African American women.  Social Science Research, 53, 338-350. PMC4509521.

 

Staton-Tindall, M., Harp, K.L.H., Minieri, A., Oser, C.B., Webster, J.M., Havens, J.R., & Leukefeld, C.G.  (2015). An exploratory study of mental health and HIV risk behavior among drug-using rural women in jail.  Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 38(1), 45-54. PMID25799305.

 

Pullen, E., & Oser, C. (2014).  Barriers to substance abuse treatment in rural and urban communities: A counselor perspectives. Substance Use & Misuse, 49(7), 891-901. PMC3995852.

 

Knudsen, H., Staton-Tindall, M., Oser, C., Havens, J., & Leukefeld, C.  (2014). Reducing risky relationships: A multi-site trial of a prison-based intervention for reducing HIV sexual risk behaviors among women with a history of drug use. AIDS Care, 26(9), 1071-1079. PMC4065193.

 

Pullen, E., Perry, B., & Oser, C. (2014).  African American women's preventative care usage: The role of social support and racial experiences and attitudes.  Sociology of Health and Illness, 36(7), 1037-1053.  PMC4146693.

 

Oser, C., Pullen, E., Biebel, E., & Harp, K.  (2013).  Causes, consequences, and prevention of burnout among substance abuse treatment counselors: A rural versus urban comparison. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 45(1), 17-27. PMC3652635.

 

Havens, J., Lofwall, M., Frost, S., Oser, C., Crosby, R., & Leukefeld, C.  (2013).  Factors associated with prevalent Hepatitis C infection among rural Appalachian injection drug users.  American Journal of Public Health, 103(1), 44-52. PMC3518360.

 

Jonas, A., Young, A., Oser, C., Leukefeld, C., & Havens, J (2012).  OxyContin® as currency: OxyContin® use and increased social capital among rural Appalachian drug users.  Social Science & Medicine, 74(10), 1602-1609.  PMC3331592.

 

Stevens-Watkins, D., Perry, B., Harp, K., & Oser, C.  (2012). Racism and illicit drug use among African American women: The protective effects of ethnic identity, affirmation, and behavior.  Journal of Black Psychology, 38(4), 471-496. PMC3904443.

 

Oser, C., Harp, K., O’Connell, D., Martin, S., & Leukefeld, C.  (2012).  Correlates of participation in self-help groups as well as voluntary and mandated substance abuse treatment among rural and urban probationers.  Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 42(1), 95-101. PMC3218255.

 

Havens, J., Oser, C., Knudsen, H., Lofwall, M., Stoops, W., Walsh, S., Leukefeld, C., & Kral, A. (2011).  Individual and network factors associated with non-fatal overdose among rural Appalachian drug users.  Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 115(1-2), 107-112. PMC3056907.

 

Oser, C., Leukefeld, C., Staton-Tindall, M., *Duvall, J., Garrity, T., Stoops, W., Falck, R., Wang, J., Carlson, R., Sexton, R., Wright, P., & Booth, B.  (2011).  Criminality among rural stimulant users in the United States.  Crime and Delinquency, 57(4), 600-621. PMC3115620. 

 

Health, Society, & Population Program

For additional information on the Health, Society, and Population (HSP) Program, please see http://health.as.uky.edu.