
Debra K. Litzelman, MD, MA, MACP
Contact :
dklitzel@iupui.edu- Research Scientist, William M. Tierney Center for Health Services Research, Regenstrief Institute, Inc.
- D. Craig Brater Professor of Global Health Education, Indiana University School of Medicine
- Director of Education, Indiana University Center for Global Health
Dr. Deb Litzelman’s professional interests are innovative health care system workforce development and patient-centered behavioral change strategies.
Her work with the Indiana University Center for Global Health is focused on bilateral exchange of ideas to improve health and well-being for the medically underserved across the globe. The ideas for creating a new workforce to care for vulnerable populations in Indiana arose from her work in Kenya where community health workers (CHWs) are widely deployed to improve care of patients.
As co-investigator on a project to expand the Aging Brain Center (ABC) collaborative care model for older patients with cognitive and mood disorders, Dr. Litzelman developed and implemented innovative screening, hiring and training processes to prepare the ABC CHWs.
As principal investigator of WeCare Indiana, a program to improve infant mortality rates in Indiana, Dr. Litzelman and her team have implemented community-based behavioral change interventions among high-risk women. CARE Plus (an innovative, community-based addiction reduction program) is currently building on the foundation of WeCare Indiana to reduce infant mortality through outreach, health coaching, community engagement, and mobile health (mHealth) messaging technology with a special emphasis on the reduction of substance and opioid use in pregnant and post-partum women.