About

Charles E. Basch is the Richard March Hoe Professor of Health and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, where he has been teaching courses, mentoring students, and conducting research for over 33 years. His expertise lies in planning and evaluating health education programs aimed at urban minority populations to reduce health and educational disparities. His work emphasizes translating research into practice, with a focus on individuals, groups, organizations, and social media, all grounded in the principles of informed voluntary decision-making and the importance of strong interpersonal relationships. Basch has directed numerous grant-funded research projects, primarily supported by the National Institutes of Health, and has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals indexed by the National Library of Medicine. He is active in speaking engagements across the United States, advocating for breaking down the silos between education and health, and involving local schools, health agencies, and community organizations to reduce health barriers to learning. His presentations have included audiences at the National Academy of Sciences, the Education Commission of the States, the National Education Association, and the Obama White House.

Research topics

• Political Science
• Computer Science
• Medicine
• Internet privacy
• Environmental health
• World Wide Web
• Nursing
• Pathology
• Virology
• Internal medicine
• Business
• Public relations
• Telecommunications
• Geography
• Family medicine

Selected publications

• A Descriptive Analysis of the Most Viewed YouTube Videos Related to Teen Pregnancy

  Sexuality & Culture · 2026-03-09

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Parental Perspectives on Oral Health Care for Autistic Children With Medicaid: A Qualitative Study

  Health Education & Behavior · 2026-04-15

  articleSenior author

  Children with special health care needs and disabilities (CSHCND), particularly those with autism, experience disproportionately high rates of oral health problems, yet the underlying factors remain insufficiently explored. This qualitative study investigated the challenges and effective strategies parents use to support the oral health of autistic children enrolled in Medicaid in one large city. Thirty-one parents were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling from the Oral Health Center for People with Disabilities and the pediatric department and participated in semi-structured interviews conducted via Zoom. Interpretative phenomenological and thematic analyses identified eight key themes: (1) Autism-related Barriers to Oral Hygiene Routines, (2) Challenges in Securing Adequate Dental Care, (3) Denial About Autism and Delay in Early Intervention, (4) Electric Toothbrushes May Help, (5) Sensory Adapted Dental Environments, (6) Use of Social Media and Artificial Intelligence, (7) Support from Allied Health Professionals, and (8) Infrastructure in Education. The findings highlight the complex relationship of individual, social, and systemic factors shaping oral health promotion for this population. Insights from this study can inform the development of tailored interventions, educational initiatives, and policy reforms to improve oral health outcomes for autistic children. As the first study of its kind in New York City, this research amplifies the voices of parents and provides a foundation for future efforts to address persistent oral health disparities in an urban setting.

  PublisherDOI

• Remote communications for caries prevention counseling among Pediatric Dentists in the United States

  Digital Dentistry Journal · 2025-11-17 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  The objective of this study was to estimate pediatric dentists’ practices regarding provision of video/telephone outreach for early childhood caries (ECC) prevention counseling during the COVID-19 pandemic and assess interest in expanding remote communications. Between November 2021 and July 2023, 1639 of 5925 active members of American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry were interviewed and recorded (by zoom) about practices and perspectives regarding ECC. Respondents were compared by gender, type of practice, population served, and beliefs in relation to providing video/telephone outreach for ECC prevention during the COVID-19 pandemic and interest in expanding such outreach. Most (80.3%) did not provide remote communications for ECC prevention counseling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those who did were more likely to be males than females (22.8% vs 17.9%), in safety net (versus private) organizations (29.3% vs 18.4%). Almost half (44.8%) expressed interest in expanding remote communications for ECC prevention, with those practicing in public (versus privately) owned settings being more likely to express interest (68.7% vs 53.3%). Pediatric dentists can help reduce oral health disparities in young children but only if greater numbers implement prevention counseling to reduce exposure and susceptibility.

  PublisherDOI

• US Pediatric Dentists' Views on an Expanded Approach to Early Childhood Caries Counseling.

  PubMed · 2025-11-15

  articleOpen access

  While expanded early childhood caries counseling is positively viewed by US pediatric dentists, the practice environment affects the level of support.

  PublisherOA PDF

• Content Trends and Tone of Videos Posted on the Popular Hashtag #Zyns on TikTok

  Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet · 2025-07-03

  articleCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Chronic Disease Management of Early Childhood Dental Caries: Practices of US Pediatric Dentists

  Preventing Chronic Disease · 2025-01-02 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  Introduction: Early childhood caries (ECC), dental cavities in children younger than 6 years, is common, consequential, and inequitably concentrated among socially disadvantaged children. The World Health Organization and authoritative clinical and public health agencies promote 4 chronic disease management (CDM) approaches that are low-cost and can be delivered in home and community sites: pharmacologic, behavioral, monitoring, and minimally invasive dentistry (MID). The extent of adoption of these approaches among US pediatric dentists is unknown. Methods: From November 2021 through July 2023, trained research staff members administered and videorecorded via Zoom a semistructured survey on ECC management to 1,639 clinically active pediatric dentists in the US, including 170 thought leaders (organizational and academic leaders). Data collected included treatment approaches, time allocated to counseling, and personal, practice, and patient population characteristics. Results: The survey response rate was 27.7%. Among CDM approaches, 88.7% cited pharmacologic approaches, 43.4% behavioral, 41.1% monitoring, and 39.3% MID approaches. MID was significantly associated with thought leaders and with more recent graduates engaged as associates in larger practices or in safety-net settings serving high volumes of low-income children and children with a history of caries. We noted fewer significant associations between other CDM approaches and the characteristics of dentists, practices, and populations served. CDM was not associated with the race or ethnicity of dentists or patients, the numbers of ancillary personnel in practice, or dental management organizations. One-third (32.4%) of respondents reported scheduling 5 or fewer minutes for counseling on caries. Conclusion: Except for pharmacologic treatments and despite professional guidelines, CDM approaches are underused. We posit that CDM approaches hold strong promise to enhance oral health equity as value-based care arrangements expand in dentistry.

  PublisherDOI

• Artificial intelligence, digital media, and population health: Exposure science and social determinants of health

  Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2025-09-12

  article1st author

  People today spend more time exposed to screens than ever before in human history. Aided by artificial intelligence (AI), capturing attention has become a key driver of economic productivity. This effort is powered by an infrastructure of workers dedicated to continually refining techniques to maximize exposure time on screens. Although digital communications and AI are transforming people's lives in both positive and negative ways, population health and exposure scientists have not kept pace. What is missing in the current hyper-connected, information-saturated world is the nature and extent of screen exposure. Our research on social media and public health points to the need for exposure scientists to design systems to track trending digital communications relevant to specific population health topics and prioritize the development of ongoing surveillance systems to capture screen exposures. Now is an opportune time for population health scientists to discover ways to use emerging technology to improve population health.

  PublisherDOI

• Wait Times for Scheduling Appointments for Prevention of Macrovascular and Microvascular Complications of Diabetes: Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study

  Journal of Medical Internet Research · 2024-03-26 · 6 citations

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  BACKGROUND: Diabetes is a chronic disease that requires lifelong management and care, affecting around 422 million people worldwide and roughly 37 million in the United States. Patients newly diagnosed with diabetes must work with health care providers to formulate a management plan, including lifestyle modifications and regular office visits, to improve metabolic control, prevent or delay complications, optimize quality of life, and promote well-being. OBJECTIVE: Our aim is to investigate one component of system-wide access to timely health care for people with diabetes in New York City (NYC), namely the length of time for someone with newly diagnosed diabetes to obtain an appointment with 3 diabetes care specialists: a cardiologist, an endocrinologist, and an ophthalmologist, respectively. METHODS: We contacted the offices of 3 different kinds of specialists: cardiologists, endocrinologists, and ophthalmologists, by telephone, for this descriptive cross-sectional study, to determine the number of days required to schedule an appointment for a new patient with diabetes. The sampling frame included all specialists affiliated with any private or public hospital in NYC. The number of days to obtain an appointment with each specialist was documented, along with "time on hold" when attempting to schedule an appointment and the presence of online booking capabilities. RESULTS: Of the 1639 unique physicians affiliated with (private and public) hospitals in the 3 subspecialties, 1032 (cardiologists, endocrinologists, and ophthalmologists) were in active practice and did not require a referral. The mean wait time for scheduling an appointment was 36 (SD 36.4; IQR 12-51.5) days for cardiologists; 82 (SD 47; IQR 56-101) days for endocrinologists; and 50.4 (SD 56; IQR 10-72) days for ophthalmologists. The median wait time was 27 days for cardiologists, 72 days for endocrinologists, and 30 days for ophthalmologists. The mean time on hold while attempting to schedule an appointment with these specialists was 2.6 (SD 5.5) minutes for cardiologists, 5.4 (SD 4.3) minutes for endocrinologists, and 3.2 (SD 4.8) minutes for ophthalmologists, respectively. Over 46% (158/341) of cardiologists enabled patients to schedule an appointment on the web, and over 55% (128/228) of endocrinologists enabled patients to schedule an appointment on the web. In contrast, only approximately 25% (117/463) of ophthalmologists offered web-based appointment scheduling options. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate considerable variation in wait times between and within the 3 specialties examined for a new patient in NYC. Given the paucity of research on wait times for newly diagnosed people with diabetes to obtain an appointment with different specialists, this study provides preliminary estimates that can serve as an initial reference. Additional research is needed to document the extent to which wait times are associated with complications and the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of people served by different providers.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• YouTube as a Source of Information on Air Pollution: Significance for Community Health

  Journal of Community Health · 2024-04-27

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Wait times for scheduling appointments with hospital affiliated dermatologists in New York City

  Archives of Dermatological Research · 2024-08-17 · 4 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Patients' experience accessing dermatologic care is understudied. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine current wait times for new patients to receive dermatological care in NYC. Websites at 58 accredited private and public hospitals in the five boroughs of NYC were reviewed to identify dermatology practices. Office telephone numbers listed on each website were called to collect information pertaining to whether the physician was accepting new patients, type of insurance accepted (public, private, both, or none), and the number of days until a new patient could be seen for an appointment. Data pertaining to the time kept on hold and availability of web-based booking were also collected. Mean waiting time for an appointment was 50 days [standard deviation, SD 66] - nearly 2 months, but the distribution was considerably skewed. The median waiting time was 19.5 days [Interquartile range, IQR 4-60]. The time kept on hold to make the appointment was negligible at about 1 min (63 s, SD = 77) but could take up to ~ 7 min. Two-thirds of dermatologists accepted private, Medicare, and Medicaid insurance (n = 228, 66%); a small number accepted only private insurance (n = 12, 4%) or no insurance at all (n = 16, 5%). The median waiting time for an appointment for the 228 providers that accepted Medicaid was 30.5 days (IQR = 5.0-73.25) while for providers who did not accept Medicaid (n = 116) the median wait time for an appointment was 13.0 days (IQR = 3.0-38.0). Just over half (56%) of the dermatologists allowed for appointments to be booked on their website (n = 193). This research highlights the necessity of incorporating new strategies into routine dermatology appointments in order to increase treatment availability and decrease healthcare inequality.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant U10EY009895

  NIH · $1.5M · 1998

• NIH Grant P60DK020541

  NIH · $67.2M · 2015

• NIH Grant R01CA081932

  NIH · $1.6M · 2005

• NIH Grant R01HL049508

  NIH · $2.5M · 1999

• NIH Grant R01HL035189

  NIH · $1.8M · 1991

Frequent coauthors

• Corey H. Basch

  William Paterson University

  108 shared

• Patricia Zybert

  Columbia University

  48 shared

• Steven Shea

  46 shared

• Randi L. Wolf

  Columbia University

  42 shared

• Joseph Fera

  Lehman College

  40 shared

• Grace Clarke Hillyer

  40 shared

• Corey H. Brouse

  Columbia University

  34 shared

• Danna Ethan

  City University of New York

  29 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Health education

  Southern Illinois University

  1982

• M.S., Health Education

  State University of New York

  1977

• B.S., Community Health Education

  State University of New York

  1976

Awards & honors

• Richard March Hoe Professor of Health and Education
• Principal Investigator, Teachers College Subcontract for Ran…
• Principal Investigator, Planning a State II Trial to Prevent…
• Principal Investigator, Evaluating Alternative Approaches to…
• Co-Investigator, Prostate Cancer Education in African Americ…