About

Deborah N. Pearlman is an Associate Professor of the Practice of Epidemiology at Brown University. She received her Ph.D. in Health Policy from Brandeis University, with a focus on quantitative research methods and program evaluation. Her applied public health research is guided by principles of equity, effectiveness, sustainability, and community engagement, reflecting a long-standing commitment to understanding how the social ecology of communities influences health outcomes across the lifespan. Her work encompasses a broad range of topics including health disparities, social determinants of health, women's health, and chronic disease epidemiology. Dr. Pearlman has extensive experience in applied research related to gender-based inequity, discrimination, and violence, particularly how these factors intersect to impact the health of girls and women. Her research involves community-based interventions and collaborations supported by multiple grants, including those from the National Institutes of Health, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She is actively engaged in teaching courses on epidemiology and mentoring students, contributing to the academic and public health community through her research and educational efforts.

Research topics

• Cardiology
• Demography
• Internal medicine
• Medicine

Selected publications

• Addressing Pediatric Asthma Disparities through RI-AIR’s Community Approach: A Randomized Trial

  Annals of the American Thoracic Society · 2025-06-26 · 1 citations

  article

  Abstract Rationale Clustering of social and environmental risks in low-income neighborhoods is a key factor in racial and ethnic asthma disparities. Integrating school and in-home programs, with treatment tailored to disease risk, is a promising approach for children with high disease burden. Objectives We evaluated the Rhode Island Asthma Integrated Response (RI-AIR) program in improving asthma outcomes at the individual and community levels. RI-AIR leverages existing community collaborations and technological advances to identify children with asthma at the highest risk for poor outcomes through a system of identification, screening, and intervention. Methods We conducted a stepped wedge cluster randomized hybrid type II effectiveness–implementation study. School-based catchment areas (N = 32) of high asthma burden were identified using geospatial mapping of asthma-related urgent healthcare use from 2010 through 2018. Families received only school-based interventions if the child’s asthma was categorized as “not well controlled” or school- and home-based interventions if the child’s asthma was deemed “poorly controlled.” Community health workers facilitated communication between families, schools, and healthcare providers. Follow up visits occurred every 3 months to 1 year after the intervention. Results Individual level: At 3 months, asthma control (primary outcome) improved (d = 0.47; 95% confidence interval, 0.33–0.61) and symptom-free days increased (d = 0.37; 0.24–0.51); both improvements were sustained at 12 months. Community level: healthcare use remained the same or increased (rate ratio, 1.16; 1.00–1.36); however, sensitivity analyses indicated that healthcare use was slightly lower in areas with greater family participation (i.e., penetration; active intervention, 0.93 [0.87–0.99]; postintervention, 0.91 [0.86–0.97]). Conclusions Intensive, multicomponent interventions and community engagement are needed to improve asthma outcomes in areas of high burden. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT 03583814).

  PublisherDOI

• Masthead

  American Journal of Preventive Medicine · 2023-03-17

  paratextOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Masthead

  American Journal of Preventive Medicine · 2022-12-15

  paratextOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Masthead

  American Journal of Preventive Medicine · 2022-06-17

  paratextOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Masthead

  American Journal of Preventive Medicine · 2022-04-19

  paratextOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Masthead

  American Journal of Preventive Medicine · 2022-08-17

  paratextOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Masthead

  American Journal of Preventive Medicine · 2021-10-20

  paratextOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Masthead

  American Journal of Preventive Medicine · 2021-10-20

  paratextOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Healthy lifestyle and risk of incident heart failure with preserved and reduced ejection fraction among post-menopausal women: The Women's Health Initiative study

  Preventive Medicine · 2020 · 9 citations

  • Medicine
  • Internal medicine
  • Cardiology
  PublisherDOI

• The Association Between Exposure to Violent Pornography and Teen Dating Violence in Grade 10 High School Students

  Archives of Sexual Behavior · 2019-07-15 · 118 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Charles B. Eaton

  Kent Hospital

  13 shared

• Yongwen Jiang

  Connecticut Department of Public Health

  12 shared

• Aris Garro

  Brown University

  12 shared

• Corinna A Noel

  Cornell University

  10 shared

• Ernest Somerville

  Prince of Wales Hospital

  9 shared

• Judy JL Lee

  9 shared

• William D. Brown

  9 shared

• Nicholas Lawn

  Royal Perth Hospital

  9 shared

Labs

• Deborah Pearlman LabPI

Awards & honors

• Dean's Award for Excellence in Mentoring in Public Health, B…
• American Journal of Preventive Medicine Certificate for Outs…
• Thesis Mentor Award, Brown University Master of Public Healt…