Mara Decker, DrPH

Title(s)Associate Professor, Institute for Health Policy Studies
SchoolSchool of Medicine
Address3333 California Street, #700
San Francisco CA 94118
PronounsShe/Her/Hers
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    University of California, BerkeleyDrPHSchool of Public Health
    Johns Hopkins University MHSSchool of Public Health
    Pomona CollegeBAInternational Relations

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    Mara Decker is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies and the Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health. She oversees a portfolio of applied research projects and evaluations focusing on adolescent health.

    She is the Principal Investigator of a randomized control trial of online health education for youth in rural communities and a study integrating behavioral health with sports. Her research interests include the intersection between health and other developmental issues including policies, human rights, social ecology, and empowerment. Most of her work involves mixed qualitative and quantitative methods. She is dedicated to improving health outcomes through the development and assessment of interventions designed with community partners.

    She teaches "Women's Health and Empowerment" in the Master of Science in Global Health program at UCSF and "Evaluation of Health and Social Programs" at UC Berkeley.
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    Collapse Publications
    Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Researchers can login to make corrections and additions, or contact us for help. to make corrections and additions.
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    Altmetrics Details PMC Citations indicate the number of times the publication was cited by articles in PubMed Central, and the Altmetric score represents citations in news articles and social media. (Note that publications are often cited in additional ways that are not shown here.) Fields are based on how the National Library of Medicine (NLM) classifies the publication's journal and might not represent the specific topic of the publication. Translation tags are based on the publication type and the MeSH terms NLM assigns to the publication. Some publications (especially newer ones and publications not in PubMed) might not yet be assigned Field or Translation tags.) Click a Field or Translation tag to filter the publications.
    1. Using systems thinking to leverage adolescent sexual and reproductive health in rural Latino communities. Cult Health Sex. 2024 Nov 14; 1-16. Mazur A, Berglas NF, Decker MJ. PMID: 39543984.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    
    2. In the Know: A Cluster Randomized Trial of an In-person Sexual Health Education Program Integrating Digital Technologies for Adolescents. J Adolesc Health. 2024 May; 74(5):1019-1025. Yarger J, Gutmann-Gonzalez A, Borgen N, Romero J, Decker MJ. PMID: 38323966; PMCID: PMC11218833.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:Humans
    3. Implementation of a Booster Sexual Health Education Curriculum for Older Adolescents in Rural Communities. Health Promot Pract. 2024 07; 25(4):698-706. Berglas NF, Harrison S, Romero J, Borgen N, Decker MJ. PMID: 38180021; PMCID: PMC11264553.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:Humans
    4. Contraceptive access experiences and perspectives of Mexican-origin youth: a binational qualitative study. Sex Reprod Health Matters. 2023 Dec; 31(1):2216527. Mitchell A, Gutmann-Gonzalez A, Brindis CD, Decker MJ. PMID: 37335382; PMCID: PMC10281292.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    5. Addressing anti-black racism in an academic preterm birth initiative: perspectives from a mixed methods case study. BMC Public Health. 2023 10 18; 23(1):2039. Rutman SP, Borgen N, Spellen S, King DD, Decker MJ, Rand L, Cobbins A, Brindis CD. PMID: 37853363; PMCID: PMC10585806.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:HumansPHPublic Health
    6. Pursuing Research Justice Through Community-Academic Partnership to Address Racial Disparities in Preterm Birth. Prog Community Health Partnersh. 2023; 17(2):319-327. Rutman SP, Price M, Williams S, Jones L, Williams-Burt H, Decker MJ, Franck LS, Fuchs JD, Brindis CD. PMID: 37462560.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:Humans
    7. Using Collective Impact to Advance Birth Equity: A Comparison of Two Cross-Sector Efforts in California. Matern Child Health J. 2022 Dec; 26(12):2517-2525. Decker MJ, Price M, Harrison S, Spellen S, Hutchings N, Martinez E, Rutman SP, Shaver A, Franck LS, Brindis CD, Fuchs J. PMID: 36348213.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    8. Integrated Theory-Based Health and Development Interventions for Young People: A Global Scoping Review. Health Educ Behav. 2024 02; 51(1):82-93. Decker MJ, Gutmann-Gonzalez A, Saphir M, Nguyen NT, Zhi Q, Brindis CD. PMID: 36314359; PMCID: PMC10785565.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    
    9. Improving Adolescent Perceptions of Barriers and Facilitators to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services Through Sexual Health Education. J Adolesc Health. 2023 01; 72(1):138-146. Decker MJ, Zárate CG, Atyam TV, Saphir M. PMID: 36289042.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    10. Youth perceptions and concerns about sexually transmissible infections versus pregnancy: a qualitative comparative study in California. Sex Health. 2022 10; 19(5):439-447. Decker MJ, Borgen N, Gutmann-Gonzalez A, Brindis CD. PMID: 35799331.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:Humans
    11. The need for booster sex education: findings of a formative evaluation in rural Fresno County, California. Sex Education. 2022. Berglas NF, Yang C, Gutmann-Gonzalez A Decker MJ. View Publication.
    12. Monitoring unplanned sexual health curricula adaptations: Using results to improve fidelity and support implementation. Eval Program Plann. 2022 10; 94:102126. Decker MJ, Price M, Unti L, Firpo-Triplett R, Atyam T, Spitzer J, Coyle K. PMID: 35820289.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:Humans
    13. Educators' Perspectives on Integrating Technology Into Sexual Health Education: Implementation Study. JMIR Hum Factors. 2022 Jan 12; 9(1):e31381. Decker MJ, Harrison S, Price M, Gutmann-Gonzalez A, Yarger J, Tenney R. PMID: 35019842; PMCID: PMC8792781.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 3     Fields:    
    14. Adolescents' perceived barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive health services in California: a cross-sectional survey. BMC Health Serv Res. 2021 Nov 22; 21(1):1263. Decker MJ, Atyam TV, Zárate CG, Bayer AM, Bautista C, Saphir M. PMID: 34809640; PMCID: PMC8609799.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 13     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    15. Young people's romantic relationships and sexual activity before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. BMC Public Health. 2021 10 02; 21(1):1780. Yarger J, Gutmann-Gonzalez A, Han S, Borgen N, Decker MJ. PMID: 34598698; PMCID: PMC8486634.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 8     Fields:    Translation:HumansCellsPHPublic Health
    16. Bridging the Gap between Sexual Health Education and Clinical Services: Adolescent Perspectives and Recommendations. J Sch Health. 2021 11; 91(11):928-935. Decker MJ, Dandekar S, Gutmann-Gonzalez A, Brindis CD. PMID: 34523133.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    17. Youth-centered maternity care: a binational qualitative comparison of the experiences and perspectives of Latina adolescents and healthcare providers. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2021 May 02; 21(1):349. Decker MJ, Pineda N, Gutmann-Gonzalez A, Brindis CD. PMID: 33934698; PMCID: PMC8091497.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 4     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    18. Perspectives on Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Strategies in the United States: Looking Back, Looking Forward. Adolesc Health Med Ther. 2020; 11:135-145. Brindis CD, Decker MJ, Gutmann-Gonzalez A, Berglas NF. PMID: 33117030; PMCID: PMC7567553.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 11  
    19. Evaluating the Effectiveness of an Intervention Integrating Technology and In-Person Sexual Health Education for Adolescents (In the Know): Protocol for a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Res Protoc. 2020 Aug 07; 9(8):e18060. Decker MJ, Gutmann-Gonzalez A, Price M, Romero J, Sheoran B, Yarger J. PMID: 32763885; PMCID: PMC7442936.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 7  
    20. Trends in Adolescent Birth Rates in California: Examining the Influence of Community Characteristics Through Geographic and Temporal Analysis. J Adolesc Health. 2020 02; 66(2):217-223. Yarger J, Berglas NF, Campa M, Chabot M, Decker MJ. PMID: 31704107.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:Humans
    21. Neighborhoods matter. A systematic review of neighborhood characteristics and adolescent reproductive health outcomes. Health Place. 2018 11; 54:178-190. Decker MJ, Isquick S, Tilley L, Zhi Q, Gutman A, Luong W, Brindis CD. PMID: 30312942.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 18     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    22. Assessing youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services: a systematic review. BMC Health Serv Res. 2018 03 27; 18(1):216. Mazur A, Brindis CD, Decker MJ. PMID: 29587727; PMCID: PMC5870922.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 61     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    23. Rural-Urban Differences in Awareness and Use of Family Planning Services Among Adolescent Women in California. J Adolesc Health. 2017 Apr; 60(4):395-401. Yarger J, Decker MJ, Campa MI, Brindis CD. PMID: 27998703.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 7     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    24. Implementation in Practice: Adaptations to Sexuality Education Curricula in California. J Sch Health. 2016 09; 86(9):669-76. Arons A, Decker M, Yarger J, Malvin J, Brindis CD. PMID: 27492936.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 3     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    25. Exploring neighborhood-level factors influencing adolescent birth rates in California. Youth and Society. 2016; 51(1):49-72. Decker M, Gutmann-Gonzalez A, Lara D, Brindis CD. 2019; 51(1) 49-72. View Publication.
    26. Exploring how residential mobility and migration influences teenage pregnancy in five rural communities in California: youth and adult perceptions. Cult Health Sex. 2016 09; 18(9):980-95. Lara D, Decker MJ, Brindis CD. PMID: 27439657.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 3     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    27. A Call to Action: Developing and Strengthening New Strategies to Promote Adolescent Sexual Health. Societies. 2015; 4(5):686-712. Decker M, Berglas NF, and Brindis CD.
    28. Factors associated with contraceptive use in Angola. Afr J Reprod Health. 2011 Dec; 15(4):68-77. Decker M, Constantine NA. PMID: 22571108.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 12     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    29. Women front and center: the opportunities of involving women in participatory health research worldwide. J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2010 Nov; 19(11):2109-14. Decker M, Hemmerling A, Lankoande F. PMID: 20858061.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 7     Fields:    Translation:HumansPHPublic Health
    30. Reaching youth through franchise clinics: assessment of Kenyan private sector involvement in youth services. J Adolesc Health. 2007 Mar; 40(3):280-2. Decker M, Montagu D. PMID: 17321432.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 6     Fields:    Translation:Humans
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