Faculty Profile
Minal R Patel, PhD, MPH
- Professor, Health Behavior & Health Equity
As a Professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, Dr. Patel has
established herself as a national leader in research on financial burden, healthcare
affordability, and non-medical drivers of health. Her research examines how the cost
of care—and the lack of essentials like transportation, housing, and food—undermine
people's ability to manage chronic illnesses. She identifies systemic barriers within
healthcare and social services, and evaluates policies and interventions that better
support people's financial and physical well-being. The goal of her work is to ensure
that no one has to choose between getting medical care and meeting basic needs.
Dr. Patel's research has helped shape how organizations build navigation tools, offer
financial support, and reduce unnecessary burden for patients. Her work spans a wide
range of chronic diseases, and encompasses measurement development, epidemiological
analysis, intervention design and testing, and large-scale evaluation of policies
and programs.
Throughout her career, Dr. Patel has held several leadership positions in academia
and advisory roles with health organizations at both state and national levels. Her
expertise in financial burden chronic disease management has made her a sought-after
advisor for health systems, foundations, and government agencies working to address
and advance research on non-medical drivers of health.
Her research has been continuously funded through competitive grants from federal
agencies and private foundations. Dr. Patel has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications
in leading journals including Diabetes Care, Health Affairs, JAMA Network journals,
and the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Dr. Patel's contributions have been recognized through her election as a member of
the National Academy of Medicine's Emerging Leaders in Health and Medicine program
and through awards from major professional organizations. She is committed to education
and mentorship, and routinely mentors students, fellows, and junior faculty.
Dr. Patel received her PhD and MPH in Health Behavior and Health Education from the
University of Michigan.
- PhD, Health Behavior & Health Education, University of Michigan, 2013
- MPH, Health Behavior & Health Education, University of Michigan, 2009
- BA, Psychology, University of California, San Diego, 2006
Research Interests
- Financial burden, cost-related barriers, and medical debt among people with chronic illness
- Real-world challenges to chronic disease self-management, including unmet everyday needs
- Design and evaluation of patient-centered interventions to improve affordability and access
- Integration of behavioral science into health system interventions and communication
- Implementation and evaluation of system- and policy-level strategies to reduce hardship
- Development and testing of tools to support resource navigation
- Multi-site, cross-sector partnerships to scale evidence-based approaches to care
- Measurement and mitigation of financial strain in across a range of chronic diseases.
Patel MR. Financial toxicity in diabetes: The state of what we know. Current Diabetes Reports, 2025 May 13;25(1):32.
Patel MR, Tolentino DA, Smith A, Heisler M. Economic burden, financial stress, and cost-related coping among people with uncontrolled diabetes. Preventive Medicine Reports 2023 May 15;34:102246.
Patel MR, Zhang G, Heisler M, Song PXK, Piette JD, Shi X, Choe HM, Smith A, Resnicow K. Measurement and validation of the Comprehensive Score for financial toxicity (COST) in a population with diabetes. Diabetes Care, 2022 Nov 1;45(11):2535-2543.
Patel MR, Israel BA, Song PXK, Hao W, TerHaar L, Tariq M, Lichtenstein R. Insuring Good Health: Outcomes and Acceptability of a Participatory Health Insurance Literacy Intervention in Diverse Urban Communities. Health Educ Behav. 2019 Jun;46(3):494-505.
Patel MR, Jagsi R, Resnicow K, Smith SN, Hamel LM, Su C, Griggs JJ, Buchanan D, Isaacson N, Torby M. A Scoping Review of Behavioral Interventions Addressing Medical Financial Hardship. Popul Health Manag. 2021 Dec;24(6):710-721.
Patel MR. Social Determinants of Poor Management of Type 2 Diabetes Among the Insured. Curr Diab Rep. 2020 Nov 5;20(11):67.
Patel MR, Tipirneni R, Kieffer EC, Kullgren JT, Ayanian JZ, Chang T, Solway E, Beathard E, Kirch M, Lee S, Clark S, Skillicorn J, Rowe Z, Goold SD. Examination of Changes in Health Status Among Michigan Medicaid Expansion Enrollees From 2016 to 2017. JAMA Netw Open. 2020 Jul 1;3(7):e208776.
Email: minalrp@umich.edu
Office: 734-763-0087
Address: 3810 SPH I
1415 Washington Heights
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
For media inquiries: sph.media@umich.edu
Areas of Expertise: Chronic Disease, Diabetes, Health Care, Health Communication, Health Insurance, Health Policy
Minal Patel in the News
Measuring the Financial Burden of Managing Diabetes and Its Impact on Patients
Q&A with Minal Patel