Dr. Laura Starbird

Biography

Laura Starbird is an Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. Her research focuses on organization-level interventions aimed at removing barriers to healthcare for women with substance use disorders associated with infectious diseases, specifically HIV and hepatitis C virus. Starbird emphasizes the unique challenges that women who use drugs face in achieving and maintaining wellness, which often stem from gender-based violence, trauma, parenting, and the criminal justice system. Utilizing a harm reduction approach, she seeks to minimize barriers for these women and their families to safely and comfortably engage with the healthcare system. Starbird studies real-world implementation strategies and the economic implications of interventions designed to improve the wellbeing of women who use drugs. Additionally, she has taught courses on population health promotion and risk reduction, while also serving as a guest lecturer on topics related to implementation science and nursing care for individuals living with HIV and hepatitis C. Starbird is currently engaged in research to improve the delivery and implementation of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for women who inject drugs, as well as studying community-driven interventions to reduce opioid overdose deaths. Her work is rooted in the belief that improving healthcare delivery systems is a collective responsibility rather than an individual burden to change behavior.

Research Interests

Experience

Awards