Robert A. Hahn, PhD, MPH

Robert A. Hahn, PhD received a BA from Cornell (1966), a PhD in anthropology from Harvard (1976), and an MPH from the University of Washington (1986). He served as an Epidemic Intelligence Officer at the CDC from 1986 - 88, and conducted research at the CDC for an additional 32 years. In addition to the U.S., he has worked in Europe, Africa, and South America. Dr. Hahn is known for studies of racial/ethnic classification in U.S. statistics, the placebo phenomenon, and social determinants of health.

For 20 years Dr. Hahn led research synthesis teams for the Guide to Community Preventive Services, resulting in approximately 20 systematic reviews. One team examined interventions to reduce violence by and against juveniles. A second focused on policies to reduce excessive alcohol consumption. A third assessed educational programs and housing programs to advance health equity.

Since his retirement from the CDC in 2020, Dr. Hahn has continued research, including an analysis of the basics of social determinants of health, an exploration of the right to health, and a systematic review of the effects of access to the franchise and health.

Selected Publications:

1. Hahn, R. A., & Barnett, W. S. (2023). Early Childhood Education: Health, Equity, and Economics. Annual review of public health, 44, 75–92. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-071321-032337

   
   

2. Hahn R. A. (2021). What is a social determinant of health? Back to basics. Journal of public health research, 10(4), 2324. https://doi.org/10.4081/jphr.2021.2324

   
   

3. Peng, Y., Hahn, R. A., Finnie, R. K. C., Cobb, J., Williams, S. P., Fielding, J. E., Johnson, R. L., Montgomery, A. E., Schwartz, A. F., Muntaner, C., Garrison, V. H., Jean-Francois, B., Truman, B. I., Fullilove, M. T., & Community Preventive Services Task Force (2020). Permanent Supportive Housing With Housing First to Reduce Homelessness and Promote Health Among Homeless Populations With Disability: A Community Guide Systematic Review. Journal of public health management and practice : JPHMP, 26(5), 404–411. https://doi.org/10.1097/PHH.0000000000001219

   
   

4. Knopf, J. A., Finnie, R. K., Peng, Y., Hahn, R. A., Truman, B. I., Vernon-Smiley, M., Johnson, V. C., Johnson, R. L., Fielding, J. E., Muntaner, C., Hunt, P. C., Phyllis Jones, C., Fullilove, M. T., & Community Preventive Services Task Force (2016). School-Based Health Centers to Advance Health Equity: A Community Guide Systematic Review. American journal of preventive medicine, 51(1), 114–126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2016.01.009

   
   

5. Hahn, R. A., Middleton, J. C., Elder, R., Brewer, R., Fielding, J., Naimi, T. S., Toomey, T. L., Chattopadhyay, S., Lawrence, B., Campbell, C. A., & Community Preventive Services Task Force (2012). Effects of alcohol retail privatization on excessive alcohol consumption and related harms: a community guide systematic review. American journal of preventive medicine, 42(4), 418–427. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2012.01.002

View his full list of publications on PubMed.