Summary
John Packham, PhD is the Associate Dean of the Office of Statewide Initiatives (OSI) and Associate Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine.
He received his BA and MA degrees in sociology from the University of Oklahoma, and a PhD in sociology from Johns Hopkins University in 1992. He was a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow with the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and the Örebro County Council, Örebro, Sweden in 1993.
Dr. Packham is Co-Director of the Nevada Health Workforce Research Center in the Office of Statewide Initiatives. Dr. Packham has co-authored nearly 100 policy-relevant, statewide research reports, including ten editions of the Nevada Rural and Frontier Health Data Book and five editions of Health Care Careers in Nevada.
For over two decades, Dr. Packham has served on numerous statewide and national boards, advisory councils, and commissions including Governor Sisolak’s Patient Protection Commission, Nevada Public Health Association, Access to Healthcare Network, Nevada Public Employee Benefits Program (PEBP), Health Services and Medical Care Sector Council of the Governor’s Workforce Investment Board, Nevada Insurance Commissioner’s Network Adequacy Advisory Council, Nevada Chronic Disease Leadership Team, Nevada Tobacco Prevention Coalition, and National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health.
Dr. Packham is a frequent speaker on health care policy and public health issues facing Nevada, and is regularly asked to testify on health policy issues being addressed by state and local policymakers. Since 2008, he has been a frequent contributor to the Reno-Gazette Journal on public health and health policy issues facing Nevada.
His honors and awards include NPHA’s Public Health Advocate Award (2020, 2016), John E. Worden Award for Excellence in Programs that Promote Public Health in Nevada (2015), NPHA’s Nevada Public Health Leadership Award (2012, 2009, and 2008), and Heroes of Health Care: Research and Technology award from the Nevada Business Journal (2006).
Subject Matter Expertise
- Community health needs assessment and community health improvement
- Health policy analysis
- Health services research
- Health workforce research and planning
- Program evaluation
- Public health planning and policy development
- Rural health care and policy
- Social determinants of health