Uma Kelekar

Academic Credentials

B.A., University of Pune (India)
M.A., Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (India)
Ph.D., George Mason University

Bio

Uma Kelekar is an Associate Professor of Healthcare Management at the School of Business of Marymount University. She teaches graduate-level courses in healthcare reimbursement, health economics, data analysis, and epidemiology.

Uma has extensive experience conducting healthcare research in the fields of public health dentistry, health economics and policy. In this research, she uses large survey data and employs innovative empirical methodologies to investigate emerging trends and patterns in healthcare services utilization across multiple vulnerable and underserved segments of the population, and the subsequent use of the EDs for preventive care across the United States. Over the years, her publications have shed light on oral health disparities evident in how people use dental services and its associated burden of care. Additionally, she has examined if dental services provided in the EDs are contributing to the ongoing opioid epidemic.

As of Fall 2021, Uma started working as a senior research fellow at Marymount University’s Center for Optimal Aging and engages in research on various topics specific to older adult mortality, falls and health promotion programs.

Uma has presented her work at various academic and practitioners’ conferences including meetings of the American Public Health Association, American Society of Health Economists, National Oral Health Conference, and Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis. She has published book chapters and articles in journals such as Health Policy and Planning, Preventive Medicine, Preventing Chronic Disease, Health Behavior and Policy Review, The Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, and Journal of American Dental Association (JADA).

She has a PhD in Public Policy from George Mason University. Her undergraduate and masters are in economics from India.

Teaching Areas

Health Care Management

Research Interests

My research pertains to the following themes: Health Economics and Policy Healthcare costs and access Local governments’ healthcare spending Health Services Research Older Adult Mortality Trends in older adult falls Association of falls with chronic conditions Public Health Dentistry Emergency Department Use and Costs Opioid Prescriptions in the ED

Publications

• Das Gupta D, Kelekar U, Turner SC, Sule AA, Jerman TG (2021) “Interpreting COVID-19 deaths among nursing home residents in the US: The changing role of facility quality over time.” PLoS ONE 16(9): e0256767.
• Kelekar U. D. Das gupta, J. Shepherd, A. Sule (2021) “Risk factors of fall-related emergency department visits by fall location of older adults in the US”, The Western Journal of Emergency Medicine – Integrating Emergency Care with Population Health, 22 (4).
• Naavaal S, Kelekar U, Shah S. (2021), “Opioid and Nonopioid Analgesic Prescriptions for Dental Visits in the Emergency Department, 2015–2017 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.” Preventing Chronic Disease 2021;18: 200571.
• Claiborne, D. M., Kelekar U, Shepherd, J. G., & Naavaal, S. (2021). Emergency department use for nontraumatic dental conditions among children and adolescents: NEDS 2014‐2015. Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology.
• Das Gupta D, Kelekar U, & Rice, D. (2020). “Associations between living alone, depression, and falls among community-dwelling older adults in the US”. Preventive Medicine Reports, 20, 101273.
• Naavaal S., & Kelekar U., (2020), “Opioid Prescriptions in Emergency Departments: Findings from the 2016 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey”, Short Communication, Preventive Medicine.
• Kelekar, U. & Naavaal, S. (2019), “Dental Visits and associated emergency-department charges in the United States: Nationwide Emergency Department Sample, 2014.”, The Journal of American Dental Association, 150(4), pp.305-312.
• Naavaal, S & Kelekar U, (2018) “School hours lost due to acute/unplanned dental care”, Health Behavior and Policy Review, 5(2), pp. 66-73. Kelekar, U. & Naavaal, S. (2018), “Hours Lost to Planned and Unplanned Dental Visits Among US Adults”, Preventing Chronic Disease, 15.
• Kelekar, U. (2017) “Oral Health Matters in Bending the Cost Curve”, World Medical and Health Policy, 9(3), pp. 377-88.
• Kelekar, U, Llanto, G. (2014) “Evidence of horizontal and vertical fiscal interactions in health care spending in the Philippines”, Health Policy and Planning, 30(7), pp. 853-862. “