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Donald H. Taylor Jr.

Professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy
Sanford School of Public Policy
110 Rubenstein Hall, Box 90312, Durham, NC 27708-0312
110 Rubenstein Hall, Box 90312, Durham, NC 27708

Overview


Don Taylor is a health policy scholar who has studied rural health, identification of underserved areas, and the economics of smoking and cessation. For the past 20 years his work has focused on how society cares for the elderly and to what effect on individuals, families, public programs and inter-generational wealth. More recently he has focused on archival research methods that help to illustrate the role of Race in our history—individual, institutional, national. An emerging interest is consideration of how visual art and fiction might be more effective at making inequality of various types unacceptable culturally in a way that is more effective than data based and more traditional public policy-based appeals. All three of his degrees (Ph.D., Public Health, Health Policy and Management, 1995) are from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Taylor serves as the Director of the Social Science Research Institute (since 2019) and served two years as the elected leader of the Duke Faculty in the role of the Chair of the Academic Council (2017-19).

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy · 2015 - Present Sanford School of Public Policy
Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health · 2018 - Present Family Medicine and Community Health, Clinical Science Departments
Affiliate, Duke Global Health Institute · 2008 - Present Duke Global Health Institute, University Institutes and Centers
Associate of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society · 2017 - Present Duke Science & Society, University Initiatives & Academic Support Units
Executive Core Faculty Member, Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy · 2024 - Present Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy, University Initiatives & Academic Support Units

In the News


Published June 29, 2020
Moving Ahead After 'Living While Black': Don Taylor on Engaging SSRI on Racial Inequality
Published June 18, 2020
Duke in DC: Faculty Discuss COVID-19's Lasting Impact on Children and Families
Published May 20, 2020
How to Address COVID-19 in Nursing Homes

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Recent Publications


Strategies to expand the distribution of nursing talent in the United States.

Journal Article Nursing outlook · January 2024 This panel paper is the third installment in a six-part Nursing Outlook special edition based on the 2022 Emory Business Case for Nursing Summit. The 2022 summit was led by Emory School of Nursing in partnership with Emory School of Business. It convened n ... Full text Cite

Health Care Use and Spending Among Need-Based Subgroups of Medicare Beneficiaries With Full Medicaid Benefits.

Journal Article JAMA Health Forum · May 5, 2023 IMPORTANCE: Beneficiaries dual eligible for Medicare and Medicaid account for a disproportionate share of expenditures due to their complex care needs. Lack of coordination between payment programs creates misaligned incentives, resulting in higher costs, ... Full text Link to item Cite

Access to COVID-19 testing by individuals with housing insecurity during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States: a scoping review.

Journal Article Front Public Health · 2023 INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic focused attention on healthcare disparities and inequities faced by individuals within marginalized and structurally disadvantaged groups in the United States. These individuals bore the heaviest burden across this pande ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite
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Recent Grants


Inflammatory and Metabolic Biomarkers in Cardiovascular Complications with SARS-CoV-2

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2021 - 2024

Informing Policy Options to Integrate Care for Dual Eligible North Carolinians

ResearchAdvisor · Awarded by Arnold Ventures · 2021 - 2022

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Education, Training & Certifications


University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill · 1995 Ph.D.
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill · 1992 M.P.P.
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill · 1990 B.S.