Cathleen Appelt

Cathleen Appelt is a researcher affiliated with Duquesne University's McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts. Her work focuses on health inequities, veterans' health, and mental health care methodologies. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Pittsburgh (2002) and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Psychiatry there. Since 2003, she has conducted applied research improving healthcare for underserved veteran populations, including those with mental illnesses, homelessness, or chronic conditions. Her research integrates mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative approaches) to address systemic healthcare challenges. She collaborates with the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System and emphasizes community-engaged, multidisciplinary strategies to address health disparities.

Her research themes include veterans' mental health treatment preferences, racial disparities in healthcare access, and telehealth applications in schizophrenia management. Recent work explores polygenic risk scores for glaucoma in African descent populations and maternal-child health advocacy in urban communities. No scientific awards are explicitly mentioned in the text. She has advised no doctoral/master’s students listed, but her work involves collaborative teaching on health equity and community engagement.

Her academic contributions span over 20 years, with a focus on bridging sociological insights with clinical healthcare practice. Ongoing projects include improving care for chronic medical conditions among individuals with psychosis and pandemic-era innovations in cross-generational healthcare education.