Kristina Wharton

Kristina Wharton, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health at California State University, East Bay. Her research focuses on the intersection of health policies and equity, particularly in underserved communities. She examines how state and federal policies impact access to healthcare, mental health services, and substance use treatment, with a focus on marginalized groups including LGBTQ+ individuals and adolescents. Dr. Wharton also leads an NIAAA-funded study on telehealth policies' impact on alcohol/substance use disorder services in safety-net healthcare settings. Her work spans policy analysis, pandemic-related health behaviors, and legislative impacts on public health outcomes.

Her teaching includes courses on Public Health Law, Health Disparities, and Public Health Seminars. Key research projects include analyzing how anti-transgender bills affect gender-diverse adults and studying the effects of pandemic policies (e.g., shelter-in-place orders) on alcohol use among adolescents and adults. She has published extensively on telehealth accessibility, substance use disparities, and policy-driven health outcomes in peer-reviewed journals.

Dr. Wharton’s work is funded by grants such as the NIAAA R21, and her research often intersects with urgent public health issues like Medicaid policy, pandemic response, and LGBTQ+ health equity. Her findings contribute to evidence-based policy recommendations for improving healthcare access and reducing disparities in vulnerable populations.