Dr. CeRon Ford is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Health Services Policy and Management at the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health. Broadly, his research examines how U.S. healthcare services, policies, and practices shape population health and health equity. Dr. Ford’s primary research interests include mental health and substance use, health services research, rural health, and health and social policy. He also has expertise in healthy aging, long-term services and support, faith-based health, health communication, and the influence of news media and public opinion. Using quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods approaches, he investigates mental health outcomes and service use across the life course, with particular attention to intersectional differences, barriers to healthcare access and utilization, media and policy influences, and structural determinants of health. Dr. Ford earned his B.S. in Public Health from Baylor University, a M.P.H. from Morehouse School of Medicine, and both a M.S. and Ph.D. in Health Services Research, Policy, & Administration from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.
CeRon is a 2023 AcademyHealth Diversity Scholar.