Sarah Axeen, PhD

Sarah Axeen, PhD is Director of Data and Analytics at the USC Schaeffer Center and an assistant professor of research in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

Her research focuses on understanding drivers of and evaluating solutions to opioid use and abuse in the United States. She also examines the impact of state-level policies on mental and behavioral healthcare outcomes, and has explored geographic variations in healthcare and the relationship between changes in commercial prices and spending and utilization in Medicare.

Axeen earned a BA in public policy analysis and politics, cum laude, from Pomona College, and a PhD, specializing in health policy and economics, from the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy. Her dissertation, “Essays in Opioid Use and Abuse,” won the USC Price Henry Reining Jr. Award for best dissertation written in public policy and management. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship with the USC Schaeffer Center and the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.

Recent Work

Comparing Imputation Approaches for Immigration Status in ED Visits: Implications for Using Electronic Medical Records

With more robust data, and better ways to approximate the undocumented population, health systems will be better equipped to identify root causes health disparities and deploy interventions to improve the health of undocumented communities.
Categorized in
- Research
- Journal Articles
Association of Daily Doses of Buprenorphine With Urgent Health Care Utilization

Patients receiving higher doses of buprenorphine were less likely to later require emergency department services or an inpatient hospital stay, researchers found.
Categorized in
- Research
Understanding Over- and Under-Screening of Cervical Cancer Among a National Sample of Commercially Insured Women: Implications for Health Equity

The study identified high rates of over-screening and under-screening among a national cohort of commercially insured women, signaling the need for interventions to improve guideline adherent screening
Categorized in
- Research
- Journal Articles
HSD99 Telemedicine and the Utilization of Outpatient Mental Health Services by Patients with Incident Major Depressive Disorder during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Telemedicine increased access to mental health services during the pandemic across races and ethnicities, but racial and ethnic disparities persisted.
Categorized in
- Research
- Journal Articles
Interrupted Time Series Analysis: Patient Characteristics and Rates of Opioid-Use-Disorder-Related Emergency Department Visits in the Los Angeles County Public Hospital System during COVID-19

Public emergency departments served as a stopgap for patients suffering from OUD in Los Angeles County during the pandemic and can be utilized to guide preventative interventions in vulnerable populations.
Categorized in
- Research
- Journal Articles

Sarah Axeen, PhD's contact information

Sarah Axeen, PhD's Bio

Recent Work

Comparing Imputation Approaches for Immigration Status in ED Visits: Implications for Using Electronic Medical Records

Association of Daily Doses of Buprenorphine With Urgent Health Care Utilization

Understanding Over- and Under-Screening of Cervical Cancer Among a National Sample of Commercially Insured Women: Implications for Health Equity

HSD99 Telemedicine and the Utilization of Outpatient Mental Health Services by Patients with Incident Major Depressive Disorder during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Interrupted Time Series Analysis: Patient Characteristics and Rates of Opioid-Use-Disorder-Related Emergency Department Visits in the Los Angeles County Public Hospital System during COVID-19