Dean, Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health
Professor of Public Health
aortega2@hawaii.edu | (808) 956-6300 | Gartley Hall, Dean’s Office
Health Policy and Management
Academic Degrees
- PhD (Epidemiologic Science), University of Michigan
- MPH (Epidemiology & Biostatistics), Boston University
- BA (Economics), University of New Mexico
Research Interests
Dean Alex Ortega, who grew up in Hawaiʻi, is a nationally recognized scholar in public health and health care policy whose work centers on advancing health equity. His research has significantly deepened understanding of the complex health risks and outcomes experienced by Latino and other minoritized populations in the United States. Over the past 25 years, he has maintained continuous funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), totaling nearly $30 million, and currently serves as Principal Investigator (PI) of four NIH-funded studies.
Dr. Ortega has authored more than 160 scientific papers and editorials and serves as a Senior Associate Editor of Health Services Research (HSR). He has reviewed manuscripts for more than 60 academic journals and has served on 21 NIH and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) study sections. His publications have appeared in leading journals such as JAMA, Health Affairs, Health Services Research, Pediatrics, Academic Pediatrics, American Journal of Psychiatry, Medical Care, Medical Care Research & Review, American Journal of Public Health, and American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
He has also contributed his expertise to several national scientific advisory boards, including the Independent U.S. Census Bureau’s Scientific Advisory Committee and the NIH/NHLBI Observational Study Monitoring Board for the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos.
Currently, Dr. Ortega co-leads, with Dr. Keawe Kaholokula, the NIH-funded Maui LOA (Learnings to Overcome Adversity) study, which examines community and health system resiliency following the devastating August 2023 wildfire in Lāhainā, Maui. Using a community-engaged approach, the study explores the social and health impacts among Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, Filipino, and Latino immigrant populations affected by the disaster. His other ongoing projects address pressing public health issues affecting Latino populations, including access to and utilization of health care, the resiliency of Puerto Rico’s health system and population after compounding disasters, and the role of mis- and disinformation in shaping health decision-making among Latino immigrants.
Selected Publications
Godinet MT, Lopez Mercado D, Purtle J, Stimpson JP, Ortega AN. Disparities in sexual violence among Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Adolescents in Hawaiʽi. JAMA Pediatrics, DOI: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.3165. Online ahead of print.
Purtle J, Machavariani E, Rivera-González AC, Mauri AI, Kaholokula JK, Ortega AN. Increases in suicides and overdoses during the 2023 wildfires in Maui, Hawaiʽi. Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), 2025;334:1019-1021. PMCID: PMC12329681. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2025.11146.
Barajas CB, Roby DH, Stimpson JP, Ponce NA, Lazalde GE, Young MEDT, Kietzman K, Bustamante AV, Rivera-González AC, Langellier BA, Eberth JM, Stehr M, Ortega AN. Public benefit avoidance and safety concerns among mixed-status Latino families in California, 2021-2022. Health Affairs, 2025;44:1307-13. DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.2025.00375.16.
Bustamante AV, Rivera-González AC, Martinez-Cardoso A, Barajas CB, Young ME, Ortega AN. The shifting federal and state policy landscapes for health insurance coverage of noncitizen immigrants: where are we thirty years after PRWORA? Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, in press. DOI: 10.1215/03616878-11995160
Chisolm DJ, Dugan JA, Figueroa JF, Lane-Fall MB, Roby DH, Rodriguez HP, Ortega AN. Improving health equity through healthcare systems research.Health Services Research, 2023;58(Suppl 3):289-299. PMCID: PMC10684038. DOI: 10.1111/1475-6773.14192
Lopez Mercado D, Rivera-González AC, Stimpson JP, Langellier BA, Bustamante AV, Young MEDT, Ponce NA, Barajas CB, Roby DH, Ortega AN. Undocumented Latino immigrants and the Latino health paradox. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2023;65:296-306. PMCID: PMC10363195. DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2023.02.010
Bustamante AV, Beltran LF, Nwadiuko J, Ortega AN. Avoiding Medicaid enrollment after the reversal of the changes in the public charge rule among Latino and Asian immigrants. Health Services Research, 2022;57(Suppl. 2):195-203. PMCID: PMC9660423. DOI: 10.1111/1475-6773.14020
Ortega AN, Roby DH. Ending structural racism in the US health care system to eliminate health care inequities. Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), 2021;326(7):613-615. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2021.11160
Bustamante AV, Chen J, Felix L, Ortega AN. Health policy challenges posed by shifting demographics and health trends among immigrants to the United States. Health Affairs, 2021;40:1028-1037. PMCID: PMC8285051.
Bustamante AV, Chen J, McKenna RM, Ortega AN. Health care access and utilization among US immigrants before and after the Affordable Care Act,Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 2019;21:211-218. PMCID: PMC6177328. DOI: 10.1007/s10903-018-0741-6.
Chen J, Bustamante AV, Mortensen K, Ortega AN. Racial and ethnic disparities in health care access and utilization under the Affordable Care Act. Medical Care, 2016;54(2):140-146. PMCID: PMC4711386. DOI: 10.1097/MLR.0000000000000467
