Alma B Granillo
- Associate Research Social Scientist
- (520) 621-7905
- SIROW-Lease, Rm. 100
- Tucson, AZ 85721
- bgranill@arizona.edu
Biography
Brenda Granillo, DBH, MS, MEP is an Associate Research Social Scientist with the Southwest Institute for Research on Women (SIROW) and holds a Doctor of Behavioral Health (Management). Dr. Granillo is a leading expert in public health emergency preparedness and response; hospital and healthcare readiness; homeland security exercise design and evaluation; and competency and capability-based workforce development. Prior to joining SIROW, Dr. Granillo served as Director of the Mountain West Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, at the University of Arizona, between 2005-2017. Dr. Granillo has developed, implemented, evaluated, and provided training and technical assistance serving as Principal Investigator and Lead Evaluator for multiple grant-funded research projects ranging from improving self-escape of underground coal miners in emergency situations; building community resiliency in the aftermath of disasters; to working on enhancing risk perception of emergency medical services in response to a highly infectious disease like EBOLA.
Dr. Granillo is a certified Master Exercise Practitioner through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and has extensive experience designing, conducting and evaluating exercises for public health preparedness programs; federal, state, tribal and local governments; and rural cardiac healthcare systems. Dr. Granillo has specialized expertise working with Native American communities promoting best practices and respecting sovereignty and consultative approaches using culturally appropriate participatory process for community mobilization, empowerment and capacity building.
As an Associate Research Social Scientist with SIROW, she leads the performance and outcome evaluation efforts to assess the impact of Medication-Assisted Treatment program for people with opioid use disorder in partnership with Caring Health Center in Springfield, Massachusetts. Dr. Granillo is also collaborating with a multi-disciplinary team of researchers and scholars on socio-psychological health-related research and service programs serving traditionally undeserved and health disparities populations. Dr. Granillo’s research interests include enhancing the role of medical health providers and allied healthcare professionals in integrated behavioral health interventions to advance population health using systems thinking and implementation science to improve health outcomes and psychosocial well-being. Dr. Granillo serves on several local and national committees and currently is assigned as a Subject Matter Expert for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange (TRACIE).
Degrees
- M.S. Epidemiology
- University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
- B.S. Microbiology
- Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona
- A.S. Pre-Medicine/Biology
- Pima Community College, Tucson, Arizona
Work Experience
- Southwest Institute for Research on Women (SIROW) (2020 - Ongoing)
- Mountain West Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center (2010 - 2017)
- Arizona Center for Public Health Preparedness (2005 - 2010)
- Arizona Department of Health Services, Office of Border Health (2004 - 2005)
- University Hygienic Laboratory (2002 - 2004)
Awards
- 1st Place in the Presentation Category
- El Rio Community Health Center-Wright Center, Spring 2018
Interests
Research
Raise mental health awareness and reduce the stigma associated with access to and treatment of mental health illnesses among Hispanic populations; advance behavioral health interventions in the delivery of oral health services in both public and private practice; reduce healthcare provider burnout by enhancing whole health initiatives to support work and life balance; and create a coalition of a diverse set of practitioners to improve the health of communities through evidence-based behavioral health interventions using holistic strategies.
Teaching
Public Health Emergency Preparedness;Mine Health and Safety;Exercise Design and Conduct;Behavioral Health and Lifestyle Medicine.
Courses
2019-20 Courses
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Special Topics
CHS 496 (Spring 2020)
Scholarly Contributions
Journals/Publications
- Granillo, A. B. (2018). Experiential Adult Learning: A Pathway to Enhancing Medical Countermeasures Capabilities. American journal of public health, 108(Suppl5), S378–S380..
- Granillo, A. B. (2018). Strategies From American Indian and Alaska Native Community Partners on Effective Emergency Response Collaboration. American journal of public health,, 108(Suppl5), S366–S368. doi:https://dx.doi.org/10.2105%2FAJPH.2018.304842
- Granillo, A. B. (2018). Using systems evaluation theory to improve points of dispensing planning, training, and evaluation.. Journal of emergency management, 16(3), 149-157. doi:https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.2018.0364
- Granillo, A. B. (2014). Lessons learned in testing the feasibility of evaluating transfer of training to an operations setting.. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, Suppl 5, S30-6. doi:https://doi.org/10.1097/PHH.0000000000000059
- Granillo, A. B. (2012). Developing a comprehensive, integrated and meaningful multi-year training and exercise plan. Journal of emergency Management, 10(5), 383-392. doi:https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.2012.0115
- Granillo, A. B. (2012). Emergency preparedness training of tribal community health representatives.. Journal of immigrant and minority health, 14(2), 6. doi:10.1007/s10903-011-9438-9
- Granillo, A. B. (2012). Using root cause analysis (RCA) to facilitate corrective actions, after action reports (AARs), and improvement plans. Journal of Emergency Management, 10(6), 6. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.5055/jem.2012.0121
- Granillo, A. B. (2011). U.S.-Mexico cross-border workforce training needs: survey implementation. Journal of injury & violence research,, 3(1), 11. doi:10.5249/jivr.v3i1.55
- Burgess, J. L., Granillo, A. B., Renger, R., & Wakelee, J. (2010). Utilization of the Native American Talking Circle to teach incident command system to tribal community health representatives. Journal of community health, 35(6).More infoThe public health workforce is diverse and encompasses a wide range of professions. For tribal communities, the Community Health Representative (CHR) is a public health paraprofessional whose role as a community health educator and health advocate has expanded to become an integral part of the health delivery system of most tribes. CHRs possess a unique set of skills and cultural awareness that make them an essential first responder on tribal land. As a result of their distinctive qualities they have the capability of effectively mobilizing communities during times of crisis and can have a significant impact on the communities' response to a local incident. Although public health emergency preparedness training is a priority of federal, state, local and tribal public health agencies, much of the training currently available is not tailored to meet the unique traits of CHRs. Much of the emergency preparedness training is standardized, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Training Programs, and does not take into account the inherent cultural traditions of some of the intended target audience. This paper reports on the use of the Native American Talking Circle format as a culturally appropriate method to teach the Incident Command System (ICS). The results of the evaluation suggest the talking format circle is well received and can significantly improve the understanding of ICS roles. The limitations of the assessment instrument and the cultural adaptations at producing changes in the understanding of ICS history and concepts are discussed. Possible solutions to these limitations are provided.
Presentations
- Granillo, A. B. (2017, October). Usage Paradigms for Serious Games: Strategies and Lessons Learned. MSHA's Training Resources Applied to Mining Conference (TRAM). West Virginian- MSHA Training Center: MSHA.
- Granillo, A. B. (2016, October). Incident Command, Escape & Rescue: A Competency-Based Training Program in Emergency Preparedness and Response. 12th Annual Safety and Health Conference. Las Vegas, NV: MSHA.
- Granillo, A. B., & Johnson, L. (2013, March/Spring). Improving Tribal Public Health Emergency Preparedness Programs Through Strategic Planning. Public Health Preparedness Summit. Atlanta, GA: National Association for City and County Health Officials.
Poster Presentations
- Granillo, A. B. (2018, May). Patient-Centered Oral Health Care Using Motivational Interviewing. 3rd Annual El Rio - Wright Center for GME Health Research Fair. Manning House, Tucson, AZ: El Rio Community Health Center.
Others
- Granillo, A. B., Bentele, K. G., & Korchmaros, J. D. (2020, July). Safe Haven: Behavioral Health MAT Team Focus Group Report– July 2020. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona, Southwest Institute for Research on Women.
