Leslie R. M. Hausmann, PhD

  • Associate Director, Center for Research Health Equity Research and Promotion (CHERP), VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System
  • Assistant Dean for Medical Student Research, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
  • Associate Professor of Medicine and Clinical and Translational Science

Leslie Hausmann, PhD, is Associate Professor of Medicine, Assistant Dean for Medical Student Research, and a Core Investigator at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System (VAPHS) Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion (CHERP). As Co-Director of the Health Equity Capacity Building Core within CHERP, Dr. Hausmann spearheads the development and dissemination of tools and education to support innovative health equity research and empower those working in the field to conduct equity-focused quality improvement.

An experimental social psychologist, Dr. Hausmann has devoted her career to improving the health and health care of vulnerable Veteran populations through research and quality improvement. Her primary research interests include understanding how issues of discrimination and bias contribute to health and health care disparities, especially with regards to pain and pain management. Her research spans the full continuum of health equity research, including epidemiological studies designed to identify health and healthcare disparities, observational studies investigating factors that cause or exacerbate disparities, and studies in which patient, provider, and system-level interventions to reduce disparities are developed and evaluated.

In addition to her research, Dr. Hausmann enjoys "messing around" in the kitchen (especially cooking with vegan flare), exploring Pittsburgh’s craft beer scene, and rocking the mic at karaoke sessions.

Education & Training

  • BS, Bowling Green State University, 1999
  • MS, University of Pittsburgh, 2001
  • PhD, University of Pittsburgh, 2005

Representative Publications

Moy E, Hausmann LRM, Clancy CM. From HRO to HERO: Making Health Equity a Core System Capability. Am J Med Qual. 2022 Jan-Feb 01;37(1):81-83. 

Burkitt KH, Rodriguez KL, Mor MK, Fine MJ, Clark WJ, Macpherson DS, Mannozzi CM, Muldoon MF, Long JA, Hausmann LRM. Evaluation of a collaborative VA network initiative to reduce racial disparities in blood pressure control among veterans with severe hypertension. Healthc (Amst). 2021 Jun;8 Suppl 1:100485. 

Lipkin JS, Thorpe JM, Gellad WF, Hanlon JT, Zhao X, Thorpe CT, Sileanu FE, Cashy JP, Hale JA, Mor MK, Radomski TR, Good CB, Fine MJ, Hausmann LRM. Identifying sociodemographic profiles of veterans at risk for high-dose opioid prescribing using classification and regression trees. J Opioid Manag. 2020 Nov-Dec;16(6):409-424. 

Hausmann LRM, Youk A, Kwoh CK, Gallagher RM, Weiner DK, Vina ER, Obrosky DS, Mauro GT, McInnes S, Ibrahim SA. Effect of a positive psychological intervention on pain and functional difficulty among adults with osteoarthritis: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2018;1(5):e182533. 

Hausmann LRM, Brandt CA, Carroll C, Fenton BT, Ibrahim SA, Becker WC, Burgess DJ, Wandner L, Bair MJ, Goulet JL. Racial and ethnic differences in total knee arthroplasty in the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System (2001 – 2013). Arthritis Care Res. 2017;69(8):1171-1178. 

Hausmann LRM, Gao S, Lee ES, Kwoh CK. Racial disparities in the monitoring of patients on chronic opioid therapy. Pain. 2013;154(1):46-52. 

Hausmann LRM, Hannon MJ, Kresevic DM, Hanusa BH, Kwoh CK, Ibrahim SA. Impact of perceived discrimination in healthcare on patient-provider communication. Med Care. 2011;49(7):626-33. 

Hausmann LRM, Jeong K, Bost JE, Ibrahim SA. Perceived discrimination in health care and health status in a racially diverse sample. Med Care. 2008;46(9):905-14. 

Click here for a more complete bibliography of Dr. Hausmann's works.

Research Interests

  • Disparities in health and health care
  • Perceived discrimination and unconscious bias in the healthcare setting
  • Pain management