Associate Professor,
Director of Research Programs

UCLA School of Public Health
Department of Health Services
Box 951772
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772

Phone: 310-206-0199
Fax: 310-825-3317
E-mail: aortega@ucla.edu

Alex Ortega is Associate Professor and Director of Research Programs in the Department of Health Services, UCLA School of Public Health. Professor Ortega is also Associate Director of the Center for Eliminating Health Disparities and faculty affiliate in the Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities at UCLA. He has taught courses in health services research methods, health care disparities, and behavioral science for healthcare managers.

Professor Ortega is an expert on the application of epidemiological methods in health services research, and his work focuses on the physical and mental health and medical needs of Latino children and their families. He has led federally-funded studies on co-morbid asthma and mental health problems in Latino children, and he has conducted research in understanding medical care delivery issues for Latino children and children receiving Medicaid. His work appears in prominent medical and health services research journals, such as Pediatrics, Medical Care, American Journal of Psychiatry, and the Archives of Internal Medicine. He is an active member of federal advisory committees and community organizations.

Before joining the faculty of the UCLA School of Public Health, Professor Ortega was Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Administration at Yale University and a tenured Associate Professor at The Ohio State University. He has also been a Senior Research Associate at the W.M. Krogman Center for Research in Child Growth and Development at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Professor Ortega holds a B.A. in economics from the University of New Mexico, an M.P.H. in epidemiology and biostatistics from Boston University, and a Ph.D. in epidemiologic science from the University of Michigan.

Selected Publications

Ortega AN, Rosenheck R. Posttraumatic stress disorder among Hispanic Vietnam veterans. American Journal of Psychiatry, 2000;157:615-619.

Ortega AN, Rosenheck R, Alegria M, Desai RA. Acculturation and the lifetime risk of psychiatric and substance use disorders among Hispanics. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 2000;188(11):728-735.

Ortega AN, Belanger KD, Paltiel AD, Horwitz SM, Bracken MB, Leaderer BP. Use of health services by insurance status among children with asthma. Medical Care, 2001;39:1065-1074.

Ortega AN, Huertas SE, Canino G, Ramirez R, Rubio-Stipec M. Childhood asthma, chronic illness, and psychiatric disorders. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 2002;190:275-281.

Ortega AN, Rosenheck R. Hispanic client-case manager matching: differences in outcomes and service use in a program for homeless persons with severe mental illness. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 2002;190:315-323.

Ortega AN, Alegria M. Self reliance, mental health need, and the use of mental healthcare among island Puerto Ricans. Mental Health Services Research, 2002;4(3):131-140.

Ortega AN, Goodwin RD, McQuaid EL, Canino G. Parental mental health, childhood psychiatric disorders, and asthma attacks in island Puerto Rican youth. Ambulatory Pediatrics, 2004;4:308-315.

Ortega AN, Alegria M. Denial and its association with mental health care use: a study of island Puerto Ricans. Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, 2005;32:320-331.

Ortega AN, Chavez L, Inkelas M, Canino G. Persistence of mental health service use among Latino children: A clinical and community study. Administration and Policy in Mental Health & Mental Health Services Research, 2007;34:353-62.

Ortega AN, Fang H, Perez VH, Rizzo JA, Carter-Pokras O, Wallace SP, Gelberg L. Health care access, use of services, and experiences among undocumented Mexicans and other Latinos. Archives of Internal Medicine, in press.