M. Courtney Hughes, Ph.D., M.S.

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Courses Taught

• UHHS 760: Knowledge Integration in the Health Sciences
• PHHE 611: Applied Research Methods in Public Health
• PHHE 607: Public Health and Health Services Management
• PHHE 601: Introduction to Health Systems in the United States
• PHHE 539/439: Funding for Programs in Public Health
• PHHE 469: Principles of Health Planning
• PHHE 455: Public Health Epidemiology
• PHHE 295: Introduction to Public Health

Education

• Ph.D., University of Washington, School of Public Health, Health Services
• M.S., University of Michigan, Kinesiology
• B.A., University of Notre Dame, Finance and Business Economics (second major, Computer Applications)

Research Interests

• Caregiver support
• Hospice and palliative care
• Health behavior risks
• Health determinants

Learn more about M. Courtney Hughes

Newly Available Publications

Vooda N, Uddin MS, Ambati MGR, Shaikh AR, Karasani MSL, Hughes MC, & Vaezi M. (2026) A Novel High-Resolution Satellite Imagery Approach for Surface Water Detection in the United States. Hydrological Sciences Journal.

Hughes MC. (2026) Integrating Care Across the Life Course Supports Goal-Aligned End-of-Life Care. Communications Medicine.

Hughes MC. (2026) A Harm-Reduction Framework to for Responsible AI in Public Health Research. npj Digital Public Health.

Hughes MC, Foster ML, Muasher-Kerwin C, Econie SM. (2026) Wearable Technology to Monitor Cancer Caregivers’ Health and Well-being: A Systematic Review. Health Sciences Review.

Beldon MA, Clay SL, Hughes MC, Mazurek K. (2026) Access to Maternity Care and Low Birth Weight among Women in Rural and Urban U.S. Counties with Higher Rates of Underweight Births. Health & Social Work.

Hughes MC, Demaray MK, Skiba EA, Warriner SE. (2026) Online Harassment and Mental Health Among Collegiate Student-Athletes: Findings from an NCAA Division 1 Conference Survey. Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics. Vol. 19(1).

Muasher-Kerwin C, Hughes MC, Sanatizadeh A. (2026) Can GPT-5 Support Licensing Exam Preparation? Analysis of Accuracy, Reasoning, and Semantic Similarity Across Rehabilitation Disciplines. JMIR Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies. Vol. 13.

Muasher-Kerwin C, Hughes MC, Econie SM. (2026) Using Large Language Models to Support Qualitative Health Research Through Coding, Theming, Quotation Selection, and Data Visualization. Discover Artificial Intelligence. Vol. 6.

Muasher-Kerwin C, Hughes MC, Sanatizadeh A, Mayer JF, Alhoori H. (2026) Harnessing Multimodal Large Language Models to Interpret Ecological Momentary Assessment-Generated Caregiving Photographs. Discover Artificial Intelligence. Vol. 6.

Egwuonwu C, Hughes MC, Hamlish T. (2026) The Experiences of Informal Caregivers of Advanced Cancer Patients: A Qualitative Study. Critical Public Health. Vol. 36(1).

Econie SM, Hughes MC. (2025) Informal Caregiver-Focused Website Content of Officially Recognized Disease Awareness Campaigns. Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet. Vol. 29(4).

Harris A, Murphy HR, McDowell M, Wright ME, Hughes MC. (2025) Facility-Based Uptake of Colorectal Cancer Screening in 45-49-Year-Olds after U.S. Guideline Changes . JAMA Network Open.

Hughes MC, Vernon E, McKeon M, Foster ML. (2025). Bridging Care and Support: Social Services in Hospice. Palliative Care and Social Practice.

Muasher-Kerwin C, Hughes MC, Foster ML, Econie S. (2025) "We are a club none of us wanted to join": Exploring brain tumor online discussion forum content. Supportive Care in Cancer. 2025. Vol 33.

Muasher-Kerwin C, Hughes MC, Foster M, Al Azher I, Alhoori H. (2025) Exploring large language models for summarizing and interpreting an online brain tumor support forum. Digital Health.

Guo LR, Tan J, Hughes MC. (2025) Comparison of dynamic mode decomposition with other data-driven models for lung cancer incidence rate prediction. Frontiers in Public Health. Vol. 13.

Hamlish T, Foster ML, Strom S, Jaber R, Hughes MC. (2025) Impact of a Breast Cancer Diagnosis on Finances and Marital Status in Young Women. BMC Women’s Health. 2025. Vol. 25.

Muasher-Kerwin C, Baumbach-Davy A, Liu Y, Hughes MC. (2025) "You sure feel like you’re alone, kind of flailing away out there": Family caregiver perspectives of caring for an individual with GBM. Palliative & Supportive Care. Vol. 23.

Foster ML, Egwuonwu C, Vernon E, Alarifi M, Hughes MC. (2025) Informal caregivers connecting on the web: Content analysis of posts on discussion forums. JMIR Formative Research.

Hughes MC, Folkmann EJ. (2025) The sky’s the limit: Improving satellite imagery data literacy to address noncommunicable diseases. International Health.

Beldon M, Clay S, Hughes MC, Mazurek K. (2025) The relationship between food insecurity and low birthweight across US counties and related racial disparities. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities.

Hastings E, Hughes MC, Hua L. (2025) Overturning Roe v. Wade and Pre-Medical Students’ Views and Medical School Choices. Medical Education Online. Medical Education Online. Vol. 30(1).

Green MR, Hughes MC, Afrin S, Vernon E. (2024) Caregiver policies in the United States: A systematic policy and literature review. Journal of Public Health Policy. Best Paper of the Year Award Winner

Guo LR, Hughes MC, Wright M, Harris A, Osias MC. (2024) Geospatial hotspots and coldspots in US cancer disparities and associated risk factors, 2004-2008 to 2014-2018. Preventing Chronic Disease. Vol. 21:240046.

Folkmann E, Hughes MC, Khan U, Vaezi M. (2024) Examining noncommunicable diseases using satellite imagery: A systematic review. BMC Public Health. Vol. 24:2774.

Alarifi M, Hughes MC, Jabour AM, Alashban Y, Vernon E. (2024). Patient, referring physician, and radiologist opinions over time on providing patients access to radiology reports: A systematic review. Journal of the American College of Radiology.

Hughes MC, Vernon E. (2024) Always politically correct: Supporting seriously ill older populations and their families. Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life & Palliative Care.

Baumbach A, Hughes MC, Liu Y. (2024). Challenges and coping strategies in transitioning from caregiving to widowhood: A systematic review. Research on Aging.

Liu Y, Hughes MC, Wang H. (2024). Financial strain, health behaviors, and depressive symptoms of family caregivers of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. PEC Innovation.

Folkmann B, Hughes MC, Hua L, Alarifi M, Vaezi M. (2024). Assessing life expectancy disparities in Chicago with a deep dive into green space. Environmental Advances. Vol 16.

Hughes MC, Vernon E, Egwuonwu C, Afolabi O. (2024). Measuring decision aid and effectiveness for end-of-life care: A systematic review. PEC Innovation.

Brewer A, Hughes MC, Patel K. (2024). Impact of repeated reimbursement penalties on hospital total quality scores. Journal of Patient Safety. Vol 20(3):198-201.

Hughes MC, Afrin S. (2023). Students engaging in public health research: An opportunity to enhance education. Pedagogy in Health Promotion. Vol 10(2):114-120.

Hughes MC, Vernon E, Hainstock A. (2023). The effectiveness of community-based palliative care program components: A systematic review. Age and Ageing. Vol 52(9).