About
Pia Chaparro
Assistant Professor, Health Systems and Population Health
PhD, Public Health, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health
MS, Nutritional Sciences, University of Hawaii at Manoa
BS, Food Science, Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina (Lima, Peru)
Box 353410
Seattle, WA 98195-3410
Pia Chaparro’s work centers on food access (or lack thereof) as a key pathway by which social and environmental inequities affect health. Her research examines structural determinants of food insecurity and appropriate policy responses, with a primary focus on food and nutrition assistance programs. In particular, Chaparro examines: 1) access to food and nutrition assistance programs; 2) the impact of participating in these programs on nutrition, health, and social outcomes (e.g., violence); and 3) how these programs may adapt to better serve their target populations. She is also interested in how food, housing, and energy insecurity interact to affect health inequities in high-income countries, and the intersection of food and water insecurity in low- and middle-income countries.
Major ongoing collaborative efforts include:
- Food Insecurity in Minority Serving Institutions (FIMSI) Project – multi-methods project focused on identifying policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) levers within MSI college campuses to address food insecurity and unhealthy dietary behaviors. In collaboration with researchers at Tulane University, Indiana University-Bloomington, California State University Fullerton, CUNY Lehman College, and Xavier University of Louisiana (USDA Grant No. 2023-69015-40684, Co-PDs: Chaparro, Rose, Lederer).
- FRESH project – mixed-methods project focused on evaluating Fresh Bucks, the City of Seattle’s fruit and vegetable incentive program. In collaboration with the City of Seattle’s Office of Sustainability & Environment (NIH 1R01HL168190, mPIs: Jones-Smith, Baquero, Knox).
- Evaluations of access, participation, and impact of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) on infant and child nutrition and health, in collaboration with Public Health Foundation Enterprises (PHFE) WIC.
- Development of region-specific, nutrition-focused basic food baskets for Perú, in collaboration with researchers from the Interdisciplinary Group in Nutrition and Well-being at Universidad de la República (Montevideo, Uruguay).
- Intersection of food and water insecurity in Perú and maternal and child health, with collaborators at the Tulane University’s Department of International Health and Sustainable Development.