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Health Services Policy and Management (HSPM) is an interdisciplinary field concerned with the promotion of personal and public health through planning, organizing, directing, controlling, coordinating and evaluating health services.
April 29, 2024 | Erin Bluvas, bluvase@sc.edu
“My journey in public health began with a deep-rooted interest in health equity,” says Dakshu Jindal, who graduates in May with a Ph.D. in Health Services Policy and Management (HSPM). “This was driven by my upbringing in India, where I witnessed stark disparities in health care access.”
Jindal studied economics at the University of Delhi (bachelor’s) and Indira Gandhi National Open University (master’s). During her graduate program, she began consulting for India’s National Health Systems Resource Center at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Her three years at the center exposed Jindal to health policy, including the nuances of financing health in a complex nation like India. She also began to realize how improvements in policy can positively impact health systems and communities. An internship in the Philippines through the World Health Organization (WHO) introduced her to financing and policy in a global setting. Together, these experiences cemented Jindal’s commitment to completing a doctoral degree in the field.
“USC offered an incredibly unique program in health services policy and management,” she says. “The department had diverse faculty and an inclination toward use of economics to conduct health services research. I strongly felt that I could leverage my academic background in economics and interest in public health to succeed in the program.”
At the Arnold School, Jindal gained research experience as a graduate assistant on projects within her department and at the Center for Community Health Alignment (CCHA). She found mentors in her dissertation co-chairs, Brian Chen and John Brooks, as well as CCHA executive director Julie Smithwick.
“Dr. Chen always motivated me to perform my best and expect more from my work, and Dr. Brooks always stressed the importance of the implications of my study results, which pushed me to be a better health services researcher,” says the Norman J. Arnold Fellow, who received guidance and support from Nicole Hair and Adam Lutz as well. “I have worked with Ms. Smithwick for five years, conducting research on the implementation and effectiveness of community health workers programs, and she has been a great mentor.”
Outside of the Arnold School, Jindal was selected into USC’s Preparing Future Faculty Program and received a SPARC grant from the Office of the Vice President for Research to support her dissertation research into how state laws influence access to physical therapy among Medicare patients. Her dozen or so publications cover various topics, but the theme of her research is how different laws, policies or programs impact health outcomes.
“I aim to leverage my expertise in health economics to explore research studies that improve health care outcomes and access,” Jindal says of her next steps. “By collaborating with stakeholders across sectors, I want to contribute meaningfully to the field of public health and advance health equity for all.”
