Patria Rojas
Department of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, CRUSADA
Focus
Substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, health disparities affecting Latino populations, and mental health
Biography
Dr. Patria Rojas is an associate professor in the Department of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention at the Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work, and a research associate professor at the Center for Research on US Latino HIV/AIDS and Drug Abuse (CRUSADA) at Florida International University (FIU). A distinguished double Alumnus of Boston University, Dr. Rojas earned her Master of Public Health in Maternal and Child Health in 2001, and her Master of social welfare in program planning and development in 2000. Prior to completing her master's, she earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts. Rojas received her Ph.D. in Social Welfare Administration from FIU in 2007 and joined the university as a Research Faculty in 2008.
In 2016, she started serving as an assistant faculty member, receiving her tenure position in 2020. For more than one decade, Rojas has been leading prevention efforts to address HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, and health disparities affecting Latinx populations in south Florida. Under her leadership, the eminent center CRUSADA at FIU, expanded its community-based participatory research and intervention research. Her research has appeared in over 60 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. She has been a PI, Co-I of over $20 million dollars of NIH funding. Dr. Rojas is currently the PI of a NIMHD/NIH-funded clinical study examining the effectiveness of an adapted evidence-based intervention for adult Latinx men. Dr. Rojas research has been featured in several domestic and international news outlets including Miami Herald, CNN en Español, The BBC, and Telemundo news media.
Dr. Rojas’ research has helped spearhead interventions for substance abuse and HIV prevention among Latinx immigrants in South Florida. In addition to her focus on community-based intervention and community-based participatory research, Dr. Rojas has provided mentoring to doctoral and postdoctoral fellows who are currently in faculty and leadership positions in the national and international fields. She is the recipient of several awards from national and international organizations for her commitment to public health and minority health disparities.
Education
- Ph.D., Florida International University
- MSW, Boston University
- MPH, Boston University
- BA, Merrimack College
Publications
De La Rosa, M., Sanchez, M., Wang, W., Cano, M.A., Rojas, P. (2020). Alcohol use trajectories of Latinx immigrants during their first decade in the U.S., Addictive Behaviors, Addictive Behaviors, Epub 106352.
Ravelo, G.J., Sanchez, M., Rojas, P., Cyrus, E., De La Rosa, M., Peragallo, N. & Rojas, P. (2019). Associations between gender norms and HIV self-efficacy among Latinas immigrants in a farmworker community. Ethnicity & Health, [Epub ahead of print]. https://doi.org/10.1080/13557858.2019.1659234
Rojas, P.; Li, Tan; Ravelo, Gira; Sanchez, Mariana; Dawson, Christyl; Sneij, Alicia; Wang, Weize; Cyrus, Elena; Kanamori, Mariano; & De La Rosa, Mario (2017). Correlates of Cervical Cancer Screening Among a Non-clinical Community Based Sample of Adult Latino Women: A five year follow up. World Medical and Health Policy Journal.
Sanchez, M., Rojas, P., Li, T., Ravelo, G., Cyrus, E., Wang, W., Kanamori, M., & De La Rosa, M. (2016). Evaluating a culturally tailored HIV risk reduction intervention among Latina immigrant farmworkers, World Medical and Health Policy, 8, 245-262.
De La Rosa, M., Huang, H., Rojas, P., Dillon, F. R., Lopez-Quintero, C., Li, T., & Ravelo, G. J. (2015, March). Influence of Mother–Daughter Attachment on Substance Use: A Longitudinal Study of a Latina Community-Based Sample. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and
*Rojas, P., Dillon, F. R., Cyrus, E., Ravelo, G. J., Malow, R. M., & De La Rosa, M. (2014). Alcohol Use as a Determinant of HIV Risk Behaviors Among Recent Latino Immigrants in South Florida. Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, 25(2), 135–144.
Ibañez, G.; Dillon, F., Rojas, P.; Sanchez, M., De La Rosa, M., & Villar, (2014). Pre- immigration Risk and Protective Factors for Acculturative Stress Among Recent Latino Immigrants. The Journal of Latino Psychology.
Rojas, P., Cyrus, E. Dillon, F., Ravelo, G., & De La Rosa, M. (2013) Pre-immigration Correlates of HIV/AIDS Risks among recent immigrants to the United State Journal of the Association of Nurses AIDS Care.
Rojas, P., Dillon, F. R., Ravelo, G. J., Malow, R., Duan, R., & De La Rosa, M. (2013). Nonmedical prescription sedative use among adult Latina mothers and daughter Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 45(4). 329-339. DOI:10.1080/02791072.2013.825513.
Rojas, P., Cyrus, E. Dillon, F., Ravelo, G., & De La Rosa, M. (2013) Pre-immigration Correlates of HIV/AIDS Risks among recent immigrants to the United State Journal of the Association of Nurses AIDS Care. [Impact Factor: 1.318, Assessed on 2016].
Rojas, P., Dillon, F. R., Ravelo, G. J., Malow, R., Duan, R., & De La Rosa, M. (2013). Nonmedical prescription sedative use among adult Latina mothers and daughter Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 45(4). 329-339. DOI:10.1080/02791072.2013.825513.
Rojas, P., Malow, R., Ruffin, B.; Roth, E., Rosenberg, R. (2011). The HIV/AIDS Epidemic in the Dominican Republic: Key Contributing Factor Journal of the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care. http://jia.sagepub.com/content/early/2011/02/20/1545109710397770. doi: 1177/1545109710397770.