Assistant Professor of Clinical Pharmacy, Department of Clinical Pharmacy Practice
School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences

medication optimization, chronic disease management, social and behavioral determinants of health, pharmacists' role in reducing racial/ethnic health disparities, community based participatory research, interprofessional health care delivery

Clinical Research Education and Career Development Phase II Scholar, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science
Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Family Medicine, College of Medicine, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science

Dr. Wisseh has a diverse background in community engaged research in both ambulatory care and community pharmacy and public health. Prior to joining UCI, Dr. Wisseh has served as a primary and co-investigator on several pharmacy-related, health literacy and medication knowledge projects that engage minority communities. She is currently a Phase II Scholar in the Clinical Research Education and Career Development Program (PI: Mohsen Bazargan) at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. In this capacity, her work has centered on medication-related challenges in racial/ethnic minorities in South Los Angeles. Dr. Wisseh has examined the relationship between polypharmacy and social determinant of health indicators and several health conditions such as obesity, low cognition, and depression among community-dwelling African American and Latinx adults. With a group of collaborators, she has also evaluated the correlates of medication regimen complexity in community-based African American adults.

The findings of Dr. Wisseh’s work demonstrates the following needs in minority communities 1) pharmacist-led comprehensive medication management services that assess patient level medication use behavior and provider and system level factors and 2) targeted medication adherence and disease state education interventions/programs that are patient-centered, culturally appropriate, and collaborative amongst pharmacists, physicians, other health care providers and the communities that they serve. Dr. Wisseh’s research conceptual model is such that social, political, and environmental determinants of health and chronic disease morbidity—which are all influenced by foundational structural inequity—influence behavioral and psychological factors which are mediators to medication related challenges and their associated outcomes. Such behavioral and psychological factors can be modified by theory-based, culturally tailored, community-engaged interventions/programs. Thus, her research program aims to improve minority populations’ health and wellness outcomes and reduce health disparities through pharmacy-led, collaborative, interdisciplinary services and programs.

2021 Wendell T. Hill Award- National Pharmaceutical Association
2020 Young Pharmacist Award- National Pharmaceutical Association

As a primary care clinical pharmacist in South Los Angeles, Dr. Wisseh’s practice focuses on comprehensive medication management and disease state/targeted medication management in cardiometabolic disease. Her practice model intentionally incorporates research, public health, and clinical pharmacy. She is deeply passionate about raising awareness on the effects that structural racism has on the social and behavioral determinants of health in minority communities, the role of the pharmacist in reducing health disparities, community engagement, and health equity.

Nonyel NP, Wisseh C, Riley AC, Campbell HE, Butler LM, Shaw T. Conceptualizing social ecological model in pharmacy to address racism as a social determinant of health. Am J Pharm Educ. 2021 Jul 22:8584. doi: 10.5688/ajpe8584. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34301555.

Riley A, Campbell H, Butler L, Wisseh C, Nonyel N, Shaw T. Socialized and Traumatized: Pharmacists, underserved Patients and the COVID-19 Vaccine. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association. 2021 Jun 1:S1544-3191(21)00202-8. doi: 10.1016/j.japh.2021.05.020.

Bazargan M, Wisseh C, Adinkrah E, Boyce S, King E, Assari S*. Low-Dose Aspirin Use among African American Middle Age and Older Adults. Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. 2021; 34(1):132-143

Bazargan M, Wisseh C, Adinkrah E, Ameli H, Santana D, Cobb S, Assari S. Influenza Vaccination among Underserved African American Older Adults. BioMed Research International. 2020; Nov 10. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/2160894

Wisseh C, Hildreth K, Marshall J, Tanner A, Bazargan M, Robinson P. Social Determinants of Pharmacy Deserts in Los Angeles County. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. 2020; Oct 27. Doi: 10.1007/40615-020-00904-6

Adinkrah E, Bazargan M, Wisseh C, Assari S. Adherence to Medication and Lifestyle Recommendations among Underserved African American Middle-Aged and Older Adults with Hypertension. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020; 17(18), 6538

Adinkrah E, Bazargan M, Wisseh C, Assari S. Medication Complexity among Underserved African American Older Adults in South Los Angeles. Pharmacy. 2020; 8 (86) 1-11

Bazargan M, Cobb S, Wisseh C, Assari S. Psychotropic and Opioid-Based Medication Use among Economically Disadvantaged African American Older Adults. Pharmacy. 2020; 8 (74) 1-14

Cobb S, Bazargan M, Castro-Sandoval J, Wisseh C, Evans M, Assari S. Depression Treatment Status of Economically Disadvantaged African American Older Adults. Brain Sciences. 2020; 10 (154): 1-15

Assari S, Wisseh C, Saqib M, Bazargan M. Polypharmacy is Associated with Lower Memory Function in African American Older Adults. Brain Sciences. 2020; 10 (49): 1-12

Assari S, Saqib M, Wisseh C, Bazargan M. Social Determinants of Polypharmacy in First Generation Mexican Immigrants in the United States. International Journal of Travel Medicine and Global Health. 2019; 7 (3): 86-90

Assari S, Wisseh C, Saqib M, Helmi H, Bazargan M. Polypharmacy and Depressive Symptoms in U.S. Born Mexican American Older Adults. Psych. 2019; 491-503

Assari S., Wisseh C, Bazargan M. Obesity and Polypharmacy among African American Older Adults in South Los Angeles: Gender as the Moderator and Multimorbidity as the Mediator. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2019; 16, 2181

Bazargan M, Smith J, Cobb S, Barkley L, Wisseh C, Ngula E, Thomas R., Assari S. Emergency Room Department Utilization among Underserved African American Older Adults in South Los Angeles. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2019; 16, 1175

American Society of Health System Pharmacists Foundation | 2021-2022 | Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Diabetes-Specific Medication Regimen Complexity and Diabetes Clinical Outcomes | University of California at Irvine, Irvine, CA | Role: Principal Investigator

U54MD007598 | National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities | Accelerating Excellence in Translational Science (AXIS) Pilot Program | 2020-2022 | Diabetes Specific Medication Regimen Complexity and Diabetes Outcomes| Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA | Role: Principal Investigator

National Pharmaceutical Association

American Public Health Association

American College of Clinical Pharmacy

Zone V Director
National Pharmaceutical Association 2019—2021

Link to this profile
https://faculty.uci.edu/profile/?facultyId=6818

Last updated
07/30/2024