Brianna Rooney

Brianna Rooney, DrPH is an Assistant Research Professor at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health (MEZCOPH), Department of Public Health Practice, Policy and Translational Research. She received a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree in Epidemiology from the University of Nebraska Medical Center and a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) degree in Public Health Policy and Management from the University of Arizona.

At the Center for Rural Health, Dr. Rooney leads the Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program, helping rural hospitals invest in value-based purchasing, accountable care organization or shared savings, and payment bundling or prospective payment system activities. She directs evaluation and data analysis for the Rural Hospital Flexibility program and the Arizona Advancing Health Equity, Addressing Health Equity grant.

Her research is driven by a commitment to explore the compounding risk events in healthcare preparedness and seeks to contribute valuable insights and recommendations for enhancing the resilience of rural and tribal healthcare communities. She collaborates with local health departments, critical access hospitals, and rural health clinics to improve health disparities through program evaluation, community resilience, and emergency preparedness. Her interests include developing and implementing quality improvement tools and assessment, addressing health inequities and supporting data driven approaches to improve public health across Arizona and the region. Overall, her research adopts a holistic approach, blending technological interventions with a focus on the socioeconomic factors influencing risk and vulnerability.

With over 10 years of experience in emergency preparedness and response, Dr. Rooney brings expertise in community engagement, program planning and evaluation, mixed methods research design, after-action report development and implementation, and exercise design and evaluation. She currently serves with two national associations, including the National Association of City and County Health Officials (NACCHO) Workgroup on Medical Surge and Director of Vendor Relations for the Association of Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Professionals.