Katherine Harrigan, (class of 2017), recently presented at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association in New Orleans, La. Her presentation title was Racial and ethnic disparities in analgesic prescribing for migraine in U.S. emergency departments. Analyzing a large national database of emergency room visits in the United States, Harrigan found that African American patients were only half as likely to be prescribed a narcotic medication for migraine pain. Younger African Americans, in particular, were much less likely to receive a narcotic. Results of her work will assist in promoting better guideline-concordant migraine care across diverse patient populations. Faculty member Joshua Thorpe, PhD, MPH is Harrigan's advisor at the School of Pharmacy.
