Gene F. Kwan, MD, MPH
Associate Professor, Medicine
Biography
I am a cardiologist and global health researcher developing expertise in the intersection between these two fields. My primary professional goal is to push the frontier of global cardiovascular disease epidemiology and health service delivery (implementation) research through the development, implementation, evaluation, improvement and dissemination of integrated chronic care programs targeted to overcome specific barriers in rural low- and middle-income countries (LMIC).
My research stems from experience in the field in rural Rwanda and Haiti since 2008 in collaboration with local Ministries of Health and the non-governmental organizations Partners In Health and Zanmi Lasante. I have developed and implemented care models using the strategy of task-shifting: training in-country nurses and generalist physicians in simplified protocols to aid in specialty care for the diagnosis and management of non-communicable diseases (NCD) including hypertension, diabetes, heart failure, stroke, and respiratory disease. My research has helped determine that heart failure in rural Rwanda and Haiti is generally from endemic causes (as opposed to coronary heart disease) and a leading cause of hospitalization. In addition, we demonstrated that nurse-directed management improves control of blood pressure for patients with hypertension and improves symptoms for those with heart failure. I also study the prevalence of poverty among patients with NCDs and develop approaches to overcome poverty-related barriers. My long-term goal is to develop and utilize evidence-based approaches for the understanding of cardiovascular disease in LMICs and influence programmatic development, implementation and policy.
I have active academic collaborations with projects in Haiti, Rwanda, Malawi, Liberia, and India. I am one of the principal authors of the implementation guide and clinician handbook The Partners In Health Guide to Chronic Care Integration for Endemic Non-Communicable Diseases. I have presented my work at several American Heart Association conferences including the Annual Scientific Sessions, Epidemiology, Nutrition, Prevention and Metabolism, and Quality and Clinical Outcomes Research sessions. I have also been an invited speaker both nationally and in Haiti and Rwanda. I continue to serve as an Advisor for Non-Communicable Diseases at Partners In Health in Boston, Haiti and Rwanda.
Other Positions
- Member, Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research, Boston University
Education
- University of California, San Diego, MD
- Harvard School of Public Health, MPH
- University of California, Berkeley, BA
Publications
- Published on 9/25/2024
Kwan GF, Basow E, Isaac BD, Fenelon DL, Toussaint E, Calixte D, Ibrahim M, Hirschhorn LR, Drainoni ML, Adler A, Clisbee MA, Bukhman G. Heart Failure Care Facilitators and Barriers in Rural Haiti: A Qualitative Study. Ann Glob Health. 2024; 90(1):60. PMID: 39345843.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 6/26/2024
Klassen SL, Okello E, Ferrer JME, Alizadeh F, Barango P, Chillo P, Chimalizeni Y, Dagnaw WW, Eiselé JL, Eberly L, Gomanju A, Gupta N, Koirala B, Kpodonu J, Kwan GF, Mailosi BGD, Mbau L, Mutagaywa R, Namuyonga J, Pfaff C, Piñero D, Pinto F, Rusingiza E, Sanni UA, Sanyahumbi A, Shakya U, Sharma SK, Sherpa K, Sinabulya I, Wroe EB, Bukhman G, Mocumbi A. Correction: Decentralization and Integration of Advanced Cardiac Care for the World's Poorest Billion Through the PEN-Plus Strategy for Severe Chronic Non-Communicable Disease. Glob Heart. 2024; 19(1):54. PMID: 38947254.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 4/4/2024
Yan LD, Sufra R, St Sauveur R, Jean-Pierre MC, Apollon A, Malebranche R, Théard M, Pierre G, Dévieux J, Lau J, Mourra N, Roberts NLS, Rasul R, Nash D, Pirmohamed AM, Devereux RB, Lee MH, Kwan GF, Safford MM, Adrien L, Alfred JP, Deschamps M, Severe P, Fitzgerald DW, Pape JW, Rouzier V, McNairy ML. Spectrum of prevalent cardiovascular diseases in urban Port-au-Prince, Haiti: a population-based cross-sectional study. Lancet Reg Health Am. 2024 May; 33:100729. PMID: 38590326.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 3/27/2024
Klassen SL, Okello E, Ferrer JME, Alizadeh F, Barango P, Chillo P, Chimalizeni Y, Dagnaw WW, Eiselé JL, Eberly L, Gomanju A, Gupta N, Koirala B, Kpodonu J, Kwan G, Mailosi BGD, Mbau L, Mutagaywa R, Pfaff C, Piñero D, Pinto F, Rusingiza E, Sanni UA, Sanyahumbi A, Shakya U, Sharma SK, Sherpa K, Sinabulya I, Wroe EB, Bukhman G, Mocumbi A. Decentralization and Integration of Advanced Cardiac Care for the World's Poorest Billion Through the PEN-Plus Strategy for Severe Chronic Non-Communicable Disease. Glob Heart. 2024; 19(1):33. PMID: 38549727.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 7/19/2023
Bansal E, Patel K, Lacossade S, Gue B, Acceme K, Robinson O, Kwan GF, Wilentz JR. Population health and sociodemographic variables as predictors of access to cardiac medicine and surgery in Haiti. Glob Health Res Policy. 2023 Jul 19; 8(1):27. PMID: 37468963.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 6/16/2023
Mailosi BGD, Ruderman T, Klassen SL, Kachimanga C, Aron MB, Boti M, Kumwenda K, Bukhman G, Muula AS, Banda NPK, Kwan GF. Decentralized Heart Failure Management in Neno, Malawi. Glob Heart. 2023; 18(1):35. PMID: 37334396.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 1/1/2023
Kole A, Agarwal A, Seth B, Sandhu S, Ghali B, Arya P, Patil S, Jain Y, Kwan G. Epidemiology of heart failure in rural Chhattisgarh, India. Natl Med J India. 2023; 36(3):163-166. PMID: 38692613.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 12/6/2022
Kwan GF, Davila-Roman VG. Uncovering Endemic Heart Failure and Hypertension in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Challenges and Opportunities. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes. 2023 Feb; 16(2):e009611. PMID: 36472191.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 8/15/2022
Klassen SL, Dusingizimana W, Ngoga G, Kamali I, Dusabeyezu S, Ntaganda E, Kwan GF. Using Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Heart Failure Diagnosis and Management in Rural and Resource-Limited Settings. CASE (Phila). 2022 Aug; 6(6):259-262. PMID: 36036046.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 5/11/2022
Calixte D, Haynes NA, Robert M, Edmond C, Yan LD, Raiti-Palazzolo K, Toussaint E, Isaac BD, Fenelon DL, Kwan GF. Online team-based electrocardiogram training in Haiti: evidence from the field. BMC Med Educ. 2022 May 11; 22(1):360. PMID: 35545788.
Read at: PubMed
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