Margaret D. Whitley

Associate Policy Researcher

Santa Monica Office

Education

Ph.D. in public health, University of California, Irvine; M.P.H. in community health sciences, UCLA; B.A. in social welfare, University of California, Berkeley

One Page Bio

Overview

Margaret Whitley (she/her) is an associate policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. Her research interests include occupational health, complementary and integrative health (CIH), population health inequities, and maternal and child health. She uses both quantitative and qualitative methods. Whitley has addressed a variety of topics within her work at RAND, including the role of CIH providers within the public health workforce, occupational and socioeconomic drivers of health behaviors, text message interventions for health promotion, and management of chronic pain.

Previously, Whitley was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, where she studied the contribution of working conditions to population health inequities. Prior to that, she completed a doctoral degree in public health at the University of California, Irvine; her dissertation focused on the occupational determinants of breastfeeding behaviors. She also completed an M.P.H. in community health at UCLA, and a B.A. in social welfare at the University of California, Berkeley.

Research Focus

Selected Publications

Whitley MD, Burgard S, "Working conditions and racial and ethnic disparities in self-rated health," Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 65(7), 2023

Whitley MD, Ro A, Choi B, "Low job control and racial disparities in breastfeeding," Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 64(8), 2022

Coulter, Ian D., Margaret D. Whitley, Raheleh Khorsan, and Patricia M. Herman, Incorporating Complementary and Integrative Health Providers in the Public Health Pandemic Response: Lessons from COVID-19 and Recommendations for the Future from a Multidisciplinary Expert Panel, RAND Corporation (RR-A1836-1), 2022

Whitley MD, Herman PM, Aliyev G, Sherbourne C, Ryan GW, Coulter ID, "Income as a predictor of self-efficacy for managing pain and for coping with symptoms among patients with chronic low back pain," Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 44(6), 2021

Whitley MD, Ro A, Choi B, "Workplace breastfeeding support and job satisfaction among working mothers in the United States," American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 62(8), 2019

Whitley MD, Payán D, Williams M, Flórez K, Wong E, Branch C, Derose KP, "Feasibility and acceptability of a healthy living messaging program within a church-based intervention to promote healthy weight among African Americans and Latinos," Health Informatics Journal, 26(2), 2019

Herman PM, Whitley MD, Ryan GW, Hurwitz EL, Coulter ID, "The impact of patient preferences and costs on the appropriateness of spinal manipulation and mobilization for chronic low back pain and chronic neck pain," BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 20(1), 2019

Acosta, Joie D., Margaret D. Whitley, Linnea Warren May, Tamara Dubowitz, Malcolm V. Williams, and Anita Chandra, Stakeholder Perspectives on a Culture of Health: Key Findings, RAND Corporation (RR-1274-RWJ), 2016

Languages

Spanish

Publications

Journal Article
Building Bridges Toward Common Goals: A Call for Greater Collaboration Between Public Health and Integrative, Complementary and Traditional Health Providers
Diverse partnerships can be difficult to maintain, but the application of equitable processes may aid their success. In the face of highly complex public health challenges, partnerships with ICTHP are critical.
Sep 15, 2023
Journal Article
Barriers to the Engagement of Complementary and Integrative Health Providers in Public Health Responses to COVID-19: Recommendations From a Multidisciplinary Expert Panel
This project explored barriers to the involvement of complementary and integrative health providers in the public health response to COVID-19 and potential solutions for their future involvement in public health crises.
Jun 22, 2023
Journal Article
Modifying Text Messages from a Faith-Based Physical Activity Intervention with Latino Adults in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
The purpose of this article is to describe how we developed and implemented a physical activity text messaging component within a faith-based intervention.
Feb 3, 2023
Report
Incorporating Complementary and Integrative Health Providers in the Public Health Pandemic Response: Lessons from COVID-19 and Recommendations for the Future from a Multidisciplinary Expert Panel
Complementary and integrative health providers have been an underutilized public health asset in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This report seeks to inform how they can be better integrated into future responses to public health emergencies.
Feb 17, 2022
Research Brief
Chiropractors in the United States Rarely Perform Spinal Manipulation for Chronic Lower Back or Neck Pain When It Is Inappropriate
Across a sample of patients seen by chiropractors, spinal manipulation was rated by experts as appropriate for most patients with chronic lower back pain and as equivocal (uncertain) for most patients with chronic neck pain.
Mar 12, 2021
Journal Article
Income as a Predictor of Self-Efficacy for Managing Pain and for Coping With Symptoms Among Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain
The purpose of this study was to evaluate pain self-efficacy (PSE) and coping self-efficacy (CSE) for people with chronic low back pain, and to assess whether lower income may be associated with less PSE and CSE in the U.S.
2021
Journal Article
Feasibility and Acceptability of a Mobile Messaging Program Within a Church-Based Healthy Living Intervention for African Americans and Latinos
This study explores the feasibility of using text messaging to send healthy eating and active living messages to congregants from churches whose membership were predominantly AA or Latino that participated in an intervention to address obesity.
Oct 15, 2019
Journal Article
Clinical Scenarios for Which Spinal Mobilization and Manipulation Are Considered by an Expert Panel to Be Inappropriate (and Appropriate) for Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain
This study used the RUAM to determine the appropriateness of spinal mobilization and manipulation for different types of patients with CLBP, and the key patient characteristics associated with appropriateness.
Jun 10, 2019
Journal Article
Researching the Appropriateness of Care in the Complementary and Integrative Health Professions: Part I
In this series of articles, we describe how we gathered the varied and detailed data required to achieve the following study objectives: (1) to measure the appropriateness of M/M for CLBP and CCP and (2) to determine whether patient preferences and costs affect appropriateness, and further, whether appropriateness affects outcomes.
Jun 10, 2019
Journal Article
Researching the Appropriateness of Care in the Complementary and Integrative Health Professions: Part 2: What Every Researcher and Practitioner Should Know About the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and Practice-based Research in the United States
In this series of articles, we describe how we gathered the varied and detailed data required to achieve the following study objectives: (1) to measure the appropriateness of M/M for CLBP and CCP and (2) to determine whether patient preferences and costs affect appropriateness, and further, whether appropriateness affects outcomes.
Jun 10, 2019
Journal Article
Coping and Management Techniques Used by Chronic Low Back Pain Patients Receiving Treatment From Chiropractors
Persons with chronic back pain were proactive in their coping strategies and frequently used self-care coping strategies like those provided by chiropractors in patient education. In alignment with patients' beliefs that their condition was chronic and lifelong, many patients attempted a wide range of coping strategies to relieve their pain.
2019
Journal Article
Eat, Pray, Move: A Pilot Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of a Multilevel Church-Based Intervention to Address Obesity Among African Americans and Latinos
Implementing a multilevel intervention across diverse congregations resulted in small improvements in obesity outcomes. A longer time line is needed to fully implement and assess effects of community and congregation environmental strategies and to allow for potential larger impacts of the intervention.
2019
Journal Article
Researching the Appropriateness of Care in the Complementary and Integrative Health Professions: Part 4: Putting Practice Back Into Evidence-based Practice by Recruiting Clinics and Patients
This study found that clinics can be successfully recruited for practice-based studies, and patients can be recruited using iPads. Obtaining patient records presents considerable challenges, and clinics varied in whether they had electronic files, nonelectronic records, or a mixture.
2019
Journal Article
Researching the Appropriateness of Care in the Complementary and Integrative Health Professions: Part 3: Designing Instruments With Patient Input
This article documents the challenges and the efforts involved in designing data collection tools to facilitate the inclusion of patient data into appropriateness decisions.
2019
Report
Determining the Appropriateness of Spinal Manipulation and Mobilization for Chronic Low Back Pain: Indications and Ratings by a Multidisciplinary Expert Panel
This report describes the results and methodology of convened panels of back pain experts who met to discuss and rate appropriateness of 450 indications for spinal manipulation and mobilization for chronic low back pain.
Jul 24, 2018
Report
Determining the Appropriateness of Spinal Manipulation and Mobilization for Chronic Neck Pain: Indications and Ratings by a Multidisciplinary Expert Panel
This report describes the results and methodology of convened panels of neck pain experts who met to discuss and rate appropriateness of 186 indications for spinal manipulation and mobilization for chronic neck pain.
Jul 24, 2018
Journal Article
Retrospective Review of Comorbid Conditions in a Multidisciplinary Pediatric Weight Management Clinic
Multidisciplinary pediatric obesity clinics can help patients make healthy lifestyle choices.
Dec 7, 2017
Report
Stakeholder Perspectives on a Culture of Health: Key Findings
RAND engaged stakeholders to support development of an action framework and measurement strategy for Robert Wood Johnson's Culture of Health vision, in which "everyone in our diverse society leads healthier lives now and for generations to come."
Jan 14, 2016
Journal Article
Multidisciplinary Pediatric Obesity Clinic Via Telemedicine Within the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area: Lessons Learned
Telemedicine has been shown to be effective for rural populations, but little is reported on pediatric obesity care via telemedicine in urban settings.
Jul 28, 2015