I am actively involved in a range of projects dedicated to identifying and addressing the barriers to healthcare service access due to racial and economic disparities. Through my research, I have conducted several studies and published a series of articles that quantify the disparities in the usage of newer glucose-lowering medications and diabetes management, along with examining the racial/ethnic and economic factors associated with the gaps in health outcomes. Presently, I am working on a project led by my advisor, Dr. Hui Shao, which is funded by an R01 grant from NIDDK. This project aims to employ innovative machine learning techniques to inform precision public health strategies. These strategies are designed to reduce and eliminate barriers to accessing newer drug medications, with the ultimate goal of improving health disparities.
Li P, Zhang P, Guan D, Guo J, Zhang Y, Pavkov M, Bullard K, Shao H. Changes in racial and ethnic disparities in glucose-lowering drug utilization and HbA1c in US adults with diabetes: 2005-2018. Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism. doi: 10.1111/dom.14894
Shao H, Li P, Guo J, Fonseca V, Shi L, Zhang P. Socioeconomic Factors Play a More Important Role than Clinical Needs in the Use of SGLT2 Inhibitors and GLP-1 Receptor Agonists in People With Type 2 Diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2022;45(2):e32-e33. doi:10.2337/dc21-1800
Li P, Zhang P, Tang S, et al. 951-P: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Diabetes Management, Hospitalization Risk, and Physical Health Status Associated with Cognitive Impairment among Older Adults with Diabetes. The American Diabetes Association 82nd Conference. June 3-7, 2022. Diabetes. 2022;71(Supplement_1):951-P. doi:10.2337/db22-951-P
I have led several applied methodology research projects in epidemiology and outcomes research, which can facilitate the utilization of electronic health records (EHR). My initial contribution was the development of an automated computable phenotype for identifying diabetes cases in children and adolescents using EHR data. Building on this, I also devised a novel method based on health system penetration rates to estimate the prevalence of type 1 diabetes in these populations by utilizing EHR. This method boasts high generalizability, facilitating the use of EHR data in epidemiological studies and expanding the capacity for disease surveillance and the monitoring of health trends across various geographic regions by real-world data.
Li P, Zhang P, Guan D, Guo J, Zhang Y, Pavkov M, Bullard K, Shao H. Changes in racial and ethnic disparities in glucose-lowering drug utilization and HbA1c in US adults with diabetes: 2005-2018. Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism. doi: 10.1111/dom.14894
Shao H, Li P, Guo J, Fonseca V, Shi L, Zhang P. Socioeconomic Factors Play a More Important Role than Clinical Needs in the Use of SGLT2 Inhibitors and GLP-1 Receptor Agonists in People With Type 2 Diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2022;45(2):e32-e33. doi:10.2337/dc21-1800
Li P, Zhang P, Tang S, et al. 951-P: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Diabetes Management, Hospitalization Risk, and Physical Health Status Associated with Cognitive Impairment among Older Adults with Diabetes. The American Diabetes Association 82nd Conference. June 3-7, 2022. Diabetes. 2022;71(Supplement_1):951-P. doi:10.2337/db22-951-P
I have participated in a variety of projects centered on economic evaluations. In particular, my work has included several cost-effectiveness analyses, where I compared newer glucose-lowering drugs like GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP1-RA) and SGLT2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) to traditional glucose-lowering drug classes. I employed the first US-based patient-level microsimulation BRAVO model in these projects, and systematically acquired expertise in developing simulation models.
Li P, Guan D, Ali MK, et al. 1006-P: Distributional Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists (GLP-1 RA) and Tirzepatide Compared with Sulfonylureas (SU) in People with Inadequately Controlled Type 2 Diabetes (T2D). Diabetes. 2023;72(Supplement_1):1006-P. doi:10.2337/db23-1006-P
Li P, Patel R, Guo J, et al. The diminishing cost-effectiveness of the newer glucose-lowering drug classes in the United States: 2010–2018. Curr Med Res Opin. 2021;37(11):1875-1880. doi:10.1080/03007995.2021.1971181
Ahmed MM, Li P, Meece LE, Bian J, Shao H. A varied approach to left ventricular assist device follow-up improves cost-effectiveness. Curr Med Res Opin. 2021;37(9):1501-1505. doi:10.1080/03007995.2021.1948395.
Shao H, Kianmehr H, Guo J, Li P, Fonseca V, Shi L. Efficacy of iGlarLixi on 5-year risk of diabetes-related complications: A simulation study. J Diabetes Complications. 2022;36(3):108132. doi:10.1016/j.jdiacomp.2022.108132