My research in economic geography focuses on the restructuring of service industries, especially health care, in the United States. Projects in this area include the evaluation of organizational changes in health care sectors, as well as the impacts that these changes have had on the availability of and access to health care.

Changes in health care delivery, particularly the shift from hospital-based inpatient care to clinic-based ambulatory care, have also led to increases in the role of home-based and family-provided care. My research also examines these impacts, as the services traditionally provided by health care professionals in health care facilities are relocated to the home site, with care tasks performed by visiting health workers or by unpaid family members. The methodological approaches of these projects include qualitative research methods and GIS-based assessments. In addition to my work in Geography, I am also involved in interdisciplinary research teams with colleagues at the University of Iowa in the College of Nursing and the College of Public Health.

Office hours

• Mondays from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• Wednesdays from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Research interest

• Economic geography

Courses

• 44:112 GIS: Urban, Social, and Economic Applications
• 44:132 Geography of Contemporary Europe
• 44:150 Senior Project Seminar
• 44:232 Topics in Economic Geography
• 44:297 Special Topics: Qualitative Research Methodologies

Graduate advisees

• Jane Moeckli - PhD Candidate (ABD)
• Barton Cramer
• Malini De
• Hong Yang

Grants and funding

• Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, University of Iowa, Interdisciplinary Research Grant. Project title: Revealing the Unseen Economy: Articulating and Valuing Unpaid Contributions to Care. Investigators: Claire Pavlik, Rose Marie Friedrich (Nursing), Sheila McGinnis (College of Public Health). Support received for Summer 2000. Total funded amount: $15,000
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Project title: Care access, drug effects, aging and mobility disability. Principal Investigators: Elizabeth Chrischelles, Robert Wallace; Investigators: Don Van Dyke, Claire Pavlik, Jon Lemke (all other investigators are in the College of Public Health, University of Iowa). Project length: 3 years. Total funded amount requested for the project period: $1,079,02

Selected publications