SINAI Urban Health Institute

Maureen Benjamins, PhD

Professional Summary
Maureen R. Benjamins joined the Sinai Urban Health Institute in 2005 to evaluate data from the Jewish Community Health Survey. Based on the findings from that survey, she developed and implemented a five-year, multi-component obesity prevention program for the Jewish school system in Chicago. She recently co-authored a book, Urban Health: Combating Disparities with Local Data, with Steve Whitman and Ami Shah that describes this initiative and others.  Urban Health was published by Oxford University Press in 2010.

More generally, Dr. Benjamins’ research interests pertain to the influence of social factors, such as religion, race, and ethnicity, on health care utilization and physical health outcomes.   She is currently working on a project to understand the impact of discrimination on cancer screening behavior using SUHI's Improving Community Health Survey.  Other current projects include examining the influence of religious congregations on individual preventive service use and investigating race/ethnic differences in self-rated health in Chicago.

Education
Postdoctoral Fellow in Gerontological Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2005
Ph.D., Sociology, The University of Texas at Austin, 2004
M.A., Sociology, The University of Texas at Austin, 2001
B.A., Sociology, Duke University, 1998

Current C.V.

Select Publications:

• Greil, Arthur, Julia McQuillan, Maureen Benjamins, David R. Johnson, Katherine M. Johnson, and Chelsea Heinz. Dissecting the Effects of Religiosity on Medical Helpseeking: The Case of Infertility. Social Science and Medicine, 71: 734-742
• Whitman, S. Shah, A. Benjamins, M. Urban Health: Combating Disparities with Local Data Oxford University Press, 2010.
• Benjamins, MR and Whitman S. A Culturally Appropriate School Wellness Initiative: Results of a 2-Year Pilot Intervention in 2 Jewish Schools Journal of School Health 2010;80(8):378-386.
• Benjamins, MR & Buck, AC. Religion: A Sociocultural Predictor of Health Behaviors in Mexico. Journal of Aging and Health 2008;20(3) 290-305.
• Benjamins, Maureen R. and Marcia Finlayson. Religious Service Use in a Sample of Middle-Aged and Older Adults with Multiple Sclerosis. Journal of Aging and Health, 19(3): 537-553, 2007.
• Benjamins, Maureen R., Dana M. Rhodes, Joel M. Carp, and Steven Whitman. Conducting and Responding to a Jewish Community Health Survey: Rationale, Results, and Advice. Journal of Jewish Communal Service. 2007; 82:83-95.
• Benjamins, Maureen R. Predictors of Preventive Health Care Use Among Middle-aged and Older Adults in Mexico: The Role of Religion. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology. 2007; 22: 221-234.
• Benjamins MR, Rhodes DM, Carp JM, Whitman S. A Local Community Health Survey: Findings from a Population-Based Survey of the Largest Jewish Community of Chicago. Journal of Community Health 2006; 31(6):479-95.
• Benjamins M, Rhodes DM, Carp JM, Whitman S. Report of the Findings of the Jewish Community Health Survey: Final Report. Chicago, Illinois: Sinai Urban Health Institute, 2006.
• Benjamins MR. Religious Influences on Preventive Health Care Use in a Nationally Representative Sample of Middle Age Women. Journal of Behavioral Medicine. 2006; 29(1): 1-16.
• Benjamins MR. Religious Influences on Trust in Physicians and the Health Care System. International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine. 2006; 36(1): 69-83.
• Benjamins MR, Trinitapoli JA, Ellison CG. Religous Attendance, Health Maintenance Beliefs, and Mammography Utilization: Findings from a Nationwide Survey of Presbyterian Women. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 2006; 45(4): 597-607.
• Benjamins MR. Does Religion Influence Patient Satisfaction? American Journal of Health Behavior. 2006; 30(1): 85-91.
• Ellison, CG; Lee, JW; Benjamins, MR; Krause, NM; Ryan, DN; and Marcum, JP. Congregational Support Networks, Health Beliefs, and Annual Medical Exams: Findings from a National Sample of Presbyterians. Review of Religious Research 2008, vol 50(2): 176-193.