Dr. Anjali Niyogi
Clinical Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine & Pediatrics, Co-Director, RIGHT program (Resident Initiative in Global Health at Tulane), Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Tropical Medicine
Areas of Expertise
Biography
Dr. Anjali Niyogi earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Texas in Austin and completed her MD/MPH from Tulane University School of Medicine. She remained at Tulane as a resident and Chief Resident in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. Following residency, she received the Piper Fellowship in International Medicine and spent significant time in rural India training community health workers, practicing primary care, and conducting community-based research in pediatric malnutrition.
During Katrina, she developed ad-hoc clinics throughout the city, and advocated for the expansion of clinics away from the centralized MCLNO model to community-based clinics. One of the clinics started at that time (Covenant House) later served as a primary care site for internal medicine and pediatric residents.
She is a hospitalist at University Hospital and teaches medical students and residents. She is a trained member of the Physician for Human Rights’ (PHR) Asylum Network and conducts evaluations for asylum seekers in Louisiana and the Gulf Coast. She is the faculty advisor for the Tulane chapter of PHR and the medical director for the student run clinic at the Ozanam Inn homeless shelter.
Dr. Niyogi has worked in Ghana developing and teaching in-service trainings in basic emergency care for mid-level providers in district hospitals. She is a past Yale/Stanford Johnson and Johnson Global Health Scholar at Makerere Hospital in Kampala, Uganda. She also has clinical experience in Jamaica, Romania, and Ethiopia.
Dr. Niyogi is one of the founders and co-directors of the Resident Initiative in Global Health at Tulane (http://tulane.edu/som/right/index.cfm) and is the Tulane program director for the newly established Tulane-St. Paul’s Pediatric Residency Program in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Education
Tulane University School of Medicine
Tulane University School of Medicine
Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
Links
Articles
Promoting Health Equity and Criminal Justice Reform: The Louisiana Experience
2020
Currently, 2.3 million people are incarcerated in the United States, and people of color are disproportionately represented.1 Incarcerated people face significant health disparities, including higher rates of chronic diseases, infectious diseases, addiction, and mental illness compared with the general population.2,3 Until 2018, Louisiana led the world in incarceration rates, and it remains the least healthy state in the nation. Despite this, we have made progress. We, a Louisiana-based group of medical and public health practitioners, advocates, and lawyers, provide examples of successful, cross-disciplinary, grassroots efforts to reduce incarceration and improve health. We also provide recommendations to further work in this area.
Lessons on Patient and Stakeholder Engagement Strategies for Pipeline to Proposal Awards
2018
The Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) supports patient-centered clinical comparative effectiveness research (CER) including health disparities and engagement portfolios. In 2013, PCORI launched the Pipeline to Proposal (P2P) mechanism to support development of novel patient- and stakeholder-centered partnerships focused on designing clinical CER funding proposals. By providing a tiered structure of successive small contracts and technical assistance, the P2P mechanism encourages development of new research partnerships among diverse stakeholders. As a comparatively new field, patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR) has few well-delineated methods for engaging patients and other non-scientists in effective teams with academics or clinicians to develop and implement rigorous, scientific research proposals. Community partnered participatory research (CPPR) provides a useful framework for structuring new partnerships.
Bringing it all back home: Understanding the medical difficulties encountered by newly released prisoners in New Orleans, Louisiana – a qualitative study
2017
Formerly incarcerated persons (FIPs) face a disproportionate risk of death and serious illness in the immediate post‐release period. Therefore, it is a critical time to initiate community‐based care for chronic illnesses and behavioural disorders. Little is known about the unique transitional health and social support needs of FIPs in Louisiana, which has the highest incarceration rate in the world. As the average age of prisoners in the United States rises, the release of older prisoners with chronic conditions will become increasingly common. The aim of this study was to explore the healthcare experiences of FIPs in Louisiana in order to inform delivery of services tailored to this population. This research was done in partnership with a community organisation that advocates for restoration of voting rights to FIPs and helps newly released individuals transition back into society. This organisation identified FIPs in the Greater New Orleans area, and from January to May 2015, we conducted 24 semi‐structured, in‐person, audio‐recorded interviews at the community organisation's transitional living facility. The interviews assessed FIPs' experiences with and barriers to receiving healthcare during and after incarceration. These discussions also explored FIPs' desires for services and attitudes towards health and healthcare. Interviews were transcribed and independently coded by two researchers. Interviewees reported negative experiences with healthcare during incarceration, and limited health guidance during the pre‐release process. Post‐release concerns included lack of insurance, difficulty accessing care and medication, and interest in learning about healthy lifestyles. Results suggest a need for a formalised system of transitional healthcare for FIPs. Findings are being used to inform a pilot transitional care clinic in New Orleans, Louisiana.
From the Prison to the Clinic: Creating the FIT (Formerly Incarcerated Transitions) Clinic in New Orleans
2016
Louisiana has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Over half of formerly incarcerated persons (FIPs) in the state return to the Greater New Orleans area. FIPs have high rates of chronic conditions but minimal linkages to healthcare following release. These individuals face a disproportionate risk of death and serious illness in the immediate post-release period, making it a critical time to implement relevant, community-based, transitional healthcare for those returning home. Methods: An academic medical center partnered with a community organization to identify and interview FIPs in New Orleans about their health care needs. Based on interview results, we collaborated to develop the Formerly Incarcerated Transitions (FIT) clinic within an existing Federally Qualified Health Center. The model includes primary care, case management by medical students, and health education. Results: We have developed a pre-release referral protocol for the Louisiana Department of Corrections, created a leadership model for medical-student led case management teams; generated a health education curriculum for both within and outside prisons; and established referral networks with other community partners working with FIPs. Conclusions: Through government, academic and community collaborations, we have established the first transitional healthcare clinic for formerly incarcerated persons returning home to the Greater New Orleans area. In addition, we provide a practical, hands-on experience for medical students to learn how social determinants of health influence healthcare for a vulnerable population.
In-service training of physician assistants in acute care in Ghana: Challenges, successes, and lessons learned
2015
To meet the greater demand for skilled personnel in Emergency Medicine (EM) in Ghana, the authors developed an in-service course in basic acute care for Physician Assistants (PAs) working in district hospitals.
Media Appearances
Louisiana tried to help prisoners fight opioid addiction. Here’s why doctors objected
Dr. Anjali Niyogi, who directs Tulane University’s Formerly Incarcerated Transitions Clinic in New Orleans, said the BioCorRx program at the Angola prison amounted to a clinical trial. As such, it should have been monitored to ensure subjects signed up without coercion and had a full understanding of the risks and rules of their participation, as well as measures in place to minimize those risks and ensure their privacy, she said.
Three New Orleans groups awarded grants to fight HIV in 2020. Here's how they plan to use them.
Dr. Anjali Niyogi directs The Formerly Incarcerated Transitions Clinic, which helps people access health care after they’ve been released from jail or prison. She will help develop 504HealthNet’s training curriculum for doctors, social workers, nurses, front desk staff and leaders, with the goal of having a more “culturally competent” staff, Netters said.
Death on the installment plan
Dr. Anjali Niyogi, who directs a transition clinic for the recently incarcerated in New Orleans and treats current Angola prisoners as a physician at University Medical Center, has a different perspective. “We do see a lot of delayed care coming out of Angola,” she tells In These Times. “People who probably should have been seen honestly, years or months earlier.”
Doing Double Time: Chronic Diseases a Chronic Problem in Prisons
This is a challenge for Dr. Anjali Niyogi, who opened the Formerly Incarcerated Transition Clinic in New Orleans about a year ago. FIT is a federally qualified health center, which means it receives federal grant money and reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid. Niyogi set up the clinic to serve the particular needs of the formerly incarcerated; everyone she sees has recently been released from prison. After talking with her patients, she has come to observe that most received a diagnosis for their chronic health condition while incarcerated.
