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Title
Assistant Professor
Area of Study/Expertise
Pharmacoepidemiology, Health Services Research, Mental Health, Substance Use Disorders, Pediatrics, Adolescents
Office Location
Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research
Email
greta.bushnell@rutgers.edu

Greta Bushnell, PhD, MSPH

Core Faculty

About

Greta Bushnell is a pharmacoepidemiologist focused on studying the use, effectiveness, and safety of pharmaceuticals prescribed to treat mental illnesses in young people. Dr. Bushnell joined Rutgers in 2020, is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology with the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the Rutgers School of Public Health, and is a core member of PETS. She earned her PhD and MSPH in Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she focused in pharmacoepidemiology. Dr. Bushnell then held a postdoctoral fellowship with the Psychiatric Epidemiology Training program at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Broadly, Dr. Bushnell’s research focuses in the areas of psychiatric and pediatric pharmacoepidemiology; she aims to improve treatment and outcomes in young people with mental illnesses and substance use disorders through informing clinical treatment decisions, policy, and interventions. Most recently, her research has focused on the use and safety of benzodiazepines in youth. Dr. Bushnell’s research has been published in JAMA Psychiatry, Pediatrics, JAACAP, Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety, and elsewhere and her research has been supported by the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Research Profile
Pharmacoepidemiology, Health Services Research, Mental Health, Substance Use Disorders, Pediatrics, Adolescents

Select Publications

  1. Bushnell GA, Crystal S, Olfson M. Trends in antipsychotic treatment of young, privately insured children. Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 2021;60(7):877-886. PMC8055725.
  2. Bushnell GA, Gerhard T, Crystal S, Olfson M. Benzodiazepine treatment and fracture risk in young persons with anxiety disorders. Pediatrics. 2020;146(1):e20193478. PMC7329250.
  3. Bushnell GA, Stürmer T, Gaynes BN, Pate V, Miller M. Simultaneous antidepressant and benzodiazepine new use and subsequent long-term benzodiazepine use in adults with depression, United States, 2001-2014. JAMA Psychiatry. 2017;74(7):747-755. PMC5710248.
  4. Bushnell GA, Stürmer T, Mack C, Pate V, Miller M. Who diagnosed and prescribed what? Using provider details to inform observational research. Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety. 2018;27(12):1422-1426. PMC6407693.
  5. Raman SR and Man KKC, Bahmanyar S, Berard A, Bilder S, Boukhris T, Bushnell G, Crystal S, Furu K, KaoYang YH, Karlstad Ø, Kieler H, Kubota K, Lai EC, Martikainen JE, Maura G, Moore N, Montero D, Nakamura H, Neumann A, Pate V, Pottegård A, Pratt NL, Roughead EE, Saint-Gerons DM, Stürmer T, Su C, Zoega H, Sturkenbroom M, Chan EW, Coghill D, Ip P, Wong ICK. Trends in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder medication use: a retrospective observational study using population-based databases. Lancet Psychiatry. 2018;5(10):824-835. PMID: 30220514.
  6. Bushnell GA, Brookhart MA, Gaynes BN, Compton SN, Dusetzina SB, Stürmer T. Examining parental medication adherence as a predictor of child SSRI adherence in pediatric anxiety. Medical Care. 2018;56(6):510-519. PMC5945329.

Grants

March 2021 – February 2026
Benzodiazepine-related harms in young people: Informing policy, interventions, and prescribing
NIH/NIDA (1K01DA050769-01A1)
Principal Investigator

January 2016 – August 2017
Pediatric anxiety: Pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy utilization and serious adverse outcomes
NIH/NIMH (F31MH107085)
Principal Investigator