Rachel Cunningham, MPH
Phone:
832-824-2010
Languages: English
Office location:
1102 Bates Avenue
Houston, TX 77030
Get to know Rachel Cunningham, MPH
Rachel M. Cunningham, MPH is a public health professional who has been with Texas Children's Hospital since 2007. Ms. Cunningham's research focus and expertise is on parental vaccine hesitancy and the HPV vaccine. Her educational expertise is focused on parental vaccine hesitancy, clinical best practices and vaccine-preventable diseases. She is the primary author of Vaccine-Preventable Disease: The Forgotten Story and all associated materials including Vaccine-Preventable Disease: Measles and Vaccine-Preventable Disease: Human Papillomavirus. More than 200,000 copies of the Vaccine-Preventable Disease books have been distributed. Ms. Cunningham is an expert on immunization registries, ImmTrac2 and vaccine reporting. She is also the mother of three fully vaccinated children.
Personal Statement
After nearly two decades of experience in vaccine research and education, I am deeply passionate about the importance of vaccines in safeguarding public health. I am committed to and trust the science, including the overwhelming evidence demonstrating the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. I enjoy talking to parents about why timely vaccination is critical to protect the health of children, both in our community and across the globe.
Education
| School | Education | Degree | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| The University of Texas Health Science Center | Masters | Master of Public Health | 2009 |
| Oral Roberts University | Bachelors | Bachelor of Science in Biology | 2004 |
* Texas Children’s Hospital physicians’ licenses and credentials are reviewed prior to practicing at any of our facilities. Sections titled From the Doctor, Professional Organizations and Publications were provided by the physician’s office and were not verified by Texas Children’s Hospital.
Highlights
Lin T, Grams JC, Cunningham RM, Sahni LC, Boom JA. Embracing Professionalism to Cultivate Vaccine Positivity and Reduce Vaccine Hesitancy. Pediatric Annual, 2024 Dec; 53(12): e465-e472. doi: 10.3928/19382359-20241003-08. Epub 2024 Dec 1. PMID: 39653340
Cunningham RM, Guffey D, Minard CG, Opel DJ, Boom JA. The effect of screening for vaccine hesitancy on the subsequent development of hesitancy: a randomized controlled trial, Houston, TX. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutic, 2021 Jul 3; 17(7): 1994-2000. doi: 10.1080/21645515.2020.1859320. Epub 2021 Jan 26. PMID: 33499719; PMCID: PMC8189112
Cunningham RM, Kerr GB, Orobio J, Munoz FM, Correa A, Villafranco N, Monterrey AC, Opel DJ, Boom JA. Development of a Spanish version of the parent attitudes about childhood vaccines survey. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutic, 2019;1 5(5): 1106-1110. doi: 10.1080/21645515.2019.1578599. Epub 2019 Mar 27. PMID: 30735475; PMCID: PMC6605824
Bratic JS, Cunningham RM, Belleza-Bascon B, Watson SK, Guffey D, Boom JA. Longitudinal Evaluation of Clinical Decision Support to Improve Influenza Vaccine Uptake in an Integrated Pediatric Health Care Delivery System, Houston, Texas. Applied Clinical Informatics, 2019 Oct; 10(5): 944-951. doi: 10.1055/s-0039-3400748. Epub 2019 Dec 11. PMID: 31860114; PMCID: PMC6924327
Cunningham RM, Minard CG, Guffey D, Swaim LS, Opel DJ, Boom JA. Prevalence of Vaccine Hesitancy Among Expectant Mothers in Houston, Texas. Academic Pediatrics, 2018 Mar; 18(2): 154-160. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2017.08.003. Epub 2017 Aug 4. PMID: 28826731
Cunningham RM, Sahni LC, Kerr GB, King LL, Bunker NA, Boom JA. The Texas Children's Hospital immunization forecaster: conceptualization to implementation. American Journal of Public Health, 2014 Dec; 104 (12): e65-71. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2014.302230. Epub 2014 Oct 16. PMID: 25320898; PMCID: PMC4232151
Cunningham RM, Boom JA. Telling stories of vaccine-preventable diseases: why it works. South Dakota Journal of Medicine, 2013; Spec no: 21-6. PMID: 23444587