Annette Totten - Health Policy and Management

Annette Totten was well-aware of the holes that existed in the nation’s long-term care system when she came to the School of Public Health. In high school and college, she had worked in a nursing home as a nurse’s aide. While working toward her Ph.D. in Health Services Research and Policy (HSRP), she had a personal experience with this public health problem. During her time in the program, her husband’s parents died. Both were in their 80s. 

“There were issues with the quality of their care.  Basic things—things I thought everybody knew that should have happened didn’t happen,” she says.

After getting a bachelor’s degree in international studies, a master’s degree in modern language, and master’s degree in pubic administration, Totten began building a foundation for change. She acquired extensive experience as a researcher in gerontology and health care issues at universities and other organizations. 

Totten thought HSRP’s heavy emphasis on research methods would help take her work to the next level. She was right. In August 2004, Totten completed her Ph.D. In April 2005, she became director of the Center for the Study on Aging at Boise State University. She now oversees a research program that promotes the well-being of the aging population in Idaho. Totten’s position requires her to apply the research methods and other specialized skills she honed at the SPH.

“I don’t pretend all policy is made because of research or data. But at least if policy makers have the research data and know a problem exists, there is a chance for change,” she says.