Assistant Professor
Health Behavior 212 Adriance Lab Rd. 1266 TAMU College Station, TX 77843-1266 chrisowens@tamu.edu Phone: 979.436.9769 Google Scholar ProfileScholars@TAMU ProfileORCID
Dr. Owens (he/him/his) is a health behavior scientist with specific training and expertise in rural HIV prevention and care, rural LGBTQ adolescent and adult health, and LGBTQ adolescent HIV prevention. His research takes a socioecological perspective where he examines how intrapersonal (e.g., attitudes, skills), interpersonal (e.g., parents, primary care providers, mental health providers), organizational (e.g., health care organizations and systems), and communal (e.g., culture, policies) factors influence the health promotion and health disparities of rural HIV outcomes and rural LGBTQ health outcomes. He is particularly interested in HIV prevention, HIV care, depression and anxiety, and loneliness and social connection outcomes among LGBTQ adolescent and adult populations living in rural areas. In addition to taking a socioecological perspective, Dr. Owens has training and is interested in implementation science, where he investigates how health care organizations and providers can better adopt, implement, and sustain HIV preventive and care evidence-based practices. Dr. Owens has training in mixed method and qualitative study designs.