An internationally experienced researcher in the field of health economics, Aaron Blaakman has conducted numerous studies in the areas of cost analysis as it relates to family and the community.

Global Researcher in Health Economics
Aaron Beaston-Blaakman currently serves as a health economics and financing research consultant and is based in Cary, North Carolina. Prior to his independent consulting work, he served as a Scientist in Health Economics at Family Health International in Durham, NC. He held this position from 2005-2008. While at FHI, Aaron Beaston-Blaakman served as principal investigator for a study on “Conceptual and Empirical Analysis of Cost Analysis Methodologies in Substance Abuse Treatment,” which was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse through a $154,000 grant.

Aaron Blaakman’s pursuit of knowledge has led him all over Africa and Asia, to such countries as Botswana, Bulgaria, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Mali, Mongolia, Rwanda, Samoa, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia. Accordingly, many of Aaron Beaston-Blaakman’s cost analysis research projects have been set in Africa and Asia.

• Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Peer Education in Zambia (Youthnet)
• Cost Analysis of Health Care Service Packages in Rwandan Health Centers and Hospitals (with Intrahealth/RTI)
• Cost Analysis of PMTCT Best Practices in South Africa
• Cost Analysis of Family Planning and VCT Integration in Kenya
• Cost Analysis of IUD Scaling Up in Uganda (with Engenderhealth)
• Economic Evaluation of Systematic Screening in Senegal (Frontiers/Population Council)
• Development of a Community Based Health Insurance Program in rural Guinea (Frontiers/Population Council)
• Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Community Based Distribution Practices in Mali (with Save the Children)
• Economic Evaluation of the “Young Men As Equal Partners Project” in Uganda and Kenya

Service At Brandeis University
From 1998 to 2005, Aaron Beaston-Blaakman worked for Brandeis University’s Schneider Institute for Health Policy, and the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. There, Aaron Beaston-Blaakman served as a research associate focusing on Cost and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis and on Substance Abuse and International Health.

During his time with Brandeis, Aaron Blaakman worked on a variety of research initiatives. Among them:

• A Conceptual and Empirical Analysis of Cost Analysis Methodologies in Substance Abuse Treatment, supported by NIDA
• Treatment Costs and Organizational Monitoring, Texas Christian University,
supported by NIDA
• Treatment Needs: Research and Evaluation Specialists, supported by the Massachusetts Bureau of Substance Abuse Services
• Extended Telephone Monitoring for Alcoholics with University of Pennsylvania,
supported by NIAAA
• Cost-effectiveness of dietary interventions to reduce AIDS wasting, supported by NIDDK

In addition to his Brandeis research, Aaron Beaston-Blaakman has participated in a variety of external research projects on cost and financial analysis. Some of the recent projects he has been involved with include:
• Cost Methods Consultant, Texas Christian University, Center for Behavioral Health, Fort Worth, Texas
• Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Consultant, Family First Project, National Development and Research Institutes, New York
• Economic Analysis Advisor, University of North Carolina, School of Medicine, North Carolina Disaster Management Project

From 1997 to 1998, Aaron Beaston-Blaakman served as program evaluation director for Charles River Health Management, in Boston.

Teaching At Tufts, Dakar And Brandeis
Aaron Blaakman has also taught at a number of prestigious universities. From 1998 to 2000, Aaron Beaston-Blaakman’s professorial duties included Adjunct Professor Health Policy, Tufts University, Experimental College, Medford, Mass.; Adjunct Lecturer in Cost-Effectiveness Analysis, Centre D’Etudes Supérieurs en Gestion, Dakar, Sénégal; Instructor, Brandeis University, Sustainable International Development Program; and Adjunct Lecturer, Emmanuel College, Healthcare Administration Program, Boston.

A Background In Social Work
In the early 1990s, Aaron Beaston-Blaakman gained experience in social work by serving as Sociotherapist/Recreation Therapist, for the Hillside Children’s
Center in Rochester, N.Y. Aaron Beaston-Blaakman also served as a Social Worker, for the Hillside Children’s Center, Juvenile Justice Services, Hillside Children’s Center, Rochester; and as Program Assistant for Dads and Children Together, Hillside Children’s Center, Rochester.

Has Contributed To Many Published Works
As well as research projects and teaching, Aaron Beaston-Blaakman’s work has been published in many scholarly journals. A selected bibliography of recently published articles includes:

Reynolds, H., Toroitich-Ruto, C., Nasution, M., Beaston-Blaakman, A., Janowitz, B., Effectiveness of training supervisors to improve reproductive health quality of care: a cluster-randomized trial in Kenya. Health Policy Plan. 2008 23: 56-66

Beaston-Blaakman, A.. Book review: Richard G. Frank and Sherry A. Glied "Better But Not Well: Mental Health Policy In The United States Since 1950", Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006. J Ment Health Policy Econ. 2007 Sep;10(3):153-4

Beaston-Blaakman A., Shepard DS, Stone N, Shevitz AH. Cost-effectiveness of clinical interventions for AIDS wasting. AIDS Care. Sep;19(8):996-1001, 2007

Beaston-Blaakman, A., Shepard, D., Horgan, C., and Ritter, G. Organizational and Client Determinants of Cost in Outpatient Substance Abuse Treatment, J Ment Health Policy Econ (1):3-13, 2007

Education And Awards
Aaron Beaston-Blaakman holds a PhD in Social Policy from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University. Prior to that he earned an MA in Social Policy, also from the Heller School at Brandeis. Earlier, he earned an MPA from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University; and an MSW from the School of Social Work, Syracuse University. Fluent in French, he has done graduate course work in the French language, at New York University in Paris.
Aaron Beaston-Blaakman has been honored during his career as a University Fellow, Syracuse University, Academic Year 1995-1996. Also in 1996, he won the Masters Prize, Syracuse University, School of Social Work, Convocation. A year earlier, during work in Seoul, S. Korea, he was honored with the Mark and Pearle Clements Intern Scholar award.

Aaron Beaston-Blaakman resides in Cary, N.C.

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