Maria Chao, DrPH, MPA
Professor
Medicine
School of Medicine

Dr. Chao’s overarching goal is to investigate how complementary and integrative health approaches can advance health equity and improve quality of life among underserved populations living with chronic conditions. Her recent studies aim to: (1) rigorously test integrative approaches to address the under-treatment of pain in diverse patient populations; and (2) apply implementation science to broaden access to evidence-based integrative medicine. Her work has received funding support through the NIH National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, and numerous foundations.

• Integrative Nutritional Counseling Combining Chinese Medicine and Biomedicine for Chinese Americans with Type 2 Diabetes: A Mixed-Methods Feasibility Study.
  Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) 2021 Ho EY, Leung G, Chao MT, Chan D, Hsieh E, Pritzker S, Chi HL, Huang S, Ruan Q, Seligman HK
• Adaptations to Acupuncture and Pain Counseling Implementation in a Multisite Pragmatic Randomized Clinical Trial.
  Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) 2021 Ho EY, Thompson-Lastad A, Lam R, Zhang X, Thompson N, Chao MT
• Corrigendum: Toward a Compassionate Intersectional Neuroscience: Increasing Diversity and Equity in Contemplative Neuroscience.
  Frontiers in psychology 2021 Weng HY, Ikeda MP, Lewis-Peacock JA, Chao MT, Fullwiley D, Goldman V, Skinner S, Duncan LG, Gazzaley A, Hecht FM
• Toward a Compassionate Intersectional Neuroscience: Increasing Diversity and Equity in Contemplative Neuroscience.
  Frontiers in psychology 2020 Weng HY, Ikeda MP, Lewis-Peacock JA, Chao MT, Fullwiley D, Goldman V, Skinner S, Duncan LG, Gazzaley A, Hecht FM
• Pilot Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of Integrative Nutritional Counseling Versus Standard Diabetes Self-Management Education for Chinese Americans with Type 2 Diabetes.
  Health equity 2020 Ho EY, Pak S, Leung G, Xu S, Yu CK, Hecht FM, Jih J, Chao MT
• Focus on the Breath: Brain Decoding Reveals Internal States of Attention During Meditation.
  Frontiers in human neuroscience 2020 Weng HY, Lewis-Peacock JA, Hecht FM, Uncapher MR, Ziegler DA, Farb NAS, Goldman V, Skinner S, Duncan LG, Chao MT, Gazzaley A
• "It Gave Me Hope" Experiences of Diverse Safety Net Patients in a Group Acupuncture Intervention for Painful Diabetic Neuropathy.
  Health equity 2020 Liu R, Santana T, Schillinger D, Hecht FM, Chao MT
• A Randomized Clinical Trial of Group Acupuncture for Painful Diabetic Neuropathy Among Diverse Safety Net Patients.
  Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) 2019 Chao MT, Schillinger D, Nguyen U, Santana T, Liu R, Gregorich S, Hecht FM
• Acupuncture Augmentation of Lidocaine for Provoked, Localized Vulvodynia: A Feasibility and Acceptability Study.
  Journal of lower genital tract disease 2019 Hullender Rubin LE, Mist SD, Schnyer RN, Chao MT, Leclair CM
• Improving Access to Integrative Oncology Through Group Medical Visits: A Pilot Implementation Project.
  Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) 2019 Thompson-Lastad A, Atreya CE, Chao MT, Pollak C, Dhruva A, Santana T, Abrams DI
• Improving Access, Integration, and Sustainability: A Reflective Overview of the Special Issue on Innovation in Group-Delivered Services.
  Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) 2019 Gardiner P, Chao M, Burnett M
• Patient-Reported Outcomes of an Integrative Pain Management Program Implemented in a Primary Care Safety Net Clinic: a Quasi-experimental Study.
  Journal of general internal medicine 2019 Chao MT, Hurstak E, Leonoudakis-Watts K, Sidders F, Pace J, Hammer H, Wismer B
• Vulnerable Patients' Psychosocial Experiences in a Group-Based, Integrative Pain Management Program.
  Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) 2019 Bruns EB, Befus D, Wismer B, Knight K, Adler SR, Leonoudakis-Watts K, Thompson-Lastad A, Chao MT
• Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of an Integrative Pain Management Program in a Primary Care Safety-Net Clinic.
  Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) 2019 Hurstak E, Chao MT, Leonoudakis-Watts K, Pace J, Walcer B, Wismer B
• Improving Usability of Electronic Health Records for Whole Systems Integrative Medicine Practitioners.
  Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) 2019 Ye H, Bowden D, Ashby J, Toveg M, Reddy S, Chao MT
• Implementing an Inpatient Acupuncture Service for Pain and Symptom Management: Identifying Opportunities and Challenges.
  Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) 2019 Harrison JD, Reddy S, Liu R, Adler SR, Chao MT
• Integrative Group Medical Visits: A National Scoping Survey of Safety-Net Clinics.
  Health equity 2019 Thompson-Lastad A, Gardiner P, Chao MT
• Focus on the breath: Brain decoding reveals internal states of attention during meditation.
  bioRxiv 2018 Helen Y Weng, Jarrod A Lewis-Peacock, Frederick M Hecht, Melina Uncapher, David Ziegler, Norman AS Farb, Veronica Goldman, Sasha Skinner, Larissa G Duncan, Maria T Chao, Adam Gazzaley
• Applying New Models of Care to Meet Patient Needs in Integrative Oncology.
  Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) 2018 Dhruva A, Atreya CE, Chao MT
• Heart healthy integrative nutritional counseling (H2INC): Creating a Chinese medicine + western medicine patient education curriculum for Chinese Americans.
  Patient education and counseling 2018 Ho EY, Acquah J, Chao C, Leung G, Ng DC, Chao MT, Wang A, Ku S, Chen W, Yu CK, Xu S, Chen M, Jih J
• Integrative Medicine and the Imperative for Health Justice.
  Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) 2018 Chao MT, Adler SR
• Addressing Disparities in Integrative and Complementary Therapies.
  Advances in Integrative Medicine 2017 Salvatore D’Amico, Maria Chao, Paula Gardiner
• Development and Feasibility of a Group-Based Therapeutic Yoga Program for Women with Chronic Pelvic Pain.
  Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) 2017 Huang AJ, Rowen TS, Abercrombie P, Subak LL, Schembri M, Plaut T, Chao MT
• Use of Complementary Health Approaches Among Diverse Primary Care Patients with Type 2 Diabetes and Association with Cardiometabolic Outcomes: From the SF Bay Collaborative Research Network (SF Bay CRN).
  Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine : JABFM 2017 Handley MA, Quan J, Chao MT, Ratanawongsa N, Sarkar U, Emmons-Bell S, Schillinger D
• Benefits of preparing for childbirth with mindfulness training: a randomized controlled trial with active comparison.
  BMC pregnancy and childbirth 2017 Duncan LG, Cohn MA, Chao MT, Cook JG, Riccobono J, Bardacke N
• Does CenteringPregnancy Group Prenatal Care Affect the Birth Experience of Underserved Women? A Mixed Methods Analysis.
  Journal of immigrant and minority health 2017 Liu R, Chao MT, Jostad-Laswell A, Duncan LG
• Adjunctive acupuncture for pain and symptom management in the inpatient setting: protocol for a pilot hybrid effectiveness-implementation study.
  Journal of integrative medicine 2016 Chao MT, Chang A, Reddy S, Harrison JD, Acquah J, Toveg M, Santana T, Hecht FM
• Acupuncture point injection treatment of primary dysmenorrhoea: a randomised, double blind, controlled study.
  BMJ open 2016 Wade C, Wang L, Zhao WJ, Cardini F, Kronenberg F, Gui SQ, Ying Z, Zhao NQ, Chao MT, Yu J
• Acupuncture for the Management of Postdural Puncture Headache: A Case Report.
  Global advances in health and medicine 2016 Chang A, Acquah J, Reddy S, Chao MT
• Improving Patient-Centered Care: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Prior Use and Interest in Complementary and Integrative Health Approaches Among Hospitalized Oncology Patients.
  Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) 2015 Liu R, Chang A, Reddy S, Hecht FM, Chao MT
• Applying the RE-AIM Framework to Evaluate Integrative Medicine Group Visits Among Diverse Women with Chronic Pelvic Pain.
  Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses 2015 Chao MT, Abercrombie PD, Santana T, Duncan LG
• Disclosure of complementary health approaches among low income and racially diverse safety net patients with diabetes.
  Patient education and counseling 2015 Chao MT, Handley MA, Quan J, Sarkar U, Ratanawongsa N, Schillinger D
• Prevalence and use of complementary health approaches among women with chronic pelvic pain in a prospective cohort study.
  Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) 2014 Chao MT, Abercrombie PD, Nakagawa S, Gregorich SE, Learman LA, Kuppermann M
• Disclosure of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Diverse Safety Net Patients with Diabetes.
  Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 2014 Maria T. Chao, Margaret Handley, Judy Quan, Urmimala Sarkar, Neda Ratanawongsa, Dean Schillinger
• Feasibility and Preliminary Effects of Centering for Chronic Pelvic Pain: Integrative Group Visits for Medically Underserved Women.
  Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 2014 Maria T. Chao, Priscilla D. Abercrombie, Larissa G. Duncan, Trilce Santana, Alexandra M. Chang
• Mind in Labor: Effects of Mind/Body Training on Childbirth Appraisals and Pain Medication Use During Labor.
  Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 2014 Larissa Duncan, Michael Cohn, Maria Chao, Joseph Cook, Jane Riccobono, Nancy Bardacke
• Protocol Development of Group Acupuncture Treatment for Painful Diabetic Neuropathy Using Treatment Manualization.
  Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 2014 Maria T. Chao, Unity Nguyen, Zachary Zibrat, Fija Reed, Dean Schillinger, Frederick M. Hecht
• Increase in plasma phylloquinone concentrations following acupoint injection for the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea.
  Journal of acupuncture and meridian studies 2014 Chao MT, Wade CM, Booth SL
• An innovative acupuncture treatment for primary dysmenorrhea: a randomized, crossover pilot study.
  Alternative therapies in health and medicine 2014 Chao MT, Wade CM, Abercrombie PD, Gomolak D
• Patient perspectives on care received at community acupuncture clinics: a qualitative thematic analysis.
  BMC complementary and alternative medicine 2013 Tippens KM, Chao MT, Connelly E, Locke A
• Centering as a model for group visits among women with chronic pelvic pain.
  Journal of obstetric, gynecologic, and neonatal nursing : JOGNN 2012 Chao MT, Abercrombie PD, Duncan LG
• P02.44. A pilot crossover trial of acupoint injection for treating primary dysmenorrhea.
  BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2012 M Chao, C Wade
• P05.37. Assessing patient perspectives on quality of care at community acupuncture clinics.
  BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2012 K Tippens, M Chao, E Connelly, A Locke
• P05.41. Development and evaluation of group medical visits for medically underserved women with chronic pelvic pain.
  BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2012 M Chao, P Abercrombie
• Utilization of group-based, community acupuncture clinics: a comparative study with a nationally representative sample of acupuncture users.
  Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) 2012 Chao MT, Tippens KM, Connelly E
• Prevention and risk factors of the HBV recurrence after orthotopic liver transplantation: 160 cases follow-up study.
  Transplantation 2010 Xie SB, Zhu JY, Ying Z, Zeng LJ, Chao M, Lu MQ
• Disclosure of complementary and alternative medicine to conventional medical providers: variation by race/ethnicity and type of CAM.
  Journal of the National Medical Association 2008 Chao MT, Wade C, Kronenberg F
• Health practices and vaginal microbicide acceptability among urban black women.
  Journal of women's health (2002) 2008 Reiff M, Wade C, Chao MT, Kronenberg F, Cushman LF
• Medical pluralism among American women: results of a national survey.
  Journal of women's health (2002) 2008 Wade C, Chao M, Kronenberg F, Cushman L, Kalmuss D
• Socioeconomic factors and women's use of complementary and alternative medicine in four racial/ethnic groups.
  Ethnicity & disease 2008 Chao MT, Wade CM
• Medical pluralism of Chinese women living in the United States.
  Journal of immigrant and minority health 2007 Wade C, Chao MT, Kronenberg F
• Women's reasons for complementary and alternative medicine use: racial/ethnic differences.
  Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) 2006 Chao MT, Wade C, Kronenberg F, Kalmuss D, Cushman LF
• Race/ethnicity and women's use of complementary and alternative medicine in the United States: results of a national survey.
  American journal of public health 2006 Kronenberg F, Cushman LF, Wade CM, Kalmuss D, Chao MT
• Do healthy behaviors decline with greater acculturation? Implications for the Latino mortality paradox.
  Social science & medicine (1982) 2005 Abraído-Lanza AF, Chao MT, Flórez KR
• Acculturation and cancer screening among Latinas: results from the National Health Interview Survey.
  Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine 2005 Abraído-Lanza AF, Chao MT, Gates CY
• Breast and cervical cancer screening among Latinas and non-Latina whites.
  American journal of public health 2004 Abraído-Lanza AF, Chao MT, Gammon MD
• Religion, spirituality, and healthcare choices of African-American women: results of a national survey.
  Ethnicity & disease 2004 Dessio W, Wade C, Chao M, Kronenberg F, Cushman LE, Kalmuss D