Bio

Wayne Kepner, PhD, MPH is a public health researcher whose scholarship focuses on health disparities and substance use among vulnerable populations. Dr. Kepner is currently a T-32 Post-doctoral Fellowship in Pain and Substance Use at Stanford University's School of Medicine, where he will continue his research under the mentorship of Dr. Keith Humphreys and Dr. Mark McGovern.

Dr. Kepner received his doctoral degree from the Joint Doctoral Program in Interdisciplinary Research on Substance Use at San Diego State University and the University of California, San Diego. His research focused on substance use disorders, health services utilization, and geospatial analysis of health data, with a particular emphasis on older adult populations. Dr. Kepner has extensive experience in both qualitative and quantitative research methods, having conducted interviews with older adults on cannabis use and analyzed large-scale electronic health records. He has co-authored several peer-reviewed publications on topics ranging from cannabis use trends to emergency department utilization for substance-related diagnoses. In addition to his academic work, Dr. Kepner is committed to community engagement, co-founding Aztecs For Recovery, a collegiate recovery program at SDSU.

Stanford Advisors

Contact

  • Academic
    wkepner@stanford.edu
    University - Scholar Department: Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Position: Postdoctoral Scholar

Additional Info

  • Mail Code: 5717

Links

All Publications

  • Effectiveness of Mutual Health Groups for Illicit Drug Use Disorders: A Review of the Current Literature CURRENT ADDICTION REPORTS Kepner, W., Humphreys, K. 2025; 12 (1)

    View details for DOI 10.1007/s40429-025-00635-w

    View details for Web of Science ID 001416151400002

  • Emergency care utilization in persons with substance related diagnoses. Addictive behaviors reports Kepner, W., Courchesne-Krak, N. S., Satybaldiyeva, N., Narasimhan, R., Marienfeld, C. B. 2024; 20: 100573

    Abstract

    Substance use is a significant contributor to emergency department (ED) visits. Little is known about ED utilization patterns of individuals with substance related diagnosis (SRD). We used electronic health records (EHR) from a large healthcare system in California to examine ED healthcare utilization and socio-demographic characteristics of individuals with SRDs.We used EHR data on all adult patients in our health system from April 2012 through September 2019 to conduct adjusted logistic regression models to determine socio-demographic correlates of SRDs (e.g., use, misuse, dependence) and associations between having an SRD and receiving emergency care.Among the sample (n = 342,651), the majority were female (55.08 %), Non-Hispanic White (58.10 %), with mean age of 48.26 (SD = 18.10), and there were 18,015 (5.26 %) individuals with an SRD. Patients with an alcohol-related diagnosis had the highest odds of visiting the ED (aOR = 3.75), followed by those with opioid (aOR = 3.57) and stimulant-related diagnoses (aOR = 3.48). Individuals with an SRD were more likely to identify as male, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latinx, have no health insurance, and have a serious mental illness. In the adjusted model, those with an SRD were significantly more likely to have ever received emergency care (aOR 3.72 [95 % CI 3.62-3.84]) than those without an SRD.Our study found an association between having an SRD and utilizing emergency health services. Demographic characteristics suggest disparities exist for those with SRDs around gender, race/ethnicity, insurance status, and mental health. These data can help with screening and targeted responses to prevent or provide emergency care.

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.abrep.2024.100573

    View details for PubMedID 39687706

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC11647655