Anitha Saravanan
Project: Broadband for Better Health (B4BH) Playbook for Equitable Digital Health for Older Adults in Illinois
Research Interests:
- Digital health equity
- Broadband & health access
- Older adult health
- Digital literacy
- Community-engaged innovation
- AI in healthcare
- Health disparities
- Implementation & scalability
Dr. Anitha Saravanan is an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing at Northern Illinois University and a nurse practitioner whose work focuses on advancing digital health equity among older adults and underserved populations. Her research is centered on translating access to technology, particularly broadband and digital tools, into meaningful health outcomes, with an emphasis on improving digital health literacy, engagement in care, and aging-in-place.
Dr. Saravanan leads community-engaged, technology-enabled initiatives that bridge healthcare, public health, and informatics. She is the developer of the Smart Tablet Education for Healthy Living (STEHL) program, a scalable digital health literacy intervention designed for older adults in community settings, including retirement homes and public libraries. Building on this work, she currently leads projects that integrate artificial intelligence, telehealth, and intergenerational learning models to enhance digital confidence and health engagement among aging populations.
Her work is deeply collaborative and interdisciplinary. She partners with faculty across nursing, public health, engineering, and informatics, as well as with community organizations, libraries, and healthcare systems. Dr. Saravanan serves as an Interprofessional Education (IPE) coordinator, where she designs and implements large-scale learning experiences that bring together students and faculty from multiple disciplines to address complex health challenges. Her teaching integrates emerging technologies such as AI into health sciences education and emphasizes real-world application through community-based participatory approaches.
Dr. Saravanan has led and contributed to multiple federally and foundation-funded projects, including NIH and National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM) initiatives. Her research also leverages large national datasets, such as the All of Us Research Program, to examine the intersections of health disparities, discrimination, and symptom outcomes, particularly in pain and chronic conditions. Across her work, she prioritizes feasibility, scalability, and equity-focused implementation strategies.
In addition to her research and teaching, Dr. Saravanan is actively engaged in national service and leadership. She contributes to advancing pain science and equity through her involvement with professional organizations, including the United States Association for the Study of Pain (USASP), and serves on the editorial board of Pain Management Nursing. Her work consistently emphasizes the integration of lived experience, community voice, and scientific evidence to inform practice, policy, and innovation.
Through her scholarship and leadership, Dr. Saravanan aims to develop sustainable, community-centered models that ensure digital and healthcare innovations are accessible, usable, and impactful for populations most at risk of being left behind.