Anthony Tolentino

Dante Anthony Tolentino, PhD, RN, NI-BC, FAMIA

Assistant Professor

About

Filipino Americans remain understudied despite being one of the largest Asian American groups in the U.S. Back in the 1980s, Fred Cordova labeled them as the "invisible group," highlighting how Filipinos are unseen through the American history lens. Unfortunately, that remains true today. As part of the Filipino American community, Dr. Tolentino's research goal is to reduce health inequities within the Filipino American community, particularly those with type 2 diabetes by 1) examining various socio-cultural and environmental factors such as SDOH and colonialism and 2) developing health and nursing interventions, including the use of digital health. He is committed to centering minoritized individuals and communities' experiences and empowering them to improve their health. 

Dr. Tolentino is board-certified in nursing informatics (ANCC) with more than a decade of informatics experience in acute and ambulatory settings. Prior to his research focus on Filipino Americans' health, his research interests included nurses’ user experience (UX) with the Electronic Health Record (EHR; e.g., human factors, unintended consequences, etc.). As a clinical informaticist, he supported health information technology projects and implementation to improve patient safety and work efficiency. His dissertation research expanded nursing knowledge by examining nurses' EHR workflow using data mining techniques (i.e., Markov chain analysis and sequential pattern mining), proposing pragmatic solutions to redesign EHR screens. He has also completed a regression analysis of the task-technology fit concept to nurses' performance within the EHR.

During his interdisciplinary postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan, Dr. Tolentino pivoted his research to examining type 2 diabetes self-management among Filipino Americans. This was partly informed due to his family’s history of diabetes. He has worked with students during his postdoctoral fellowship to examine the current state and literature gaps in self-management among Asian Americans with type 2 diabetes, study the different processes and strategies Filipino Americans employ for successful self-management, analyze the predictors and patterns of digital health use and information sharing behaviors, and investigate the experiences of Filipino Americans with type 2 diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic. His current work examines the relationship between colonial mentality and type 2 diabetes self-management among Filipino Americans. Dr. Tolentino hopes to shed light on Filipino Americans' experiences, leverage health information technology tools to address health disparities, and advance our knowledge in nursing and informatics with a significant impact on the community. Any students interested in learning more, do not hesitate to reach out. 

Research & Clinical Expertise

Doctoral Dissertation: Quantitative exploration of nurses' task-technology fit within the EHR using regression and data mining: An EHR workflow analysis

Research interests/topics: Type 2 diabetes, Asian American health, Filipino American, technology-based interventions, EHR, nursing informatics, quantitative research, qualitative research, health equity, colonial mentality, allostatic load

Clinical Expertise: Clinical Informatics

Education

BS, Nursing, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California

MA, Education (Instructional Technologies), San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California

PhD, Nursing, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona

MS, Health and Healthcare Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, National Clinician Scholars Program at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Honors & Awards

2003: Dean S. Lesher Scholarship, Diablo Valley College Academic Honors, Diablo Valley College

2006: Academic Excellence Award in Nursing, San Francisco State University School of Nursing

2012: Nursing Excellence Award in Leadership - EHR, Dignity Health – Sequoia Hospital

2016: Winner, #WhyInformatics Video Contest – American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) Annual Symposium, Chicago, IL

2017: The University of Arizona College of Nursing Scholarship Endowment

2020: Outstanding Ph.D. Dissertation Award (Spring), The University of Arizona College of Nursing

2020: Distinguished Poster Award (Finalist), American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) Annual Symposium

2022: Scholar, Michigan Integrative Well-Being Inequity, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Publications

Full biography and publication highlights

Peer-Reviewed Journals & Publications
Data-based †

  1. Tolentino, D.A. & Byrnes, M. (2024). Filipino Americans’ social and cultural experiences of type 2 diabetes management: Cultural paradox, ownership, and success definition. Journal of Transcultural Nursing. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/10436596231209041†
  2. Tolentino, D.A. & Ajuwon, M. (2023). A cross-sectional study on social determinants of mental health during COVID-19 among adults in California. Journal of Advanced Nursing. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.15803 †
  3. Tolentino, D.A. Costa, D., & Jiang, Y. (2023). Determinants of American adults’ use of digital health and willingness to share health data to providers, family, and social media. Computers, Informatics, Nursing. doi: https://doi.org/10.1097/CIN.0000000000001025 †
  4. Chao, G.F., Lindquist, K., Vitous, C.A., Tolentino, D.A., Delaney, L., Alimi, Y., Jafri, S., & Telem, D.A. (2023). A qualitative analysis describing attrition from bariatric surgery to identify strategies for improving retention in patients who desire treatment. Surgical Endoscopy. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00464-023-10030-z †
  5. Patel, M.R., Tolentino, D.A., Smith, A. & Heisler, M. (2023). Economic burden, financial stress, and cost-related coping among people with uncontrolled diabetes. Preventative Medicine Reports, 34. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2023.102246 †
  6. Tolentino, D.A., Roca III, R.P.E.*, Yang, J.*, Itchon, J.* & Byrnes, M. (2023). Experiences of Filipino Americans with type 2 diabetes during COVID-19: A qualitative study. Western Journal of Nursing Research. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/01939459231162917 †
  7. Tolentino, D.A., Ali, S., Jang, S.Y., Kettaneh, C. & Smith, J. (2022) Type 2 diabetes self-management interventions among Asian Americans: A scoping review. Health Equity. Accepted: July 16, 2022.† 
  8. Gephart, S.G., Tolentino, D.A., Quinn, M., Wyles, C., & Fry, E. (2022). Neonatal intensive care workflow analysis informing clinical decision support design for necrotizing enterocolitis. Computers, Informatics, Nursing (CIN). Published ahead of print. Doi: 10.1097/CIN.0000000000000929 †
  9. Morone, J., Tolentino, D.A., Aronowitz, S.V., & Siddiq, H. (2022). COVID-19 pandemic and the push to promote and include nurses in public health policy. American Journal of Public Health, S231-S236. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2022.306837 
  10. Tolentino, D. A., Patmon, F., & Gephart, S. M. (2021). A descriptive study of nurses' experiences with unintended consequences of the electronic health record in two urban hospitals. Journal of Informatics Nursing, 6(2), 6-10. † 
  11. Tolentino, D. A., Subbian, V. & Gephart, S. M.  (2021).  Applying Computational Ethnography to Examine Nurses' Workflow Within Electronic Health Records.  Nursing Research,  70 (2),  132-141.  doi: 10.1097/NNR.0000000000000486
  12. Tolentino, D. A. & Gephart, S. M.  (2021).  State of the Science of Dimensions of Nurses' User Experience When Using an Electronic Health Record.  CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing,  39 (2),  69-77.  doi: 10.1097/CIN.0000000000000644.
  13. Jeffers, K. S., Siddiq, H., Martinez-Hollingsworth, A. S., Aronowitz, S. V., Sinko, L., Travers, J. L., Tolentino, D. A., Burns, J., Bell, S. A., Beck, D. C., Gutierrez, J. I., Jr., Bulgin, D., Manges, K. A., Mansfield, L. N., Bettencourt, A. P., Jun, J., Fauer, A. J., Lipsky, R. K., Adynski, G. I., & Choi, K. R. (2020). Nurses should oppose police violence and unjust policing in healthcare. Int J Nurs Stud, 103735. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2020.103735 
  14. Tolentino, D. A. and Knapp, H. (2020). Evaluating the impact of Meducation®, a SMART application, to medication adherence: The need to evaluate EHR apps post-implementation. Online Journal of Nursing Informatics (OJNI), vol. 24 (3), Available at https://www.himss.org/online-journal-nursing-informatics-volume-24-fall-2020. †

Abstracts
Posters† or Podium‡ Presentations

  1.    1. Roca, R.P.E III*, Lance, D.*, Carpizo, K.*, & Tolentino, D.A. Colonial mentality and diabetes management in Filipino Americans: A qualitative analysis. 45th PNAA National Convention. Long Beach, CA. July 17-21, 2024. † 
  2. Kohout, E.* & Tolentino, D.A. The role of race/ethnicity and comfort discussing diabetes medication cost in cost-related diabetes non adherence. 20th Annual UCLA Nursing Science and Innovation Conference. Los Angeles, CA. May 22, 2024. † 
  3. Lance, D.*, Monreal, G.B.*, Añel, S.*, Cua, A.*, Blancia, A. Cagulada, M.N., Fernandez, P. & Tolentino, D.A. Understanding the intersection of culture and environment on the experience of frontline Filipino healthcare workers during COVID-19. UCLA Undergraduate Research & Creativity Showcase (virtual). Los Angeles, CA. May 20-24, 2024. ‡
  4. Tolentino, D.A., Roca, RPE III*, Lance, D.*, Peña, M.*, Palao, G.M.*, Palao, G.J.*, Carpizo, K.*, Adlao, A.*, Horne, R. Geospatial mapping of diabetes programs and equity index among Asian American in Los Angeles. Western Institute of Nursing, April 17-20, 2024. Salt Lake City, UT.†
  5. Tolentino, D.A., Adlao, A.*, Carpizo, K.*, Lance, D.*, Roca III, R.P.E.*, & Patel, M.R. Financial toxicity and its association with diabetes distress. American Psychosomatic Society Annual Meeting, March 20-23, 2024. Brighton, UK. †
  6. Adlao, A.*, Carpizo, K.*, Horne, R., Tolentino, D.A. Geospatial mapping of diabetes programs and health disparities among Asian Americans in Los Angeles. UC GIS Week 2023, November 15-17, 2023. Virtual. ‡
  7. Tolentino, D.A., Ponce, N., Choi, S. Determinants of diabetes self-management program engagement among Asian Americans in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Health Equity Action Network (HEAN) Community and Scientific Partners Meeting 2023, Bethesda, MD. September 14-15, 2023. † 
  8. Adlao, A.M.L.*, Carpizo, K.R.V.*, Lance, D.I.C.*, Tolentino, D.A., & Patel, M.R. Correlates of diabetes distress among individuals with uncontrolled diabetes: A hierarchical regression. Virtual UCLA Undergraduate Research & Creativity Showcase. Los Angeles, CA. May 22-26, 2023. ‡ 
  9. Tolentino, D.A., Roca, R.P.E.*, Peña, M.* Is there a relationship between colonial mentality and self-management of diabetes among Filipino American? Philippine Nurses Association Education Day, Los Angeles, CA. May 20, 2023. ‡
  10. Gephart, S.G., Wyles, C., Quinn, M. & Tolentino, D.A. Recognition, and rescue processes for necrotizing enterocolitis among neonatal intensive care clinicians. Tucson Nurses Week Foundation, Tucson, AZ. May 12, 2023. † 
  11. Tolentino, D.A. & Jiang, Y. Digital health usage and information-sharing behaviors: A national survey data analysis. Western Institute of Nursing 56th Annual Communicating Nursing Research Conference. Tucson, AZ. April 19-22, 2023. ‡
  12. Tolentino, D.A., Roca, R.P.E.*, Palao, K.*, & Palao, K.* Cultural shame, cultural inferiority, and diabetes self-management among Filipino Americans with type 2 diabetes: Analysis from preliminary data [APS abstract 121, San Juan PR]. Psychosomatic Medicine. 2023, May; 85(4): pA84. doi: 10.1097/PSY.0000000000001202 †
  13. Roca III, R.P.E., Byrnes, M., Itchon, J., Yang, J. & Tolentino, D.A. Type 2 diabetes experiences of Filipino Americans during COVID-19: An interpretive descriptive study grounded in Sikolohiyang Pilipino. 43rd Philippine Nurses Association of American Annual National Convention. July 6-10, 2022. New York, NY. †  
  14. Patel, M.R., Tolentino, D.A., Heisler, M., Piette, J., Shi, X., Zhang, G., Choe, H.M. & Resnicow, K. [Abstract]. Are financial management behaviors associated with diabetes outcomes? 43rd Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions: Society of Behavioral Medicine. April 6-9, 2022. Baltimore, MD. † 
  15. Tolentino, D.A. [Symposium]. Generating new knowledge and advancing innovative solutions through nursing research. MNRS 46th Annual Research Conference. March 30-April 2, 2022. Schaumburg, IL. ‡ 
  16. Tolentino, D.A. Nurses' experiences with unintended consequences of the EHR: A descriptive study. American Nurses Informatics Association – Arizona Chapter [Online]. September 21, 2021. ‡
  17. Tolentino, D.A., Insel, K., & Gephart, S.M. The relationship between task-technology fit and nurses' performance in the EHR. American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) Virtual Annual Symposium [Online]. November 14-18, 2020 (Finalist, Distinguished Poster Award) †
  18. Tolentino, D.A, Chen, S., & Fortier, K. Reflective writing as a socio-emotional learning tool during COVID-19, Nursing Mutual Aid 2020 #NMA2020, Twitter Conference [Online], April 30, 2020‡
  19. Tolentino, D.A., Gephart, S.M., & Subbian, V. Mining information in EHR logs: An alternative data source for EHR workflow analysis. Western Institute of Nursing [Online], Portland, OR, April 14-17, 2020†
  20. Tolentino, A. & Gephart, S.M. (2019). User experience to digital health adoption: A conceptual framework. American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) Annual Symposium, Washington, D.C. November 18-20, 2019†
  21. Tolentino, D.A., Patmon, F., Gephart, SM. & Dempsey, E. Nurses' experience with the unintended consequences of the electronic health record: A descriptive study. CommonSpirit Health First Annual Research Conference, Sacramento, CA. August 6-7, 2019‡
  22. Miller, K., Onnagan, S., Tolentino, D.A., Collins, E., & Vezirian, S. Shared governance in clinical informatics. CommonSpirit Health First Annual Research Conference, Sacramento, CA. August 6-7, 2019†
  23. Bray, R., Jewell, G., Keown, K., Rubin, S., Scoggan, B., & Tolentino, A. 2017 Inaugural fellow cohort panel interview. 3rd Annual Nursing Research: Advancing Clinical Practice through Fellowship and Research (Dignity Health), Sacramento, CA. November 7-8, 2018‡
  24. Tolentino, A. Improving medication adherence through Meducation. 3rd Annual Nursing Research: Advancing Clinical Practice through Fellowship and Research (Dignity Health), Sacramento, CA. November 7-8, 2018‡
  25. Gephart, S., Tolentino, A., Quinn, M., Wyles, C., Sourco, J. & Fry, E. NICU workflow and technical needs to prevent and support timely recognition of necrotizing enterocolitis with NEC-Zero CDS. AMIA 2018 Clinical Informatics Conference, Scottsdale, AZ. May 9, 2018†
  26. Tolentino, D.A., & Gephart, S. Sequential pattern analysis of nurses' EHR navigation and documentation. Western Institute of Nursing, Denver, CO, April 2017†