An up-to-date list is also available on Google Scholar and PubMed.

Research Interests

Cancer epidemiology · Global cancer surveillance · Cancer disparities · Molecular epidemiology · Biomarker approaches · Infection-related malignancies · Pediatric cancer surveillance · Social determinants of health · Urban health · Health equity · Latin American and global health · Mortality and life expectancy · Geospatial analysis · AI in public health research

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

2025

  • Alfaro T, Martinez-Folgar K, Bilal U, et al. Variability and social patterning of cancer mortality in 343 Latin American cities: an ecological study. The Lancet Global Health (2025). DOI: 10.1016/S2214-109X(24)00446-7

2024

  • Diez Roux AV, …, Martinez-Folgar K, et al. Research translation to promote urban health in Latin America: The SALURBAL experience. Journal of Urban Health (2024). DOI: 10.1007/s11524-024-00877-5

2022

  • Mullachery P, Rodriguez D, Miranda J, López-Olmedo N, Martinez-Folgar K, Barreto M, Diez Roux A, Bilal U. Mortality amenable to healthcare in Latin American cities: a cross-sectional study examining between-country variation in amenable mortality and the role of urban metrics. International Journal of Epidemiology 51(1):303–313. DOI: 10.1093/ije/dyab137

  • Alfaro T, Martinez-Folgar K, Vives A, Bilal U. Excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic in cities of Chile: magnitude, inequalities, and urban determinants. Journal of Urban Health (2022). DOI: 10.1007/s11524-022-00658-y

2021

  • Bilal U, Alfaro T, Martinez-Folgar K, et al. Scaling of mortality in 742 metropolitan areas of the Americas. Science Advances 7(50):eabl6325 (2021). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abl6325

  • Martinez-Folgar K, Alburez-Gutierrez D, Paniagua-Avila A, Ramirez-Zea M, Bilal U. Excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic in Guatemala. American Journal of Public Health 111(10):1839–1846. DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2021.306452

  • Lima E, Vilela E, Peralta A, Rocha M, Queiroz B, Gonzaga M, Piscoya-Díaz M, Martinez-Folgar K, García-Guerrero V, Freire F. Investigating regional excess mortality during 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in selected Latin American countries. Genus 77(1). DOI: 10.1186/s41118-021-00139-1

  • Henson RM, Ortigoza A, Martinez-Folgar K, Baeza F, Caiaffa W, Vives Vergara A, Diez Roux AV, Lovasi G. Evaluating the health effects of place-based slum upgrading physical environment interventions: a systematic review (2012–2018). Social Science & Medicine 261 (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113102

2019

  • Bilal U, Diez-Roux AV, Rodriguez D, Alazraqui M, Vives A, Martinez-Folgar K, Miranda JJ, Lopez-Olmedo N, Caiaffa W. Inequalities in life expectancy in six large Latin American cities from the SALURBAL study: an ecological analysis. The Lancet Planetary Health 3(12):e503–e510. DOI: 10.1016/S2542-5196(19)30235-9

  • Fort M, Paniagua-Avila A, Beratarrechea A, Cardona S, Figueroa JC, Martinez-Folgar K, et al. Stakeholder engagement in the translation of a hypertension control program to Guatemala’s public primary health care system. Global Heart 14(2). DOI: 10.1016/j.gheart.2019.05.005

2018

  • Edward A, Bowles C, Ramirez-Zea M, Sanchez JF, Brown A, Martinez-Folgar K, Ghee AE. Care-seeking patterns for common pediatric illnesses: a mixed methods study in rural Guatemala. Science Publishing Group Journal 1(2). Available here

Letters & Commentaries

  • Martinez-Folgar K, Salomon V. Student scientific publication: a look at the Guatemalan reality. Edu Med. 2017;18(1):79. DOI: 10.1016/j.edumed.2016.08.003

  • Martínez-Folgar K. Aplicaciones móviles para uso del médico: ¿están basadas en evidencia? Rev Hisp Cienc Salud. 2016;2(2):192–193.

  • Martinez-Folgar K. Diagnostic methods: utopia in Guatemala’s rural public service? Rev Calid Asist. 2016. PMID 27575404. DOI: 10.1016/j.cali.2016.06.008

  • Martinez-Folgar K. Educación médica basada en competencias: la nueva torre de babel. Inv Ed Med. 2016. DOI: 10.1016/j.riem.2016.06.001

Reports

  • 2019 — El costo de la doble carga de la malnutrición: Impacto social y económico — Guatemala (WFP)
  • 2019 — El costo de la doble carga de la malnutrición: Impacto social y económico — El Salvador (WFP)
  • 2019 — El costo de la doble carga de la malnutrición: Impacto social y económico — Honduras (WFP)
  • 2019 — El costo de la doble carga de la malnutrición: Impacto social y económico — República Dominicana (WFP)

Conference Presentations

  • Martinez-Folgar K, Kroker-Lobos MF. Geospatial analysis of mortality in Guatemala: challenges and opportunities. IX National Congress of Epidemiology, Ministry of Health of Guatemala. October 2018.