Dr. Savoia's research interests have focused on public health and health system research, including a variety of topics such as the study of geographical inequalities in the distribution of infant mortality rates, socio-economic determinants of women's health, the use of quality of life as outcome measure in clinical practice and public health, elements of public health infrastructure related to public health performance and the use of volunteers to support public health functions.
Her current research agenda is mainly focused on the advancement of performance measurement in public health system preparedness and response to large scale emergencies. The range of emergencies object of her studies is broad, including terrorist attacks, pandemic influenza, and natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes. Her goal is to develop evidence based approaches to assess public health systems' capabilities: the agencies' ability to undertake functional or operational actions to effectively identify, characterize, and respond to emergencies.
Dr. Savoia has also been involved in preparedness projects at the national level as a member of the CDC Collaboration Groups.