Quality Improvement studies

Our researchers collaborate with clinicians to develop intervention studies to improve quality of care, much of it focusing on reducing errors and variations in treatment. Studies have been aimed at evaluating current programs for identifying or managing specific conditions, assessing the impact of an employer worksite clinic on care utilization, and reducing health care-associated infections such as sepsis and Clostridium difficile.

An In-Depth Interview Study of Immunization Providers in a Large Managed Care Organization to Understand Practice Patterns, Barriers and Facilitators for Administering the 3-Dose HPV Vaccine Series

The primary objective of this study is to identify immunization providers’ opinions on practice patterns, barriers and facilitators for Gardasil 3-dose regimen completion among those who initiated the Gardasil vaccine.

Principal Investigator:

Chun Chao, PhD, MS

Funding Source:

Merck Sharp and Dohme Corp.

Funding Years:

2013 - 2016

Care of Mental, Physical, and Substance Use Syndromes (COMPASS)

KPSC is one of nine sites throughout the country funded by an Innovation Award from the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid to implement a coordinated care model for depressed patients with cardiovascular disease. We have the following goals for this project: 1. To implement in three stages a multiple condition collaborative care management model in primary care clinics of care systems in states. 2. To demonstrate that this model improves care quality, patient experience and health, provider satisfaction, and total healthcare costs for the Medicare and Medicaid patients with the targeted conditions. 3. To develop role descriptions and training for the two new types of workers required for this model – care managers and care consultants. 4. To identify the costs and payment models needed by care systems to sustain and spread this care model.

Principal Investigator:

Karen J. Coleman, PhD, MS

Funding Source:

Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement (ICSI)

Funding Years:

2012 - 2015

Focus Home

The overall goal of this mixed-method, phased evaluation approach is to document the successes, challenges, and lessons learned from implementation of the Focus Home ecosystem components, and to document the process and outcome measures for key system end-users including patients, family caregivers, and clinicians as the service, IT, and population management data analytical features of the ecosystem goes live over the next two years. 

Principal Investigator:

Huong Q. Nguyen, PhD, RN

Funding Source:

Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc.

Funding Years:

2019 - 2021

Patient Perspectives on Clinical Approaches to Prevent Opioid Related Suicide Attempts

This study will incorporate the voice of the patient and provider stakeholders as part of the implementation of the Zero Suicide framework in three health settings from the NIMH-funded parent award as well as the Southcentral Foundation which is an Alaska Native-owned, nonprofit health care organization serving nearly 65,000 American Indian/Alaskan Native people living in and around Anchorage, Alaska. Our scientific premise is that by 1) understanding the stakeholder perspective on the role of health systems in opioid-related overdoses, and 2) involving these stakeholders in all aspects of developing strategies that health systems can use to prevent opioid-related overdoses within the implementation of the Zero Suicide framework, we will have a much greater impact on reducing the mortality rates associated with opioid use.

Site Principal Investigator:

Karen J. Coleman, PhD, MS

Funding Source:

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Funding Years:

2020 - 2022