Jennifer McClure, PhD, is director of Investigative Science at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI). She is also a senior investigator and clinical psychologist whose research focuses on developing new interventions to reduce people’s risk of chronic disease and cancer or help them better manage existing chronic disease through:
Much of Dr. McClure’s research emphasizes creating highly individualized behavioral treatments that can be disseminated on a population level, through health care systems and tobacco quitlines or directly to individuals via digital health tools, such as mobile health (mHealth) apps. Her goal is to design programs that are effective, convenient, engaging, and cost-effective, understanding that to make the leap from research to real world, interventions should meet these criteria.
Dr. McClure is best known for her research creating novel treatments for nicotine dependence, particularly interventions targeted to smokers who are ambivalent about quitting. These individuals may want to quit smoking some day, but are not yet ready to give up tobacco. Most smokers fall into this category, but few interventions are targeted to this important group. Her research has demonstrated the effectiveness of using proactive counseling and online interventions to motivate and support smoking cessation among ambivalent smokers. Her work has also shed light on the potential risks and benefits of using biological indicators of disease or disease risk to motivate quitting. Now she is developing two new mHealth apps to help ambivalent smokers kick the habit: one designed for anyone who smokes and one designed specifically for smokers living with HIV.
Dr. McClure’s collaborative research covers a range of topics from reducing sedentary behavior to comparing the effectiveness of various strategies for assessing and diagnosing high blood pressure.
In recognition of her scientific contributions, Dr. McClure was named a fellow in the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) in 2013 and a fellow in the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco in 2018. In 2019 she joined the faculty of the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J Tyson School of Medicine as a professor in Health Systems Science. Dr. McClure is also an affiliate professor of health services at the University of Washington School of Public Health and an affiliate investigator in the Division of Public Health Sciences at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. She currently serves as the Secretary and Treasurer of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco.
Tobacco cessation; pharmocogenomics of nicotine addiction; treatment adherence; population-based behavior interventions; health risk communications; oral health promotion; dietary change; physical activity promotion; informed decision-making; psychoneuroimmunology; HIV
Development of eHealth and mHealth intervention tools
Depression treatment and development of behavior change interventions for people with serious mental illness
Prevention
HIV
Prevention and treatment
Heffner JL, Mull KE, Watson NL, McClure JB, Bricker JB. Long-term smoking cessation outcomes for sexual minority vs. non-minority smokers in a large randomized, controlled trial of two web-based interventions. Nicotine Tob Res. 2019 Jul 9. pii: 5530422. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntz112. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Watson NL, Heffner JL, Mull KE, McClure JB, Bricker JB. Comparing Treatment Acceptability and 12-Month Cessation Rates in Response to Web-Based Smoking Interventions Among Smokers Who Do and Do Not Screen Positive for Affective Disorders: Secondary Analysis. J Med Internet Res. 2019;21(6):e13500. doi: 10.2196/13500. PubMed
Matson TE, Anderson ML, Renz AD, Greenwood-Hickman MA, McClure JB, Rosenberg DE. Changes in self-reported health and psychosocial outcomes in older adults enrolled in sedentary behavior intervention study. Am J Health Promot. 2019 Apr 7:890117119841405. doi: 10.1177/0890117119841405. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
McClure JB, Anderson ML, Krakauer C, Blasi P, Bush T, Nelson J, Catz SL. Impact of a novel oral health promotion program on routine oral hygiene among socioeconomically disadvantaged smokers: results from a randomized semi-pragmatic trial. Transl Behav Med. 2019 Feb 12. pii: 5316179. doi: 10.1093/tbm/ibz009. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
McClure JB, Bricker J, Mull K, Heffner JL. Comparative-effectiveness of group-delivered acceptance and commitment therapy vs. cognitive behavioral therapy for smoking cessation: a randomized controlled trial. Nicotine Tob Res. 2020 Mar 16;22(3):354-362. doi: 10.1093/ntr/nty268. PubMed
Blasi PR, Krakauer C, Anderson ML, Nelson J, Bush T, Catz SL, McClure JB. Factors associated with future dental care utilization among low-income smokers overdue for dental visits. BMC Oral Health. 2018 Nov 1;18(1):183. doi: 10.1186/s12903-018-0646-8. PubMed
Heffner JL, Mull KE, Watson NL, McClure JB, Bricker JB. Smokers with bipolar disorder, other affective disorders, and no mental health conditions: comparison of baseline characteristics and success at quitting in a large 12-month behavioral intervention randomized trial. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2018 Oct 10;193:35-41. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2018.08.034. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Tiffany B, Blasi P, Catz SL, McClure JB. Mobile apps for oral health promotion: content review and heuristic usability analysis. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2018 Sep 4;6(9):e11432. doi: 10.2196/11432. PubMed
Watson NL, Mull KE, Heffner JL, McClure JB, Bricker JB. Participant Recruitment and Retention in Remote eHealth Intervention Trials: Methods and Lessons Learned From a Large Randomized Controlled Trial of Two Web-Based Smoking Interventions. J Med Internet Res. 2018;20(8):e10351. doi: 10.2196/10351. PubMed
Matson TE, Renz AD, Takemoto ML, McClure JB, Rosenberg DE. Acceptability of a sitting reduction intervention for older adults with obesity. BMC Public Health. 2018;18(1):706. doi: 10.1186/s12889-018-5616-1. PubMed
A mobile application designed to engage smokers who are ambivalent about quitting shows promising results.
Research led by KPWHRI’s Beverly Green, MD, MPH, finds that patients prefer at-home monitoring of blood pressure.
Dr. Jennifer McClure shares advice and resources for staying physically and emotionally well during the COVID-19 crisis, and beyond.
As Dr. Jennifer McClure completes the last of three innovative studies, she reflects on how the work began, the difference it may make, and what happens next.
Tobacco remains a public health priority. Jennifer McClure, PhD, discusses her findings comparing ’acceptance and commitment therapy’ to standard care.