Melissa Anderson, MS

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“My work is rewarding because we study a wide variety of scientific questions that address major public health priorities and our results have an impact.”

Melissa Anderson, MS

Principal Collaborative Biostatistician, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute

Biography

Biostatistician Melissa Anderson, MS, has collaborated on a wide range of health care topics throughout her career, with an emphasis on preventive care. Her recent research has focused on cancer screening and cardiovascular health. Ms. Anderson worked with Beverly Green, MD, MPH, to determine whether a centralized system of stepped increases in support improves uptake and long-term adherence to colorectal cancer screening.  Ms. Anderson and Dr. Green have also collaborated to answer important questions regarding cardiovascular health, including whether a patient’s cardiovascular risks can be defined using automated electronic health record data and if this method can identify high-risk patients. Other areas of interest are blood pressure measurement variability, and diagnostic accuracy of various blood pressure measurement protocols.

Ms. Anderson has experience with longitudinal observational studies and has considerable expertise in the design and analysis of randomized clinical trials. She was the lead analyst for recent randomized trials of behavioral interventions to (1) promote smoking cessation and oral health behaviors among smoking quitline callers, (2) decrease sedentary time among older adults with obesity, and (3) improve pain and function outcomes through group-based cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction among patients with chronic back pain.  

Ms. Anderson received her master’s degree in biostatistics at the University of Washington in 1996.  Prior to joining Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in 2003, she worked at the Statistical Coordinating Center for the Cardiovascular Health Study, and the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. 

Research Interests and Experience

  • Biostatistics

    Randomized trials, diagnostic test accuracy, longitudinal data analysis, missing data methods

  • Behavior Change

    Physical activity, oral health care, smoking cessation

  • Cancer

    Breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening

    Cardiovascular Health

    Cardiovascular risk assessment, blood pressure measurement

  • Preventive Medicine

    Adherence to preventive care recommendations

Recent publications

Silver M, Anderson ML, Beaber EF, Haas JS, Kobrin S, Pocobelli G, Skinner CS, Tiro JA, Kamineni A. De-implementation of cervical cancer screening before age 21. Prev Med. 2021 Sep 29:106815. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2021.106815. Online ahead of print. PubMed

Parchman ML, Anderson ML, Penfold RB, Kuo E, Dorr DA. The ability of practices to report clinical quality measures: more evidence of the size paradox?  J Am Board Fam Med. Jul-Aug 2020;33(4):620-625. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2020.04.190369. PubMed

Rosenberg DE, Anderson ML, Renz A, Matson TE, Lee AK, Greenwood-Hickman MA, Arterburn DE, Gardiner PA, Kerr J, McClure JB. Reducing sitting time in obese older adults: the I-STAND randomized controlled trial. J Aging Phys Act. 2020 Jun 4:1-11. doi: 10.1123/japa.2019-0470. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed

Chubak J, Anderson ML, Cook AJ, Murphy CC, Jackson ML, Green BB. Methodological considerations in calculating and analyzing proportion of time covered as a measure of longitudinal cancer screening adherence. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2020 May 28:cebp.0388.2020. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-20-0388. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed

Parchman ML, Anderson ML, Dorr DA, Fagnan LJ, O’Meara ES, Tuzzio L, Penfold RB, Cook AJ, Hummel J, Conway C, Cholan R, Baldwin LM. A randomized trial of external practice support to improve cardiovascular risk factors in primary care.  Ann Fam Med. 2019 Aug 12;17(Suppl 1):S40-S49. doi: 10.1370/afm.2407. PubMed

 

New findings

Senior adult male sitting at table taking blood pressure with a blood pressure machine

There’s no place like home … to track blood pressure

Research led by KPWHRI’s Beverly Green, MD, MPH, finds that patients prefer at-home monitoring of blood pressure. 

health care innovation

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Research helps our newest clinics build the future—now

Katie Coleman tells how Kaiser Permanente Washington research supports innovation at new clinics in Ballard and South Lake Union.

research into action

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Healthy Hearts Northwest helps small clinics improve care

A new study shows how a little supplemental support can result in big gains, especially in managing patients’ blood pressure.