Our Research
Science to serve one goal: Better health
Scientists at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI) have a rare advantage: We work within a system that provides both care and coverage. With a 360-degree view of people’s everyday health experience over time, we discover what works best to serve Kaiser Permanente's mission: better health.
We collaborate closely with Kaiser Permanente Washington's medical staff and other providers — gaining from their perspectives on practical approaches to health care’s toughest problems. Together, we create a learning health care system — a place where research strengthens practice and practice strengthen research.
Scientists
Working in the public interest
Our faculty work on interdisciplinary research teams, conducting about 300 studies at any given time. They partner with affiliate researchers and others from academic institutions and health systems and share findings in the public domain to serve the public good.
See our KPWHRI researcher directory.
2022 in review
Top research highlights in 2022
From cardiovascular health to cancer screening, these are the research stories that made headlines over the last year.
Funding sources
A broad base of support
Most of our support comes from federal agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health. We also contract with biomedical companies and receive grants from private foundations. About 5 percent of our budget comes from Kaiser Permanente Washington.
See our list of funders.
Practical findings
Is blood pressure reading better at home or clinic?
Home blood pressure monitoring shown to be an excellent alternative for making new diagnoses of hypertension.
Recent publications
Holt JM, Cusatis R, Mortensen N, Wolfrath N, Hyun N, Winn AN, Brown SA, Somai MM, Crotty BH. Twenty-first century house calls: a survey of ambulatory care providers to inform organisational telehealth strategy. BMJ Health Care Inform. 2022 Dec;29(1):e100626. doi: 10.1136/bmjhci-2022-100626. PubMed
Hyde ET, Tuz-Zahra F, Moore CC, Natarajan L, Nguyen S, Greenwood-Hickman MA, Walker RL, Rosenberg DE, Bellettiere J. Agreement of step-based metrics from ActiGraph and activPAL accelerometers worn concurrently among older adults. J Meas Phys Behav. 2022 Dec;5(4):242-251. doi: 10.1123/jmpb.2022-0001. Epub 2022 Oct 11. PubMed
McClure EA, Hamilton L, Schauer GL, Matson TE, Lapham GT. Cannabis and nicotine co-use among primary care patients in a state with legal cannabis access. Addict Behav. 2023;140:107621. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2023.107621. Epub 2023 Jan 20. PubMed
Richard EL, McEvoy LK, Deary IJ, Davies G, Cao SY, Oren E, Alcaraz JE, LaCroix AZ, Bressler J, Salem RM. Markers of kidney function, genetic variation related to cognitive function, and cognitive performance in the UK Biobank. BMC Nephrol. 2022 Apr 27;23(1):159. doi: 10.1186/s12882-022-02750-6. PubMed
Collaborate with us
KPWHRI oversees all research conducted at Kaiser Permanente Washington, ensuring that all studies involving Kaiser Permanente Washington members are aligned with the organization’s primary mission: to improve health. Researchers from outside Kaiser Permanente Washington can learn more about our processes for collaborating with KPWHRI faculty members.
Land Acknowledgment
Our Seattle offices sit on the occupied land of the Duwamish and by the shared waters of the Coast Salish people, who have been here thousands of years and remain. Learn about practicing land acknowledgment.