Sr Investigator, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute; Associate Medical Director for Research and Translation & Physician, Pediatrics, Washington Permanente Medical Group,
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.
Our faculty members work on interdisciplinary research teams, conducting about 300 studies at any given time. We collaborate with affiliate researchers and others from leading academic institutions and health systems.
We share our findings freely in the public domain, so that health care organizations everywhere can use our research to serve the public good.
See our KPWHRI researcher directory.
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, including the Group Health Foundation. About 5 percent of our budget comes from Kaiser Permanente Washington.
See our list of funders.
Efforts to improve flu prediction, vaccine awareness, cancer screening, and back pain treatment were among KPWHRI’s most compelling stories last year.
Read it in News and Events.
McClure JB, Bush T, Anderson ML, Blasi P, Thompson E, Nelson J, Catz SL. Oral Health Promotion and Smoking Cessation Program Delivered via Tobacco Quitlines: The Oral Health 4 Life Trial. Am J Public Health. 2018;108(5):689-695. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2017.304279. Epub 2018 Mar 22. PubMed
Lu CY, Penfold R, Toh D, Sturtevant J, Madden J, Simon G, Ahmedani BK, Clarke G, Hunkeler EM, Waitzfelder B, Owen-Smith A, Davis R, Raebel MA, Rossom R, Coleman KJ, Copeland LA, Soumerai SB, Kulldorff M. Near real-time surveillance for consequences of health policies using sequential analysis. Med Care. 2018 May;56(5):365-372. doi: 10.1097/MLR.0000000000000893. PubMed
Lu CY, Simon G, Soumerai SB. Counter-point: staying honest when policy changes backfire. Med Care. 2018 May;56(5):384-390. doi: 10.1097/MLR.0000000000000897. PubMed
Lu CY, Simon G, Soumerai SB, Kulldorff M. Counter-point: early warning systems are imperfect, but essential. Med Care. 2018 May;56(5):382-383. doi: 10.1097/MLR.0000000000000896. PubMed
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.
