Gwen Lapham, PhD, MPH
"My research focuses on primary care, currently in two areas: understanding cannabis use and integration of mental health services for adolescents."
Gwen Lapham, PhD, MPH, MSW
Associate Investigator, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute
Affiliate Assistant Professor, Department of Health Systems and Population Health, University of Washington School of Public Health
Assistant Professor, Department of Health Systems Science, Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine
Gwen.T.Lapham@kp.org
206-287-2021
Biography
Gwen Lapham, PhD, MPH, MSW, is a Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI) associate investigator and addictions health services researcher. She is also an assistant affiliate professor in the Department of Health Systems and Population Health at the University of Washington and an assistant professor in the Department of Health Systems Science at the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine. She has more than 15 years’ experience in implementation and evaluation research to improve the prevention and treatment of unhealthy substance use in medical settings, first at Veterans Affairs (VA) Puget Sound and now at Kaiser Permanente Washington. She has led analyses of large national and multisite real-world datasets and collaborated on diverse research focused on improving care for substance use.
Since joining KPWHRI, Dr. Lapham has capitalized on her social work and health services training to do impactful research on evidence-based primary care for unhealthy substance use, including alcohol, opioid, and cannabis use. She is currently co-leading a pragmatic, cluster-randomized, effectiveness-implementation trial testing 2 interventions to systematically implement shared decision-making for primary care patients with an alcohol use disorder. She is co-investigator for a study developing a patient decision aid to support discontinuation of long-term opioid therapy and another study designed to assess the social and behavioral determinants of health that impact medications for opioid use disorder. Dr. Lapham’s current research is also focused on evaluating the adverse health risks associated with cannabis use among primary care patients, including use among pregnant individuals, as well as testing the effectiveness of integrated behavioral health care, including routine substance use and suicide risk screening, for teens in primary care.
RESEARCH INTERESTS AND EXPERIENCE
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Behavior Change
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Addictions & Unhealthy Substance Use
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Health Services & Economics
Implementation research; quality measurement
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Implementation Research
Screening and brief intervention; mental health quality measurement
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Child & Adolescent Health
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Addictions
Prevention and treatment
Sparc trial tools
Resources for behavioral health integration
The SPARC trial successfully implemented behavioral health care into primary care. On our website, you can access tools for behavioral health integration, as well as frequently asked questions and publications.
Recent publications
Young-Wolff KC, Chi FW, Campbell CI, Does MB, Wysota CN, Ansley D, Castellanos C, Lapham GT Association of preconception cannabis use frequency with cannabis use during early pregnancy 2025 Oct 8;25(1):1044. doi: 10.1186/s12884-025-08190-y. Epub 2025-10-08. PubMed
Matson TE, Johnson E, Bobb JF, Graham V, Kiel L, Lee AK, Lapham GT, Caldeiro RM, Bradley KA, Angerhofer JE Implementing Care for Cannabis and Other Drug Use in Adult Primary Care: Outcomes of a Cluster-Randomized Implementation Trial 2025 Sep 16 doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2025.108112. Epub 2025-09-16. PubMed
Hamilton LK, Lapham GT, Day A, Black-Watson M, Bishop D, Parsons D, Budimir CA, Baulckim L, Lee AK, Addis M, Bradley KA Improving alcohol-related care in small-medium primary care practices: An evaluation of an adaptation of the SPARC trial intervention for small-medium sized practices 2025 Jun;173:209697. doi: 10.1016/j.josat.2025.209697. Epub 2025-04-12. PubMed
Simon GE, Stewart CC, Richards JE, Ziebell R, Lapham GT, Hoopes AJ Accuracy of Self-Report Questionnaires and Records-Based Risk Scores to Identify Adolescents' Risk for Self-Harm 2025 Jun;76(6):554-562. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.20240427. Epub 2025-03-19. PubMed
Young-Wolff KC, Chi FW, Campbell CI, Alexeeff SE, Ansley D, Vanderziel A, Lapham GT Frequency of Preconception and Prenatal Cannabis Use and Nausea and Vomiting in Pregnancy 2025 May;145(5):519-522. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000005884. Epub 2025-03-13. PubMed
Chavez LJ, Yu O, Wartko PD, Braciszewski JM, Glass JE, Horigian VE, Arnsten JH, Murphy MT, Stotts AL, Bagley SM, Lapham GT, Samet JH Opioid use disorder medications among youth in primary care: Subgroup analysis of the PROUD trial 2025 Apr;1(2). doi: 10.1542/pedsos.2024-000392. Epub 2025-04-25. PubMed
Lapham GT, Bobb JF, Luce C, Oliver MM, Hamilton LK, Hyun N, Hallgren KA, Matson TE Prevalence of Cannabis Use Disorder Among Primary Care Patients with Varying Frequency of Past-Year Cannabis Use 2025 Apr;40(5):1039-1047. doi: 10.1007/s11606-024-09061-6. Epub 2024-10-24. PubMed
Lapham GT, Chi FW, Young-Wolff KC, Ansley D, Castellanos C, Does MB, Asyyed AH, Ettenger A, Campbell CI Predictors of Participation in Prenatal Substance Use Assessment, Counseling, and Treatment Among Pregnant Individuals in Prenatal Settings Who Use Cannabis 2025 Mar;19(2):179-186. doi: 10.1097/ADM.0000000000001399. Epub 2024-11-15. PubMed
Bradley K, McCormack J, Addis M, Hamilton LK, Lapham GT, Jonas D, Bishop D, Parsons D, Budimir C, Sanchez V, Bannon J, Villalobos G, Krist AH, Walunas T, Day A Do electronic health records used by primary care practices support recommended alcohol-related care? 2024 Dec;7(4):ooae125. doi: 10.1093/jamiaopen/ooae125. Epub 2024-12-04. PubMed
Lapham GT, Hyun N, Bobb JF, Wartko PD, Matthews AG, Yu O, McCormack J, Lee AK, Liu DS, Samet JH, Zare-Mehrjerdi M, Braciszewski JM, Murphy MT, Arnsten JH, Horigian V, Caldeiro RM, Addis M, Bradley KA Nurse Care Management of Opioid Use Disorder Treatment After 3 Years: A Secondary Analysis of the PROUD Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial 2024 Nov 4;7(11):e2447447. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.47447. Epub 2024-11-04. PubMed
Research
A single question helps identify patients at higher risk of cannabis use disorder
1 in 5 people who use cannabis daily at risk for moderate to severe use disorder.
Research
A better approach to prevent teen suicide deaths
New grant funds crucial work to test effectiveness of teen suicide prevention in primary care.
News
Training scientists to transform health care
Five years and 8 scholars later, KPWHRI celebrates the impact of the CATALyST training program on early-career scientists.
Research
Increasing opioid use disorder treatment in primary care
A trial led by KPWHRI researchers found that adding nurse care managers helped more people get needed treatment.
Research
Is medical use of cannabis as risky as nonmedical use?
New findings indicate medical cannabis use is associated with a lower risk of moderate to severe cannabis use disorder.
KPWHRI In the media
Improving opioid use disorder treatment with nurse care management
Nurses, access to medication expand treatment for opioid use disorder
Medscape, Dec. 19, 2024
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