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
-
Behavior Change
-
Addictions & Unhealthy Substance Use
-
Health Services & Economics
Implementation research; quality measurement
-
Implementation Research
Screening and brief intervention; mental health quality measurement
-
Child & Adolescent Health
-
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
Williams EC, McGinnis KA, Bobb JF, Rubinsky AD, Lapham GT, Skanderson M, Catz SL, Bensley KM, Richards JE, Bryant KJ, Edelman EJ, Satre DD, Marshall BDL, Kraemer KL, Blosnich JR, Crystal S, Gordon AJ, Fiellin DA, Justice AC, Bradley KA Changes in alcohol use associated with changes in HIV disease severity over time: A national longitudinal study in the Veterans Aging Cohort 2018 Aug;189:21-29. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2018.04.022. Epub 2018-05-24. PubMed
Bradley KA, Bobb JF, Ludman EJ, Chavez LJ, Saxon AJ, Merrill JO, Williams EC, Hawkins EJ, Caldeiro RM, Achtmeyer CE, Greenberg DM, Lapham GT, Richards JE, Lee AK, Kivlahan DR Alcohol-Related Nurse Care Management in Primary Care: A Randomized Clinical Trial 2018 May;178(5):613-621. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2018.0388. PubMed
Berger D, Lapham GT, Shortreed SM, Hawkins EJ, Rubinsky AD, Williams EC, Achtmeyer CE, Kivlahan DR, Bradley KA Increased Rates of Documented Alcohol Counseling in Primary Care: More Counseling or Just More Documentation? 2018 Mar;33(3):268-274. doi: 10.1007/s11606-017-4163-2. Epub 2017-10-18. PubMed
Lapham GT, Lee AK, Caldeiro RM, McCarty D, Browne KC, Walker DD, Kivlahan DR, Bradley KA Frequency of Cannabis Use Among Primary Care Patients in Washington State 2017 Nov;30(6):795-805. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2017.06.170062. PubMed
Williams EC, Achtmeyer CE, Young JP, Berger D, Curran G, Bradley KA, Richards J, Siegel MB, Ludman EJ, Lapham GT, Forehand M, Harris AHS. Barriers to and facilitators of alcohol use disorder pharmacotherapy in primary care: a qualitative study in five VA clinics. J Gen Intern Med. 2017 Oct 30. doi: 10.1007/s11606-017-4202-z. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Williams EC, Lapham GT, Rubinsky AD, Chavez LJ, Berger D, Bradley KA Influence of a targeted performance measure for brief intervention on gender differences in receipt of brief intervention among patients with unhealthy alcohol use in the Veterans Health Administration 2017 Oct;81:11-16. doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2017.07.009. Epub 2017-07-19. PubMed
Bobb JF, Lee AK, Lapham GT, Oliver M, Ludman E, Achtmeyer C, Parrish R, Caldeiro RM, Lozano P, Richards JE, Bradley KA Evaluation of a Pilot Implementation to Integrate Alcohol-Related Care within Primary Care 2017 Sep 8;14(9). doi: 10.3390/ijerph14091030. Epub 2017-09-08. PubMed
Takahashi T, Lapham G, Chavez LJ, Lee AK, Williams EC, Richards JE, Greenberg D, Rubinsky A, Berger D, Hawkins EJ, Merrill JO, Bradley KA Comparison of DSM-IV and DSM-5 criteria for alcohol use disorders in VA primary care patients with frequent heavy drinking enrolled in a trial 2017 Jul 18;12(1):17. doi: 10.1186/s13722-017-0082-0. Epub 2017-07-18. PubMed
Williams EC, Lapham GT, Bobb JF, Rubinsky AD, Catz SL, Shortreed SM, Bensley KM, Bradley KA Documented brief intervention not associated with resolution of unhealthy alcohol use one year later among VA patients living with HIV 2017 Jul;78:8-14. doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2017.04.006. Epub 2017-04-13. PubMed
Bradley KA, Ludman EJ, Chavez LJ, Bobb JF, Ruedebusch SJ, Achtmeyer CE, Merrill JO, Saxon AJ, Caldeiro RM, Greenberg DM, Lee AK, Richards JE, Thomas RM, Matson TE, Williams EC, Hawkins E, Lapham G, Kivlahan DR Patient-centered primary care for adults at high risk for AUDs: the Choosing Healthier Drinking Options In primary CarE (CHOICE) trial 2017 May 17;12(1):15. doi: 10.1186/s13722-017-0080-2. Epub 2017-05-17. 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
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.