At the core of Leah Tuzzio’s work is a passion for stakeholder engagement and applying human-centered design methods to pragmatic research, with a goal of uncovering real-world solutions to common health and care issues. She contributes to a wide range of quality-improvement and health care design research focused on advancing whole-person health. She has particular interest in social health disparities research, and reducing social isolation, financial hardship, and other social risks that impact people’s health and well-being.
At Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI), Ms. Tuzzio is a scientific collaborator on many teams. She focuses on projects related to social determinants of health, patient-centered care, and quality improvement research on topics related to cancer, chronic illnesses, and dementia.
Some of Ms. Tuzzio’s projects that use qualitative design research methods include:
Among other highlights from her tenure with KPWHRI:
Before joining KPWHRI (formerly known as Group Health Research Institute) in 2005, Ms. Tuzzio was a senior project manager overseeing large health disparities research studies in New York City. Certified as a Six Sigma green belt in quality improvement, she also collaborated with a team to reduce lost Medicare claims revenue in a health care system.
Outside of work, Ms. Tuzzio spends time with her family doing building projects and outdoor activities that always include their dog, Rutabaga. She also enjoys volunteering with various community-based organizations that focus on homelessness, food insecurity, public land, and education.
Health promotion; social/behavioral theories; smoking cessation
Health promotion; social/behavioral theories; smoking cessation
Primary care organization and design; quality of primary care; implementation science; value-based health care; patient-centered care; team-based care
Patient-centered medical home
Collaborative approaches to transforming health care systems; design of health care systems and teams; evaluation of health care systems; measurement of change in health care systems
Preventive care; evidence-based medicine; immunization
Clinic-community linkages; preventive medicine; addressing social determinants of health
Tuzzio L, Ludman EJ, Chang E, Palazzo L, Abbott T, Wagner EH, Reid RJ, Design and implementation of a physician coaching pilot to promote value-based referrals to specialty care. Perm J. 2017;21. doi: 10.7812/TPP/16-066. PubMed
Henrikson NB, Tuzzio L, Gilkey MB, McRee AL. "You're never really off time": healthcare providers' interpretations of optimal timing for HPV vaccination. Prev Med Rep.doi:10.1016/j.pmedr.2016.05.002. [Epub ahead of print].
Brandzel S, Chang E, Tuzzio L, Campbell C, Coronado N, Bowles EJ, Bradford SC, Buist DS. Latina and Black/African American women's perspectives on cancer screening and cancer screening reminders. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2016 Nov 18. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Parchman ML, Fagnan LJ, Dorr DA, Evans P, Cook AJ, Penfold RB, Hsu C, Cheadle A, Baldwin LM, Tuzzio L. Study protocol for "Healthy Hearts Northwest": a 2 x 2 randomized factorial trial to build quality improvement capacity in primary care. Implement Sci. 2016 Oct 13;11(1):138. PubMed
Henrikson NB, Lau RW, Tuzzio L, Christianson M, Phan TH, Chen E. Treatment prices at the point of care in a clinical oncology service: pilot project. J Oncol Pract. 2016 Oct;12(10):e957-e963. PubMed
Johnson K, Tuzzio L, Renz A, Baldwin LM, Parchman M. Decision-to-implement worksheet for evidence-based interventions in organizations: development and testing in the WWAMI region practice and research network. J Am Board Fam Med. 2016 Sep-Oct;29(5):553-62. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2016.05.150327. PubMed
Madrid S, Tuzzio L, Stults C, Wright L, Napolitano G, Dillon E, Tabano H, Greene S. Sharing experiences and expertise: the Health Care Systems Research Network workshop on patient engagement in research. J Patient Cent Res Rev. 2016;3:159-66. doi: 10.17294/2330-0698.1272.
Green BB, Anderson ML, Chubak J, Baldwin LM, Tuzzio L, Catz S, Cole A, Vernon SW. Colorectal cancer screening rates increased after exposure to the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH). J Am Board Fam Med. 2016;29(2):191-200. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2016.02.150290. PubMed
By partnering with patients, KPWHRI researchers developed 2 new interventions to boost lung cancer screening.
KPWHRI researchers uncover obstacles faced by smaller practices when adding CVD risk calculators into primary care.
The MacColl Center’s LEAP project identifies 11 features of effective leadership at primary care practices.
Leah Tuzzio, MPH, and colleagues describe an underutilized role that can help primary care become truly patient-centered.
Healthcare Innovation, March 30, 2022