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
Liss DT, Chubak J, Anderson ML, Saunders KW, Tuzzio L, Reid RJ. Patient-reported care coordination: associations with primary care continuity and specialty care use. Ann Fam Med. 2011;9(4):323-9. PubMed
Onega T, Cook A, Kirlin B, Shi X, Alford-Teaster J, Tuzzio L, Buist DS. The influence of travel time on breast cancer characteristics, receipt of primary therapy, and surveillance mammography. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2011 Aug;129(1):269-75. Epub 2011 May 7. PubMed
Clauser SB, Wagner EH, Aiello Bowles EJ, Tuzzio L, Greene SM. Improving modern cancer care through information technology. Am J Prev Med. 2011;40(5 Suppl 2):S198-207. PubMed
Wagner EH, Aiello Bowles EJ, Tuzzio L, Wiese CJ, Kirlin B, Greene SM, Clauser SB. The quality of cancer patient experience: perspectives of patients, family members, providers, and experts. Qual Saf Health Care. 2010 Dec;19(6):484-9.
Chubak J, Hsu C, Tuzzio L, Kirlin B, Nekhlyudov L. C-a4-01: providing care for cancer survivors in integrated delivery systems: an assessment of current practices and future opportunities. Clin Med Res. 2010;8(3-4):182.
Onega T, Cook A, Kirlin B, Buist D, Tuzzio L. PS3-16: the influence of travel time on breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. Clin Med Res. 2010;8(3-4):196. PubMed
Horner K, Wagner E, Bowles EA, Kirlin B, Tuzzio L. PS3-29: the benefits of stakeholder involvement in research. Clin Med Res. 2010;8(3-4):201.
Lin CP, Black RA, Laplante J, Keppel GA, Tuzzio L, Berg AO, Whitener RJ, Buchwald DS, Baldwin LM, Fishman PA, Greene SM, Gennari JH, Tarczy-Hornoch P, Stephens KA. Facilitating health data sharing across diverse practices and communities. AMIA Jt Summits Transl Sci Proc. 2010 Mar 1;2010:16-20. 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