Archive—Events 2019
2019 seminars and events
December 10, 2019
Blood Pressure Checks and Diagnosing Hypertension: BP-CHECK a randomized controlled diagnostic study.
Where: Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, 4–5 p.m., Room 1509A
Speaker: Beverly Green, MD, MPH Senior Investigator, Kaiser Permanents Washington Health Research Institute
Summary
BP-CHECK was a PCORI funded randomized controlled pragmatic diagnostic trial that compared the accuracy of three methods for diagnosing hypertension (clinic, home, and kiosk blood pressures) to 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (the gold standard). The study had 4 aims: comparative accuracy, comparative acceptability, comparative six-month outcomes, and provider beliefs about blood pressure measurement and hypertension diagnosis. Blood pressure diagnostic testing is complex and we need to do a better job.
Coffee and tea will be provided.
November 13, 2019
18th Annual Hilde and Bill Birnbaum Endowed Lecture
The Affordability Imperative: Delivering on the Promise of Health and Health Care for All
Where: Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall, 200 University Street, downtown Seattle, 7 to 9 p.m.
Speaker: Eric B. Larson, MD, MPH, a senior investigator and former executive director at KPWHRI and former vice president for research and health care innovation at Kaiser Permanente Washington.
SPACE IS LIMITED. RSVP REQUIRED.
Summary
Dr. Larson, MD, MPH, is a leading expert in health services, clinical research, and healthy aging. His lecture will be a call to action, encouraging efforts regionally and nationally to improve health and health care for everyone by reducing disparities, addressing social determinants of health, and promoting value in health care systems.
A senior investigator at KPWHRI, Dr. Larson is the former vice president for research and health care innovation at Kaiser Permanente Washington and former executive director of the KPWHRI. He is also professor of medicine and health services at the University of Washington and is author of Enlightened Aging: Building Resilience for a Long, Active Life.
A reception following the lecture will honor Dr. Larson’s 17 years of leadership as he leaves the helm of KPWHRI to focus on his research.
Please RSVP by November 8, 2019
RSVP at 206-442-5220 or KpwhriBirnbaumLecture@kp.org
September 24, 2019
Incidence – It’s not for breakfast anymore
Where: Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, 4–5 p.m., Room 1509A
Speaker: H. Gilbert (Gil) Welch, MD, MPH, US Indian Health Service, the Department of Veterans Affairs
Summary
Incidence is a central measure of disease burden. Most of us were introduced to the measure early in our training – the first year of public health or medical school – and probably haven’t thought about it critically since. It has become increasingly apparent, however, that reported incidence can be influenced by diagnostic scrutiny: the combined effect of the frequency of diagnostic/screening exams (including the physical exam, imaging and laboratory testing), the ability of the exams to detect small irregularities, and the threshold to label these as disease. These system effects make reported incidence an unreliable measure of true disease occurrence and may produce misleading signals about the burden of disease, the effectiveness of therapy and the importance of risk factors.
Coffee and tea will be provided.
July 10, 2019
Hospitalization of people with dementia: problems and future directions
Where: Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, 4–5 p.m., Room 1509A
Speaker: Dr Andrew Sommerlad MD PhD, Wellcome Trust Research Fellow, University College London - Division of Psychiatry
Summary
Admissions to general hospitals are more common for people with dementia than those without, but adverse outcomes often complicate admissions, and hospitalization is therefore costly for the individual and society. This seminar will present new evidence on hospital admission rates and factors which predict admission in people with dementia, as well as detection of dementia in hospitals. Approaches to avoidance of unnecessary admissions will be critiqued and potential future strategies outlined.
Coffee and tea will be provided.
June 11, 2019
Designing & testing the future of home-based cervical cancer screening: results from a collaborative academic-embedded delivery system pragmatic randomized trial
Where: Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, 4–5 p.m., Room 1509A
Speaker: Diana S.M. Buist, PhD
Senior Investigator, Director of Research and Strategic Partnerships, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute
Affiliate Professor in the Departments of Epidemiology and Health Services, University of Washington (UW) School of Public Health
Affiliate Member, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Summary
One in four U.S. women are not up-to-date with cervical cancer screening; 50% of cervical cancers diagnosed annually in the U.S. occur in underscreened women. We evaluated whether a programmatic strategy of mailed HPV kits increased detection and treatment of cervical pre-cancers (CIN2+) and screening uptake. This seminar will provide results from the HOME randomized trial. From 2014-2016, we randomized 19,851 women aged 30-64 years and overdue for Pap screening into a pragmatic trial within Kaiser Permanente Washington. Follow-up intervals were 6, 12, and 18 months for screening uptake, CIN2+, and treatment, respectively. The control arm (n=9,891) included usual care (annual patient reminders, ad hoc clinic outreach); the intervention arm (n=9,960) included usual care plus a mailed HPV kit, allowing women to select home-based or in-clinic testing. Kaiser Permanente’s lab communicated kit results to primary care providers who were responsible for follow-up. Primary outcomes were CIN2+ detection and treatment. A secondary outcome was screening uptake (kit with reflex in-clinic screen if indicated, or no kit but in-clinic screen).
Coffee and tea will be provided.
May 28, 2019
Antidepressant medication continuation during pregnancy and perinatal outcomes, including gestational weight gain, gestational diabetes, and birthweight.
Where: Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, 4–5 p.m., Room 1509A
Speaker: Paige Wartko, PhD, MPH, Research Associate, KPWHRI
Summary
In the US, 7–8% of pregnant women use antidepressants. The risks of using these medications in pregnancy are not fully understood. Most prior studies of potential risks compared women using antidepressants in pregnancy with the general population of pregnant women, likely leading to confounding by indication. This presentation will describe findings from a study within a KPWA cohort of women who used antidepressants before pregnancy, comparing those who continued use in pregnancy with those who did not, regarding their amount of gestational weight gain, gestational diabetes risk, and infants’ birthweight.
Coffee and tea will be provided.
May 14, 2019
Integrating Cross-Sector Administrative Data to Drive Community Health
Where: Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, 4–5 p.m., Room 1509A
Speaker: Hannah Cohen-Cline, PhD, MPH, Research Scientist at the Center for Outcomes Research & Education, Providence Health & Services.
Summary
Providence’s Center for Outcomes Research & Education is part of a multi-sector effort that seeks to create data-driven strategies to foster learning and collaboration to improve community health in Southwest Washington. Our aim is to develop a collaborative regional approach to addressing underlying social and economic issues that lead to poor health outcomes. Our work so far has been to bring together housing, health care, and education administrative data at the individual-level; define specific populations of interest; and begin constructing descriptive and inferential statistics on these populations.
Coffee and tea will be provided.
April 23, 2019
Honoring the contributions of Dr. Michael Von Korff: How to build on his legacy
Where: Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, 3–5 p.m., Room 1509A
Speakers: KPWHRI senior Investigators Dr. Greg Simon and Dr. Lynn DeBar
Summary
This special scientific seminar and reception will honor senior investigator Michael Von Korff, ScD, upon his retirement from Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute. Greg Simon, MD, MPH, and Lynn DeBar, PhD, will present perspectives on the Institute’s future research opportunities in the mental health and chronic pain fields that build from Dr. Von Korff's foundational work in these areas over the last four decades.
After the one-hour seminar, there will be a reception and tribute to celebrate his 36 years of leadership and service at KPWHRI. Coffee, tea, soft drinks, wine, and cheese will be served.
March 12, 2019
Linked housing and health data as a platform for improving outcomes
Where: Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, 4–5 p.m., Room 1509A
Speaker: Alastair Matheson Ph.D, M.P.H, an epidemiologist at Public Health—Seattle & King County
Summary
Housing is a fundamental driver of health and wellbeing. Public Health – Seattle & King County, Seattle Housing Authority, and King County Housing Authority have partnered to link public housing and Medicaid claims data with the goal of using the linked data to inform program planning and evaluate interventions. Come and learn about the process of linking the data, the data products produced so far, plans for the second phase of the project, and how this work fits in with other data linkage initiatives.
Coffee and tea will be provided.
February 26, 2019
Alcohol Use, Depression Severity and Access to Firearms: Improving Health System Suicide Prevention Initiatives Using Routine Patient-Reported Behavioral Health Monitoring Tools.
Where: Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, 4–5 p.m., Room 1509A
Speaker: Julie E. Richards, MPH, Research Associate, KPWHRI, PhD Candidate in Health Services, University of Washington School of Public Health
Summary
Suicide prevention opportunities are possible in health care systems, because patients often seek care prior to suicide attempt. Standard questions about alcohol use, depression severity and firearm access may be useful for improving suicide prevention initiatives in the health care setting. This presentation will describe a series of quantitative and qualitative analyses designed to: 1. evaluate the short-term risk of suicide attempt associated with different patterns of alcohol use, and 2. identify barriers and facilitators to patient disclosures about suicidality and access to firearms.
Coffee and tea will be provided.
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.