Melissa Anderson, MS
“My work is rewarding because we study a wide variety of scientific questions that address major public health priorities and our results have an impact.”
Melissa Anderson, MS
Principal Collaborative Biostatistician, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute
Melissa.L.Anderson@kp.org
206-287-2647
Biography
Biostatistician Melissa Anderson, MS, has collaborated on a wide range of health care topics throughout her career, with an emphasis on preventive care. Her recent research has focused on cancer screening and cardiovascular health. Ms. Anderson worked with Beverly Green, MD, MPH, to determine whether a centralized system of stepped increases in support improves uptake and long-term adherence to colorectal cancer screening. Ms. Anderson and Dr. Green have also collaborated to answer important questions regarding cardiovascular health, including whether a patient’s cardiovascular risks can be defined using automated electronic health record data and if this method can identify high-risk patients. Other areas of interest are blood pressure measurement variability, and diagnostic accuracy of various blood pressure measurement protocols.
Ms. Anderson has experience with longitudinal observational studies and has considerable expertise in the design and analysis of randomized clinical trials. She was the lead analyst for recent randomized trials of behavioral interventions to (1) promote smoking cessation and oral health behaviors among smoking quitline callers, (2) decrease sedentary time among older adults with obesity, and (3) improve pain and function outcomes through group-based cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction among patients with chronic back pain.
Ms. Anderson received her master’s degree in biostatistics at the University of Washington in 1996. Prior to joining Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in 2003, she worked at the Statistical Coordinating Center for the Cardiovascular Health Study, and the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.
Research Interests and Experience
-
Biostatistics
Randomized trials, diagnostic test accuracy, longitudinal data analysis, missing data methods
-
Behavior Change
Physical activity, oral health care, smoking cessation
-
Cancer
Breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening
Cardiovascular Health
Cardiovascular risk assessment, blood pressure measurement
-
Preventive Medicine
Adherence to preventive care recommendations
Recent publications
Chen JA, Anderson ML, Cherkin DC, Balderson BH, Cook AJ, Sherman KJ, Turner JA Moderators and Nonspecific Predictors of Treatment Benefits in a Randomized Trial of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction vs. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy vs. Usual Care for Chronic Low Back Pain 2023 Feb;24(2):282-303. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2022.09.014. Epub 2022-09-27. PubMed
Hsu C, Hansell L, Ehrlich K, Munson S, Anderson M, Margolis KL, McClure JB, Hall YN, Thompson M, Joseph D, Green BB Primary care physician beliefs and practices regarding blood pressure measurement: results from BP-CHECK qualitative interviews 2023 Jan 25;24(1):30. doi: 10.1186/s12875-022-01950-1. Epub 2023-01-25. PubMed
Winer RL, Lin J, Anderson ML, Tiro JA, Meenan RT, Hansen K, Gao H, Sparks A, Greene DN, Kilgore-Martin S, Green BB, Buist DSM Design of a pragmatic randomized controlled trial of home-based human papillomavirus (HPV) self-sampling for increasing cervical cancer screening uptake in a U.S. healthcare system: The STEP trial 2022 Nov;122:106960. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2022.106960. Epub 2022-10-12. PubMed
Green BB, Anderson ML, Cook AJ, Ehrlich K, Hall YN, Hsu C, Joseph D, Klasnja P, Margolis KL, McClure JB, Munson SA, Thompson MJ Clinic, Home, and Kiosk Blood Pressure Measurements for Diagnosing Hypertension: a Randomized Diagnostic Study 2022 Sep;37(12):2948-2956. doi: 10.1007/s11606-022-07400-z. Epub 2022-03-03. PubMed
Blasi PR, Scrol A, Anderson ML, Gray MF, Tiffany B, Fullerton SM, Ralston JD, Leppig KA, Henrikson NB Feasibility, acceptability, and limited efficacy of health system-led familial risk notification: protocol for a mixed-methods evaluation 2022 Aug 9;8(1):174. doi: 10.1186/s40814-022-01142-9. Epub 2022-08-09. PubMed
Research
Mailed HPV test kits are cost-effective for screening
Study provides economic rationale for health systems to adopt mailed kits for cervical cancer screening.
Research
Helping first-time screeners know when to return
Well-timed outreach in print and video can boost awareness of repeat screening for lung cancer, study finds.
New findings
There’s no place like home … to track blood pressure
Research led by KPWHRI’s Beverly Green, MD, MPH, finds that patients prefer at-home monitoring of blood pressure.
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.