Julie Richards, PhD, MPH

Julie Richards

“My hope is that one day patient-centered care for mental health and substance use is the norm rather than the exception.” 

Julie Angerhofer Richards, PhD, MPH

Associate Scientific Investigator, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute
Affiliate Assistant Professor, Department of Health Systems and Population Health, University of Washington School of Public Health

Twitter: @jangerhofer

Biography

Julie Richards, PhD, MPH, is passionate about improving care for mental health and substance use in partnership with people who provide and receive health care. She applies qualitative methods to inform what research questions we should be asking and how we should consider answering them. She employs statistical methods to inform implementation evaluations with a goal of optimizing care delivery and improving clinical practice effectiveness and patient outcomes. 

Dr. Richards recently received new grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to research firearm suicide prevention in health care systems via user-centered design and community-based participatory research. She also collaborates with multidisciplinary teams on a variety of mental health and addiction research projects, supports care delivery research partnerships, and mentors students at the University of Washington as an affiliate assistant professor.

Research interests and experience


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

Richards JE, Boggs JM, Rowhani-Rahbar A, Kuo E, Betz ME, Bobb JF, Simon GE. Patient-reported firearm access prior to suicide death.  JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Jan 4;5(1):e2142204. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.42204. PubMed

Boggs JM, Quintana LM, Beck A, Clinch S, Richardson L, Conley A, Richards JE, Betz ME. "Lock to Live" for firearm and medication safety: Feasibility and acceptability of a suicide prevention tool in a learning healthcare system.  Front Digit Health. 2022 Sep 6;4:974153. doi: 10.3389/fdgth.2022.974153. eCollection 2022. PubMed

Blasi P, Mettert KD, Coleman K, Lewis CC, Wagner E, Coghill M, Dang T, Richards J. Transitioning patients from outpatient mental health services to primary care: a rapid literature review. Implement Res Pract. 2021 Sep 14;2:26334895211041294. doi: 10.1177/26334895211041294. eCollection 2021.

Richards JE, Kuo E, Stewart C, Bobb JF, Mettert KD, Rowhani-Rahbar A, Betz ME, Parrish R, Whiteside U, Boggs JM, Simon GE. Self-reported access to firearms among patients receiving care for mental health and substance use. JAMA Health Forum. 2021 Aug 6;2(8):e211973. doi: 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2021.1973. eCollection 2021 Aug. PubMed

Rossom RC, Richards JE, Sterling S, Ahmedani B, Boggs JM, Yarborough BJH, Beck A, Lloyd K, Frank C, Liu V, Clinch SB, Patke LD, Simon GE. Connecting research and practice: implementation of suicide prevention strategies in learning health care systems. Psychiatr Serv. 2022 Feb 1;73(2):219-222. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.202000596. Epub 2021 Jun 30. PubMed

 

Research

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Suicide attempts decreased after adding suicide care to primary care

Safety planning and risk screening improved outcomes for adult patients.

Research

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Understanding adoption of Lock to Live, a decision aid supporting suicide prevention

KPWHRI research finds ways to increase use of a firearm safety tool.

News

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Kaiser Permanente expands gun violence prevention work

Equity-focused research by Julie Angerhofer Richards, PhD, MPH, is among the work supported by $3.2 million.

KPWHRI in the media

Julie Angerhofer Richards profiled for PSBJ award

She talks to suicide attempt survivors to advance prevention research

Puget Sound Business Journal, Dec. 6, 2023