Chronic Illness Management
Research overview
What do diabetes, back pain, depression, and heart disease have in common? They're among a host of chronic health problems and disabilities that have traditionally received too little attention from health care systems — until serious complications develop. Modern medicine tends to focus on detecting and treating acute problems, leaving fewer resources for the needs of patients with chronic illnesses, which may be less urgent but are equally important.
Our population is aging rapidly, and people with chronic conditions are living longer. Chronic conditions now affect more than 145 million Americans. About half of Americans over 65 — our nation’s fastest-growing segment — have at least 2 chronic conditions. As our need for improved chronic care grows, health care delivery systems are trying to correct the many deficiencies in current management of chronic diseases.
For over 2 decades, KPWHRI scientists have been developing, implementing, and promoting better models of care for chronic illness. Much of this work is led by the institute's Center for Accelerating Care Transformation (ACT Center), which is widely recognized for its refinement and dissemination of the Chronic Care Model. The ACT Center continues to work with providers nationwide to develop strategies and tools for health care systems seeking to improve chronic illness care.
Such resources are then shared globally through active engagement with international organizations developing guidance and care recommendations. Providers worldwide continue to adapt materials such as the ACT Center’s Patient Assessment of Chronic Illness Care and Patient-Centered Medical Home Assessment surveys.
Recent publications on Chronic Illness Management
Wong ND, Nelson JC, Granston T, Bertoni AG, Blumenthal RS, Carr JJ, Guerci A, Jacobs DR Jr, Kronmal R, Liu K, Saad M, Selvin E, Tracy R, Detrano R. Metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and incidence and progression of coronary calcium: the multiethnic study of atherosclerosis study. JACC Cardiovasc Imaging. 2012;5(4):358-66. PubMed
Scott RA, Chu AY, Grarup N, Manning AK, Hivert MF, Shungin D, Tonjes A, Yesupriya A, Barnes D, Bouatia-Naji N, Glazer NL, Jackson AU, Kutalik Z, Lagou V, Marek D, Rasmussen-Torvik LJ, Stringham HM, Tanaka T, Aadahl M, Arking DE, Bergmann S, Boerwinkle E, Bonnycastle LL, Bornstein SR, Brunner E, Bumpstead SJ, Brage S, Carlson OD, Chen H, Chen YD, Chines PS, Collins FS, Couper DJ, Dennison EM, Dowling NF, Egan JS, Ekelund U, Erdos MR, Forouhi NG, Fox CS, Goodarzi MO, Grässler J, Gustafsson S, Hallmans G, Hansen T, Hingorani A, Holloway JW, Hu FB, Isomaa B, Jameson KA, Johansson I, Jonsson A, Jørgensen T, Kivimaki M, Kovacs P, Kumari M, Kuusisto J, Laakso M, Lecoeur C, Lévy-Marchal C, Li G, Loos RJ, Lyssenko V, Marmot M, Marques-Vidal P, Morken MA, Müller G, North KE, Pankow JS, Payne F, Prokopenko I, Psaty BM, Renström F, Rice K, Rotter JI, Rybin D, Sandholt CH, Sayer AA, Shrader P, Schwarz PE, Siscovick DS, Stancáková A, Stumvoll M, Teslovich TM, Waeber G, Williams GH, Witte DR, Wood AR, Xie W, Boehnke M, Cooper C, Ferrucci L, Froguel P, Groop L, Kao WH, Vollenweider P, Walker M, Watanabe RM, Pedersen O, Meigs JB, Ingelsson E, Barroso I, Florez JC, Franks PW, Dupuis J, Wareham NJ, Langenberg C. No interactions between previously associated 2-h glucose gene variants and physical activity or BMI on 2-h glucose levels. Diabetes. 2012 May;61(5):1291-6. Epub 2012 Mar 13. PubMed
Kho AN, Hayes MG, Rasmussen-Torvik L, Pacheco JA, Thompson WK, Armstrong LL, Denny JC, Peissig PL, Miller AW, Wei WQ, Bielinski SJ, Chute CG, Leibson CL, Jarvik GP, Crosslin DR, Carlson CS, Newton KM, Wolf WA, Chisholm RL, Lowe WL. Use of diverse electronic medical record systems to identify genetic risk for type 2 diabetes within a genome-wide association study. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2012 Mar-Apr;19(2):212-8. Epub 2011 Nov 19. PubMed
Thompson AW, Kobau R, Park R, Grant D. Epilepsy care and mental health care for people with epilepsy: California Health Interview Survey, 2005. Prev Chronic Dis. 2012;9:E60. Epub 2012 Feb 23. PubMed
Frederickson R, Crane PK, Tufano J, Ralston J, Schmidt S, Brown T, Layman D, Harrington RD, Dhanireddy S, Stone T, Lober W, Kitahata MM, Crane HM. Integrating a web-based, patient-administered assessment into primary care for HIV-infected adults. J AIDS HIV Res. 2012;4(2):47-55. PubMed
Researchers in Chronic Illness Management
 Beverly B. Green, MD, MPHSenior Investigator |
 James D. Ralston, MD, MPHSenior Investigator |
 Paula Lozano, MD, MPHSenior Investigator; Director, ACT Center |
 Katie Coleman, MSPHDirector, ACT Center |
 Gregory E. Simon, MD, MPHSenior Investigator |
 Katharine A. Bradley, MD, MPHSenior Investigator |
 Jennifer B. McClure, PhDDirector, Investigative Science |
 Dori E. Rosenberg, PhD, MPHSenior Investigator |
 Ben Balderson, PhDSenior Collaborative Scientist |
 Joseph E. Glass, PhD, MSWAssociate Investigator |
 Yu-Ru Su, PhDAssociate Biostatistics Investigator |
 Chloe Krakauer, PhDCollaborative Biostatistician |
 Mikael Anne Greenwood-Hickman, MPHCollaborative Scientist |
 Laurel Hansell, MA, MPHCollaborative Scientist |
 Claire Allen, MPHManager, Collaborative Science |
 Morgan Justice, MACollaborative Scientist |
Affiliate Researchers in Chronic Illness Management
Laura-Mae Baldwin, MD, MPH
Professor, Department of Family Medicine
University of Washington
Linda LeResche, ScD
Associate Dean for Research, School of Dentistry
Professor, Oral Medicine
University of Washington
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Recent News
Patients may not be telling their doctors what matters to them most
KPWHRI’s VITAL study discovers six domains that people with chronic illness too rarely discuss with their care providers.
Read about it & watch the video in News and Events.
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Do mast cells hold the key to chronic and unexplained disease?
Dr. Jennifer McClure reflects on evidence about mast cells as a key to chronic disease, providing new insights for physicians, researchers, and the public.
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