Our Research
Science to serve one goal: Better health
Scientists at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI) have a rare advantage: We work within a system that provides both care and coverage. With a 360-degree view of people’s everyday health experience over time, we discover what works best to serve Kaiser Permanente's mission: better health.
We collaborate closely with Kaiser Permanente Washington's medical staff and other providers — gaining from their perspectives on practical approaches to health care’s toughest problems. Together, we create a learning health care system — a place where research strengthens practice and practice strengthen research.
Scientists
Working in the public interest
Our faculty work on interdisciplinary research teams, conducting about 300 studies at any given time. They partner with affiliate researchers and others from academic institutions and health systems and share findings in the public domain to serve the public good.
See our KPWHRI researcher directory.
News
Richards and Nelson earn research awards
Honors from the Health Care Systems Research Network for early career achievements and manuscript of the year
2021 highlights
Top 10 research highlights in 2021
We look back at 2021 research findings, including on COVID-19 vaccines, health equity, dementia, and suicide risk factors.
Funding sources
A broad base of support
Most of our support comes from federal agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health. We also contract with biomedical companies and receive grants from private foundations. About 5 percent of our budget comes from Kaiser Permanente Washington.
See our list of funders.
Practical findings
Is blood pressure reading better at home or clinic?
Home blood pressure monitoring shown to be an excellent alternative for making new diagnoses of hypertension.
Research
COVID-19 pandemic research at KPWHRI
Having long tracked infectious diseases and tested vaccines, KPWHRI now focuses on the novel coronavirus.
Recent publications
Holt JM, Cusatis R, Mortensen N, Wolfrath N, Hyun N, Winn AN, Brown SA, Somai MM, Crotty BH. Twenty-first century house calls: a survey of ambulatory care providers to inform organisational telehealth strategy. BMJ Health Care Inform. 2022 Dec;29(1):e100626. doi: 10.1136/bmjhci-2022-100626. PubMed
Su YR, Buist DS, Lee JM, Ichikawa L, Miglioretti DL, Aiello Bowles EJ, Wernli KJ, Kerlikowske K, Tosteson A, Lowry KP, Henderson LM, Sprague BL, Hubbard RA. Performance of statistical and machine learning risk prediction models for surveillance benefits and failures in breast cancer survivors. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2023 Jan 25:EPI-22-0677. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-22-0677. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Luderer H, Enman N, Gerwien R, Braun S, McStocker S, Xiong X, Koebele C, Cannon C, Glass J, Maricich Y. A prescription digital therapeutic to support unsupervised buprenorphine initiation for patients with opioid use disorder: Protocol for a proof-of-concept study. JMIR Res Protoc. 2023 Jan 20;12:e43122. doi: 10.2196/43122. PubMed
Geissler KH, Ericson KM, Simon GE, Qian J, Zeber JE. Differences in insurance coverage for individuals with schizophrenia after implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. JAMA Psychiatry. 2023 Jan 18. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2022.4628. Online ahead of print. PubMed
Collaborate with us
KPWHRI oversees all research conducted at Kaiser Permanente Washington, ensuring that all studies involving Kaiser Permanente Washington members are aligned with the organization’s primary mission: to improve health. Researchers from outside Kaiser Permanente Washington can learn more about our processes for collaborating with KPWHRI faculty members.
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.