Health Outcomes & Safety Research

The Quality and Safety Research Group (QSRG) is a team of faculty and staff, under the leadership of Peter Pronovost, who convene experts from across the Schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Public Health at the Johns Hopkins University in efforts to improve the science and practice of patient safety and quality care. Our patient safety–focused health services research is designed to develop tools, educate stakeholders, engage providers, execute interventions, share knowledge, and perform rigorous evaluation. Our strength lies in our ability to find that sweet spot between scientific rigor and real-world practicality. All of our efforts seek to provide an answer to the ever-important question, “How do we know patients are safer?” Some of our areas of focus include developing, implementing, and evaluating safety and quality programs at both the individual and project levels; increasing the extent to which patients reliably receive recommended, evidence-based interventions; measuring and improving safety culture; identifying and mitigating hazards; and designing and implementing methods to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of large-scale projects designed to improve quality and safety in healthcare. With these efforts, we hope to improve safety efforts in healthcare systems both within the U.S and abroad.

Berenholtz, Sean – Associate Professor. Research Focus: applying rigorous clinical research methods to improve the quality of care in the intensive care unit. HEALTH OUTCOMES AND SAFETY RESEARCH

Fackler, James – Associate Professor. Research Focus: mathematical modeling of hospital patient flow-through; data acquisition and data mining in the operating room and intensive care unit. HEALTH OUTCOMES AND SAFETY RESEARCH

Heitmiller, Eugenie – Professor. Research Focus: healthcare quality improvement and safety research, particularly as it relates to pediatric patients undergoing anesthesia. HEALTH OUTCOMES AND SAFETY RESEARCH

Hunt, Elizabeth – Associate Professor. Research Focus: Use of medical simulation to improve training techniques and patient safety; methods to improve healthcare multi-disciplinary team communication. HEALTH OUTCOMES AND SAFETY RESEARCH

Lubomski, Lisa – Assistant Professor. Research Focus: devising and researching methods to improve quality of care and patient safety, particularly in the critical care and surgical environments. HEALTH OUTCOMES AND SAFETY RESEARCH

Nelson, Kristen – Assistant Professor. Research Focus: use of medical simulation to improve resident and nurse resuscitation skills and patient safety; the role of human factors in cardiopulmonary arrest management; methods to improve healthcare multidisciplinary team communication. HEALTH OUTCOMES AND SAFETY RESEARCH

Pham, Julius – Associate Professor. Research Focus: patient safety, patient care in the intensive care unit, quality health care, evidence-based medicine, and the measurement and evaluation of safety efforts. HEALTH OUTCOMES AND SAFETY RESEARCH

Pronovost, Peter - Professor, Departments of Anesthesiology/Critical Care Medicine and Surgery, Professor, Department of Health Policy & Management, The Bloomberg School of Public Health, Professor, School of Nursing, Medical Director, Center for Innovation in Quality Patient Care, Director, Quality and Safety Research Group. Research Focus: patient safety, patient care in the intensive care unit, quality health care, evidence-based medicine, and the measurement and evaluation of safety efforts. HEALTH OUTCOMES AND SAFETY RESEARCH

Schwartz, Jamie – Assistant Professor. Research Focus: use of medical simulation to improve resident and nurse resuscitation skills and patient safety; the role of human factors in cardiopulmonary arrest management; methods to improve healthcare multidisciplinary team communication. HEALTH OUTCOMES AND SAFETY RESEARCH

Sexton, Janel – Assistant Professor. Research Focus: using sociomedical psychology to determine how people cope with job-related upheavals and health disparities. HEALTH OUTCOMES AND SAFETY RESEARCH

Shaffner, Hal – Associate Professor. Research Focus: healthcare quality improvement and safety research, particularly as it relates to pediatric patients undergoing anesthesia. HEALTH OUTCOMES AND SAFETY RESEARCH

Shilkofski, Nicole – Assistant Professor. Research Focus: using high-fidelity mannequin simulation and computer-based screen simulation as educational modalities within biomedicine, particularly with regard to pediatric resuscitation. HEALTH OUTCOMES AND SAFETY RESEARCH

Thompson, David – Assistant Professor. Research Focus: patient safety, patient care in the intensive care unit, quality health care, evidence-based medicine, and the measurement and evaluation of safety efforts. HEALTH OUTCOMES AND SAFETY RESEARCH 

Winters, Brad – Assistant Professor. Research Focus: patient safety, patient care in the intensive care unit, quality health care, evidence-based medicine, and the measurement and evaluation of safety efforts. HEALTH OUTCOMES AND SAFETY RESEARCH

Wu, Christopher – Professor. Research Focus: the effect of regional anesthesia and analgesia on mortality, morbidity, and patient-oriented outcomes; acute and postoperative pain management; obstetric anesthesia and analgesia. HEALTH OUTCOMES AND SAFETY RESEARCH, PAIN