Research

Health Services Administration faculty engage in a variety of research activities and initiatives. Current research topics include:

  • Improving quality of care through organizational quality improvement programs
  • Improving patient outcomes by reducing hospital readmissions and hospital-acquired infections
  • Using clinical informatics to improve provider knowledge and decision making, with the ultimate goal of enhancing patient care outcomes
  • Enhancing "value" (low-cost and high-quality health care delivery) in health care organizations
  • Analyzing the impact of national health care policies on organizational quality outcomes
  • Examining organizational culture and its impact on administrative decision making
  • Analyzing the role Medicaid plays in child health care utilization
  • Examining community benefit relationships with regulatory, market, and organizational factors
  • Using content analysis to examine the Affordable Care Act and its depiction in the health research literature
  • Improving the linkage between hospitals and public health departments in terms of managing the health status of populations

Students in the HSA program have a variety of opportunities to engage in research, working with individual faculty through independent study arrangements or embarking on their own research initiatives.

HSA students have participated in and finished near or at the top of the American College of Healthcare Executives Richard J. Stull National Student Essay Competition in Healthcare Management:

  • Meredith Sarringhaus was the 2011 Award Winner for the Undergraduate Competition. Her paper, "The Great Divide: Social Media's Role in Bridging Healthcare's Generational Shift," was published in the July/August 2011 issue of the Journal of Healthcare Management. She also received $3,000 for winning the competition.
  • Alyssa Leyritz finished second in the undergraduate competition in 2013 with her paper "Planetree Model: Planting the Seed for Patient Personalization." She received $2,000 for finishing second in the competition.
  • Jeremy Trescott finished third in 2005 for his paper "A Review and Analysis of the Medical Malpractice Liability Crisis." He received $1,000.

Students also have opportunities to perform research in two program requirements. In HLTH 4665, students are sent out to local health care organizations and agencies to provide "free" management consulting services in terms of solving "real" organizational problems. These solutions often require a great deal of upfront data collection and research. Further, in HLTH 4910 (the internship), students are often asked to perform research as part of their work-related requirements.