Dr. Miller studies nursing home (NH) end-of-life care and long-term care utilization and quality. Her ongoing research includes studies that aim to understand the use of hospice care in NHs, how use is associated with state policies, and how hospice care influences quality. Another study is examining NH "culture change" practices, state policies associated with their adoption, and quality outcomes.

Institutions

BU

Research Description

Dr. Susan Miller is an Associate Professor of Community Health at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. She is a gerontologist and epidemiologist whose research focuses on nursing home end-of-life care, hospice care, and long-term care utilization and quality. Dr. Miller's recent research includes an applied policy study funded by the JEHT Foundation and aimed at understanding how state policies and practices influence access to and quality of palliative care/hospice for persons receiving long-term care services, and a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded study to identify and disseminate nursing home/hospice "collaborative solutions." Her ongoing research includes studies funded by the National Institute on Aging, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the Alzheimer's Association that aim to understand how use of hospice care in nursing homes has changed over time, how key federal state policy may be associated with this use, how changes in state policies and practices may be associated with changes in use, and how hospice use is associated with resident and nursing home quality of care indicators. Another ongoing study, funded by the Retirement Research Foundation, is examining how state policies may be associated with the implementation of culture change in U.S. nursing homes and how the implementation of culture change practices is associated with quality outcomes. The goal of Dr. Miller's research is to generate and disseminate knowledge to inform policymaking and care provision; the ultimate goal is to improve access to and the quality of long-term care, particularly end-of-life care. Prior to receiving her Ph.D. in 1997, Dr. Miller had an over 20-year career as an administrator, educator, and consultant in the field of health information management.

Awards

"Partner in Policy & Advocacy Award" presented by The Center for Hospice, Palliative Care & End-of-Life Studies, University of South Florida, March 4, 2005.

Faculty Scholar, Project on Death in America, Open Society Institute, 7/2002 to 6/2004

"James G. Zimmer New Investigator Research Award", Gerontological Health Section of the American Public Health Association, 2000

Honorable Mention, "The Laurence G. Branch, Ph.D. Student Research Award," Gerontological Health Section of the American Public Health Association, 1997

Affiliations

Member: National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization's Research Committee, 2004—present

Member: Task Force to Improve End-of-Life Care, sponsored by the Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General, 2003-present

Appointee: American Public Health Association's Action Board, 2005-2008

Editorial Advisory Board Member: Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, appointment 9/2004-9/2006

Grant Reviewer: The Alzheimer's Association, 1999-present

Advisory Board Member: Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, appointment effective 1/2005.

Member: Association for Health Services Research, 1997-present

Member: Gerontology Society of America, 1992-present

Member: American Public Health Association, Gerontological Health Section, 1992-present

Reviewer: Archives of Internal Medicine, Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, Milbank Quarterly, Journal of Palliative Medicine, The Gerontologist, Journal of American Geriatrics Society, Medical Care, Social Science and Medicine

Funded Research

Current Research
1. Co-Principal Investigator, Project 4, Variations in Life's Final Chapter and co-investigator of Core B, Shaping Long-term Care in American, National Institute on Aging P01, 9/15/07—6/30/12.

2. Principal Investigator, Hospice Enrollment and LTC Policy (HELP), total costs $74,962, Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, 8/1/07—7/31/2009.

3. Principal Investigator (of subcontract), The ADEPT Study: Estimating Prognosis in Advanced Dementia (PI Susan Mitchell, Ph.D., Hebrew Senior Life / Harvard), subcontract total costs $284,458, National Institute on Aging, 9/1/06 – 8/31/10.

4. Principal Investigator, Improving Data Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Disease Research: Normal Aging through Dementia, Brown Medical School and Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research, 1/1/07-12/31/09.

5. Co-Investigator, Evaluation of Health Information Exchange (PI Patrick Vivier: RIDH/AHRQ), 2/1/06-9/30/09

6. Principal Investigator, Nursing Home Culture Change: Understanding its Implementation and Impact, total costs $289,435, Retirement Research Foundation, 6/1/2008 – 5/31/11.

7. Principal Investigator, End-of-Life Care and Hospice: Older Adults with Dementia in Nursing Homes, total costs $198,963, Alzheimer's Association, 8/1/2008 – 7/31/10.

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