Denise Lishner, MSW Research Coordinator Family Medicine Research Section Family Medicine Residency Network e-mail

Research Interests & Roles

My research interests over the years have involved disparities in health care (such as
cancer treatment and screening) for rural and underserved populations, AIDs, substance
abuse and delinquency prevention. Since 1988 I have been the Associate Director of the
WWAMI Rural Health Research Center and Research Coordinator for the University of
Washington Department of Family Medicine and the Center for Health Workforce
Studies. I have managed numerous projects over the years that have examined health
care disparities among different populations (e.g., rural versus urban, different
ethnic/racial groups, people with disabilities, and patients of varied social economic
backgrounds). These projects have, for example, compared these different populations in
terms of preventive screening and treatment for Medicare patients with cancer, provision
of emergency services for the rural elderly, anesthesia care, and utilization of obstetrical
services. Other studies with which I have been actively involved focused on assessments
of graduate medical training and federal program and policy efforts to increase the
supply of providers serving rural and other underserved populations. I have co-authored
published articles, reports and monographs summarizing research findings and their
policy implications, am editor of the Center working paper series, and have conducted
and published comprehensive reviews and synthesis of various aspects of the health
services research literature,