Heather Schacht Reisinger, PhD

Heather Reisinger, PhDAssociate Director of Engagement, Integration, and Implementation

Associate Professor, Internal Medicine - General Internal Medicine

Affiliate Faculty, Department of Anthropology

Core Investigator, Center for Comprehensive Access and Delivery Research and Evaluation (CADRE)

Personal Statement

My area of expertise is conducting ethnographic research in fields known for their interdisciplinarity. After completing my doctoral training in medical anthropology, I expanded my research skills and undertook training in epidemiology and biostatistics, while remaining dedicated to promoting ethnographic research outside my home discipline.

I have led the qualitative component on several multi-site VA, AHRQ, and NIH studies on topics including substance abuse treatment, hypertension, MI and ACS, Tele-ICU, and infection control. Currently, my research focus is infection control and prevention, telemedicine, and implementation science. I am PI on a 10-site VA grant to study optimal hand hygiene bundles, which involves intensive pre- and post-implementation ethnographic research with infection control teams regarding contextual factors.

I also oversee a large Tele-ICU evaluation and implementation project through the VA Office of Rural Health. At the Center for Access and Delivery Research and Evaluation (CADRE), I serve as the Associate Director with a significant portion of my time dedicated to mentoring new investigators at CADRE. I am also the Implementation Specialist for the VA Virtual Specialty Care Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) and a Co-I on the Human-factors Engineering to Prevent Resistant Organisms (HERO) QUERI partnered with the VA National Patient Safety Center and the Combatting Antimicrobial Resistance through Rapid Implementation of Available Guidelines and Evidence (CARRIAGE) QUERI.

I am a member of the NCI Qualitative Research in Implementation Science Workgroup, which recently published guidance in conducting qualitative research in implementation science

I am passionate about integrating all stakeholders in the process and accelerating the time it takes for evidence-based practice to reach patients, particularly among rural populations.

I enjoy running my kids around to their various activities, spending quiet time at our cabin in northeast Iowa, and commuting with my spouse.

Education

  • Anthropology/Art BA – Luther College, 1996
  • Anthropology MAA – University of Maryland, 1998
  • Anthropology PhD – American University, 2004
  • Epidemiology Post-Doc – John Hopkins University, 2006

Positions

  • Research Assistant, CuSAG (Cultural Systems Analysis Group), 1996-1997
  • Teaching Assistant, Department of Anthropology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 1996-1997
  • Student Outreach Coordinator, Office of Human Relations Programs, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 1997-1998
  • Project Manager, Friends Research Institute Inc., Social Research Center, Baltimore, MD (Funded by NIH/NIDA), 1998-2004
  • Research Assistant, Department of Anthropology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 1998
  • Teaching Assistant, Department of Anthropology, American University, Washington, DC, 2000
  • Ethnographic Project Manager, Friends Research Institute Inc., Social Research Center, Baltimore MD (funded by SAMHSA/Center for Substance Abuse Treatment), 2000-2002
  • Instructor, Department of Anthropology, American University, Washington, DC, 2001
  • Research Scientist, Friends Research Institute, Inc., Social Research Center, Baltimore, MD (Funded by NIH/NIDA), 2004-2006
  • Core Investigator, Center for Comprehensive Access and Delivery Research and Evaluation (CADRE), VA Iowa City Health Care System, Iowa City, IA, 2006-Present
  • Adjunct Assistant Professor, General Internal Medicine, Carver College of Medicine The University of Iowa, Iowa City,  IA, 2008-2011
  • Assistant Professor, General Internal Medicine, Carver College of Medicine The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 2011-2016
  • Associate Director for Research, Center for Comprehensive Access and Delivery Research and Evaluation (CADRE), VA Iowa City Health Care System, Iowa City, IA, 2016-Present
  • Associate Professor, General Internal Medicine, Carver College of Medicine The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 2016-Present

Professional Memberships

  • Fellow, Society for Applied Anthropology (Program Committee 2014-2016), 1996-Present
  • American Anthropological Association, 2001-Present
  • National Association for the Practice of Anthropology, 2001-Present
  • Society of Medical Anthropology (2014 Program Chair for Annual Meeting), 2001-Present

Honors

  • Phi Alpha Theta, Lambda Omega Chapter (International Honor Society in History), 1996
  • Lambda Alpha (National Collegiate Honors Society for Anthropology), 1996
  • Phi Beta Kappa, 1996
  • Phi Delta Gamma (National Graduate Honors Society), 2003
  • Young Alumni Award, Luther College, 2005

Contribution to Science

Integration of an ethnographic approach in health services and implementation science research. I have conducted several studies that highlight the strength of integrating qualitative research into health services and implementation science research, including stakeholder perspectives, barriers and facilitators of interventions, and organizational and process factors.   

  • Pilling, S.A., Williams, M.B., Brackett, R.H., Gourley, R., Vander Weg, M.W., Christensen, A.J., Kaboli, P.J., & Reisinger, H.S. (2010). Activating patients to engage their providers in the use of evidence-based medicine: a qualitative evaluation of the patients’ perspective among participants of the VA project to implement diuretics (VAPID). Implementation Science:IS, 5:23. PMCID:PMC2850871
  • Reisinger, H.S., Brackett, R.H., Buzza, C.D., Williams, M.B., Gourley, R., Vander Weg, M.W., Christensen, A.J., & Kaboli, P.J. (2011). “All the Money in the World…:”  patient perspectives regarding the influence of financial incentives. Health services research, 46(6pt1):1986-2004. PMCID:PMC3393021​
  • Buzza, C.D., Ono, S.S., Turvey, C., Wittrock, S., Noble, M., Reddy, G., Kaboli, P.J., & Reisinger, H.S. (2011). Distance is relative: unpacking a principal barrier in rural healthcare. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 26 (Suppl 2):648-654. PMCID:PMC3191222​​​
  • Reger, G. M., Browne, K. C., Campellone, T. R., Simons, C., Kuhn, E., Fortney, J., Sayre, G. C., & Reisinger, H. S. (2017). Barriers and facilitators to mobile application use during PTSD treatment: Clinician adoption of PE Coach. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 48(6):510-17.

Perspectives of patients and healthcare workers regarding rural health. A continuous thread in my research is understanding the perspective of both patients and healthcare workers regarding the unique impact of rurality on access and quality of health care. Early in the funding of the Veterans Rural Health Resource Center - Iowa City I led a needs assessment of rural Veterans’ healthcare needs in VISN 23. I have been committed to improving rural Veterans access to care ever since whether it is increasing their knowledge of eligibility or access to critical care and PTSD treatment.

  • Buzza, C.D., Ono, S.S., Turvey, C., Wittrock, S., Noble, M., Reddy, G., Kaboli, P.J., & Reisinger, H.S. (2011). Distance is relative: unpacking a principal barrier in rural healthcare. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 26 (Suppl 2):648-654. PMCID:PMC3191222​
  • Gaglioti A, Cozad A, Wittrock S, Stewart K, Lampman M, Ono S, Reisinger HS, Charlton ME. Non-VA Primary Care Providers' Perspectives on Comanagement for Rural Veterans. Mil Med. 2014 Nov;179(11):1236-43. (doi: 10.7205/MILMED-D-13-00342)​​​
  • Wittrock, Stacy, Ono, Sarah, Stewart, Kenda, Reisinger HS, Charlton, Mary. Unclaimed Healthcare Benefits: A Mixed-Method Analysis of Rural Veterans. J Rural Health. 2015 Jan;31(1):35-46.​​
  • Goedken CC, Moeckli J, Cram P, Reisinger HS. Introduction of Tele-ICU in Rural Hospitals: Changing Organizational Culture to Harness Benefits. Intensive & Critical Care Nursing. 2017, 40:51-56.

Evaluation of ICU telemedicine. My other main area of focus is ICU telemedicine. I recently completed a VA merit evaluating staff acceptance and patient outcomes from a regional ICU telemedicine implementation. I now lead a large implementation project focused on its expansion funded by the VA Office of Rural Health. Our research findings point to the importance of establishing an implementation protocol and defining expectations of use. In addition, implementation of a complex sociotechnological system such as ICU telemedicine may take extended time and effort to have an impact on patient outcomes.

  • Moeckli, J.M., Cram, P.J., Cunningham, C., & Reisinger, H.S. (2013). Staff Acceptance of a Telemedicine Intensive Care Unit Program: A Qualitative Study. Journal of Critical Care, 28(6):890-901.
  • Thomas JT, Moeckli J, Goedken CC, Bunch J, Cram P, Reisinger HS. (2017) Bedside Critical Care Staff Use of Intensive Care Unit Telemedicine: Comparisons by ICU Complexity. Telemedicine and eHealth, 23(9):718-725.​
  • O’Shea AMJ, Vaughan Sarrazin M, Nassar B, Cram P, Johnson L, Bonello R, Panos RJ, Reisinger HS. (2017) A Quantitative Analysis of Teleintensivist Notes as a Measure of ICU Telemedicine Utilization in the Veterans Health Administration. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 24(5):969-974.
  • Fortis S, Sarrazin MV, Beck BF, Panos RJ, Reisinger HS. ICU Telemedicine Reduces Interhospital ICU Transfers in the Veterans Health Administration. Chest, 2018 Jul;154(1):69-76.

Examination of the role of contextual and organizational factors that influence the effectiveness of interventions to prevention healthcare-acquired infections. More recently I’ve begun to focus on infection control practices in hospital settings, particularly hand hygiene. I led a national survey in the Veterans Health Administration to document hand hygiene practices across the healthcare system. This survey has been used to inform policy decisions regarding hand hygiene practices in VA. Our team has also conducted several studies to aid infection control teams in improving their hand hygiene interventions and monitoring practices through theoretically-informed, evidence-based approaches. This work in infection control has led to my current VA merit on optimizing a hand hygiene bundle and my collaboration on several projects regarding surgical site infection prevention. The foundation of these grants is an ethnographic study of the contextual and organizational factors contributing to variations in the effectiveness of these interventions.

  • Reisinger, H.S., Yin, J., Radonovich, L., Knighton, V.T., Martinello, R.A., Hodgson, M., & Perencevich, E.N. (2013). Comprehensive survey of hand hygiene measurement and improvement practices in the Veterans Health Administration. American Journal of Infection Control, 41(11):989-93.
  • Reisinger, H.S., Perencevich, E.N., Morgan, D.J., Forrest, G., Shardell, M., Schweizer, M.L., Graham, M.M., Franciscus, C.L., & Vander Weg, M.W. (2014). Improving hand hygiene compliance with point-of-use reminder signs designed using theoretically-grounded messages. Infection control and hospital epidemiology, 35(5):593-4.​
  • Schweizer, M.L., Reisinger, H.S., Ohl, M., Formanek, M.B., Blevins, A., Ward, M., & Perencevich, E. (2014). Searching for an optimal hand hygiene bundle: a meta-analysis. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 58(2):248-59.​
  • Perencevich EN, Harris AD, Pfeiffer CD, Rubin MA, Hill JN, Baracco GJ, Evans ME, Klutts JS, Streit JA, Nelson RE, Khader K, Reisinger HS. Establishing a Research Agenda for Preventing Transmission of Multidrug-Resistant Organisms in Acute-Care Settings in the Veterans Health Administration., Infection control and hospital epidemiology. 2018 February 1;39(2):189-195

Historical, political, social, and economic factors which contribute to trends of drug use and addiction. Drug epidemics occur during a particular time period, among a particular population, in a particular setting. I worked with Dr. Michael Agar for six years on a NIDA-funded grant to examine the historical, political, social, and economic factors that contribute to drug use and addiction epidemics. We studied historical and contemporary cases of epidemics. Our work has informed a wide-range of public health and anthropological studies of drug epidemics and interventional strategies.

  • Agar, M.H., & Reisinger, H.S. (2001). Trend Theory: Explaining Heroin Use Trends. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 33(3), 203-211.
  • Agar, M.H., & Reisinger, H.S. (2001). Open Marginality: Heroin Epidemics in Different Groups. Journal of Drug Issues, 31(3), 729-746.
  • Agar, M.H., & Reisinger, H.S. (2002). A heroin epidemic at the intersection of histories: the 1960s epidemic among African Americans in Baltimore. Medical Anthropology Quarterly, 21, 79-120.
  • Agar, M.H., & Reisinger, H.S. (2003). Going for the Global: The Case of Ecstasy. Human Organization, 62(1), 1-11.

Ethnographic description of patient experiences of substance abuse treatment facilities. Patterns of variation exist in patient experiences of substance abuse treatment facilities. Often these patterns do not fall into clearly defined categories in the treatment literature. Through ethnographic methods and description, our research team redefined common categories such as discharge, retention, and engagement from a patient perspective. These studies made a contribution in the literature by bringing patient perspectives to the forefront and guiding changes in treatment practices.

  • Mitchell, S.G., Morioka, R., Reisinger, H.S., Peterson, J.A., Kelly, S.M., Agar, M.H., Brown, B.S., O’Grady, K.E., & Schwartz, R.P. (2011). Redefining Retention: Recovery from the Patient’s Perspective. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 43(2), 99-107. PMCID: PMC3160714​
  • Reisinger, H.S., Schwartz, R.P., Mitchell, S.G., Peterson, J.A., Kelly, S.M., O’Grady, K.E., Marrari, E.A., Brown, B.S., & Agar, M.H. (2009). Premature Discharge from Methadone Treatment: Patient Perspectives. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 41(3), 285-296. PMCID: PMC2796585​
  • Reisinger, H.S. (2004). Counting Apples as Oranges: Epidemiology and Ethnography in Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment. Qualitative Health Research, 14(2), 241-258.​
  • Reisinger, H.S., Busch, T., Colom, M.A., Agar, M.H., & Battjes, R. (2003). Navigation and Engagement: How Does One Measure Success? Journal of Drug Issue, 33(4), 777-800.

Published Works

MyBibliography

Ongoing Research Support

  • CRE 12-289

Reisinger (PI)

04/01/2014-03/30/2018

VA HSR&D 

Building an Optimal Hand Hygiene Bundle: A Mixed Methods Approach

The major goal of this project is to test the effectiveness of a hand hygiene compliance improvement bundle and its components.

Role: PI

  • CRE 12-291

Perencevich (PI)

04/01/2014-03/31/2018

VA HSR&D

Checklist to Prevent MRSA Surgical Site Infections

The major goal of this project is to evaluate the implementation of a checklist to prevent surgical site infections.

Role: Co-I overseeing qualitative assessment of organizational structure and implementation processes

  • 1 R01 HS024108-01

Thom (PI)

07/01/2015-06/30/2019

AHRQ                        

Removing Barriers to Hand Hygiene and Glove Compliance: Evaluation of Two Novel, Time-Efficient, Interventions

This study aims to identify alternative time-efficient strategies to improve hand hygiene and glove compliance in settings where glove use is required.

Role: Co-Investigator overseeing qualitative evaluation

  • CK000448-01

Perencevich (PI)

09/30/2015-09/29/2018

CDC

Volume of Contamination and Nosocomial Infection Control (VOLCANIC)

This is a CDC EpiCenter grant evaluating patient, healthcare worker, and environmental contamination and prevention.

Role: Co-I

  • N32-FY18Q1-S3-P01096

Reisinger (PI)

10/01/2017-09/30/2019

VA Office of Rural Health, Rural Health Resource Center—Central Region

Survey Evaluation of Tele-ICU in Rural Facilities

The major goal of this project is to survey Tele-ICU expansion sites regarding perceptions and utilization of Tele-ICU.

Role: PI

Completed Research Support

  • CDA 08-013

Reisinger (PI)

1/2009-10/2011

VA HSR&D

Evaluation of Family Outreach Mental Health Program for OEF/OIF Veterans

This career award was a formative evaluation of mental health family-outreach efforts at the Iowa City VAMC targeted at Reserve and National Guard (R/NG) veterans returning from Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF).

Role: PI

  • No Grant #

Reisinger & Perencevich (Co-PI)

01/01/2012 – 06/30/2012

VANational Center for Occupational Health and Infection Control (COHIC)

Project 1 Title: Deputy Under Secretary for Health Survey on Hand Hygiene

Project 2 Title: Systematic Review of Hand Hygiene Interventions

Drs. Reisinger and Perencevich are leading COHIC projects (a national field survey and hand hygiene intervention literature review) that will inform the creation of a national hand hygiene initiative for VHA.

Role: Co-PI

  • HHSA290200600021

Perencevich (PI)

01/01/2011 – 12/31/2013

VA HSR&D

Improving Practice: Automated Compliance Monitoring Infection Control

The major goal of this project is to validate product usage as a measure of hand hygiene compliance and to test theoretically-derived hand hygiene interventions.

Role: Co-Investigator

  • N32-FY14Q1-S1-P01096

Reisinger (PI)

10/01/2013 – 09/30/2014

VA Office of Rural Health, Rural Health Resource Center – Central Region

Implementation of Tele-ICU in Rural Facilities

The major goal of this grant is to develop and evaluate an implementation toolkit for Tele-ICU (remote monitoring of ICUs) in rural VA facilities. The grant includes the development of metrics for evaluating Tele-ICU impact.

Role: PI

  • N32-FY14Q1-S2-P01096

Reisinger (PI)

10/01/2014-09/30/2015

VA Office of Rural Health, Rural Health Resource Center—Central Region

Survey Evaluation of Tele-ICU in Rural Facilities

The major goal of this project is to survey Tele-ICU expansion sites regarding perceptions and utilization of Tele-ICU.

Role: PI

  • IIR-09-336

Reisinger (PI)

7/01/2010 – 12/31/2015

VA HSR&D

The Impact of Remote ICU Monitoring on Patient Outcomes and Processes of Care

This project supports an evaluation of patient outcomes and processes of care related to the introduction of a remote monitoring center to VISN23 ICUs.

Role: PI