SUMMARY
Robert M. Jacobson, M.D., and his partners in the Population Health Science Program at Mayo Clinic's Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery aim to improve health outcomes of empaneled primary care patients through interventions at a population level. Dr. Jacobson's research pays special attention to those groups at risk for disparities in health care. His research work also focuses on interventions that health care organizations, such as Mayo Clinic, can pursue rather than interventions pursued by public health or insurers.
Focus areas
Dr. Jacobson and his team focus on the development and evaluation of:
- Population-based interventions that improve vaccination delivery resulting in on-time and up-to-date routine vaccination rates for both children and adults.
- Stepped-wedge cluster randomized controlled trial designs as a methodology for evaluating population-based interventions.
- Population health concerns and solutions using the Rochester Epidemiology Project as a rich data source of health care experience.
Significance to patient care
Contemporary primary care practices still rely upon the office visit to pursue the mission of achieving optimal health for each individual. That means primary care practices still depend on the patient to be present for office visits. However, much of what a primary care practice seeks to accomplish for its population of patients can, and should, take place outside of traditional office visits; these include efforts to alert, communicate, educate, screen and even intervene. Such efforts could make better use of modern electronics, patient time and community resources. It is the goal of the research efforts of Dr. Jacobson and his colleagues to create such interventions. These interventions will improve the health of individuals and the well-being of the community while reducing disparities in health care and costs.
Professional highlights
- Program Director/Principal Investigator, "Less Pain, Less Fuss, Right Now!" and "Make It Count!" — Multilevel Interventions for Patient, Parent, and Practice to Enhance Provider Recommendations for HPV Vaccination, National Cancer Institute, 2018-present
- Medical director, Population Health Science Scholars Program, Robert E. and Patricia D. Kern Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery, Mayo Clinic, 2014-present
- Associate editor, systematic and narrative reviews, Academic Pediatrics, 2012-present
- Robert Todd Duncan Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, Butler University, 2022
- President, Minnesota Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, 2012-2014