Susan D. Brown, PhD

People

Kaiser Permanente Division of Research
2000 Broadway
Oakland, CA 94612

(510) 891-3544 (phone)
susan.d.brown@kp.org
Kaiser Permanente Researcher Profiles

Susan D. (Moore) Brown, PhD, is a Research Scientist I and licensed clinical psychologist at the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research. Her research focuses on health behavior change for chronic disease prevention, particularly among racial and ethnic minority groups. She has directed weight management lifestyle interventions for several federally funded trials and examines patient engagement, program effectiveness, and implementation-related issues. Her interests in minority health extend to ethnic identity and minority recruitment to clinical trials. Dr. Brown has received a Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01) from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to examine patient engagement in diabetes prevention programs, as well as support from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities Loan Repayment Program. Dr. Brown completed her undergraduate degree at Duke University and doctorate in clinical psychology at Boston University. Prior to joining the Division of Research in 2010, she completed predoctoral clinical training at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center and a postdoctoral research fellowship in cardiovascular disease prevention at the Stanford Prevention Research Center in the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Current Position(s):

Research Scientist I, Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California
Assistant Director, Early Stage Investigator Training Program

Section Affiliations:

Primary Research Interests:

Behavior change
Chronic disease prevention
Diabetes
Obesity
Patient engagement
Ethnic minority health and health disparities
Women’s health

Studies

Understanding Patient Engagement in Lifestyle Programs for Diabetes Prevention among Women with a Recent History of GDM

While lifestyle programs to prevent type 2 diabetes are increasingly available, the drivers of patient engagement in them remain poorly understood. This study aims to identify characteristics of patient subgroups at risk for poor engagement, providing a basis for future targeted outreach efforts among women with a history of gestational diabetes.
Investigator: Brown, Susan
Funder: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Engaging At-Risk Minority Women in Health System Diabetes Prevention Programs

The potential for efficacious lifestyle interventions to prevent type 2 diabetes hinges on patient engagement in real-world healthcare settings. Yet patient engagement strategies are suboptimal and attrition is often highparticularly concerning for ethnic minority women who bear disproportionate burdens of diabetes and diabetes risk factors and may be less likely to utilize evidence-based approaches to lifestyle change. The training objectives of this career development award are to strengthen expertise in diabetes, implementation science, health disparities, and biostatistics. The research objectives are to experimentally test feasible, theory-driven strategies to increase engagement in diabetes prevention programs among minority women at high risk for diabetes. These strategies will incorporate tailored diabetes risk information and basic psychosocial science (e.g., self-affirmation theory) to promote translation of diabetes prevention programs in a practice setting.
Investigator: Brown, Susan
Funder: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Highlighted Publications

Minority recruitment into clinical trials: experimental findings and practical implications

Author(s): Brown SD; Lee K; Schoffman DE; King AC; Crawley LM; Kiernan M

Contemp Clin Trials. 2012 Jul;33(4):620-3. Epub 2012 Mar 16.

Current Position(s):

Section Affiliations:

Primary Research Interests:

Studies

Understanding Patient Engagement in Lifestyle Programs for Diabetes Prevention among Women with a Recent History of GDM

Engaging At-Risk Minority Women in Health System Diabetes Prevention Programs

Highlighted Publications

Minority recruitment into clinical trials: experimental findings and practical implications

Publications

A Tailored Letter Based on Electronic Health Record Data Improves Gestational Weight Gain Among Women With Gestational Diabetes: The Gestational Diabetes' Effects on Moms (GEM) Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial

Leveraging EHRs for patient engagement: perspectives on tailored program outreach

Perceived psychosocial stress and gestational weight gain among women with gestational diabetes

Lifestyle behaviors and ethnic identity among diverse women at high risk for type 2 diabetes

​The Comparative Effectiveness of Diabetes Prevention Strategies to Reduce Postpartum Weight Retention in Women With Gestational Diabetes Mellitus; The Gestational Diabetes' Effects on Moms (GEM) Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.

Wellness Coaching for People With Prediabetes: A Randomized Encouragement Trial to Evaluate Outreach Methods at Kaiser Permanente, Northern California, 2013

Telephone-Based Coaching: A Comparison of Tobacco Cessation Programs in an Integrated Health Care System

Outreach to diversify clinical trial participation: A randomized recruitment study

Post-partum weight loss and glucose metabolism in women with gestational diabetes: the DEBI Study

The Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure-Revised: Measurement Invariance Across Racial and Ethnic Groups

Patient Satisfaction and Perceived Success with a Telephonic Health Coaching Program: The Natural Experiments for Translation in Diabetes (NEXT-D) Study, Northern California, 2011

Risk of Large-for-Gestational-Age Newborns in Women With Gestational Diabetes by Race and Ethnicity and Body Mass Index Categories

The Stanford Leisure-Time Activity Categorical Item (L-Cat): a single categorical item sensitive to physical activity changes in overweight/obese women

Health-Plan and Employer-Based Wellness Programs to Reduce Diabetes Risk; The Kaiser Permanente Northern California NEXT-D Study

Promoting healthy weight with 'stability skills first': A randomized trial

Social support for healthy behaviors: scale psychometrics and prediction of weight loss among women in a behavioral program

Minority recruitment into clinical trials: experimental findings and practical implications

Outcome expectations and realizations as predictors of weight regain among dieters

Mindfulness and experiential avoidance as predictors and outcomes of the narrative emotional disclosure task

The Comparative Effectiveness of Diabetes Prevention Strategies to Reduce Postpartum Weight Retention in Women With Gestational Diabetes Mellitus; The Gestational Diabetes' Effects on Moms (GEM) Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.