Research Overview

Kathleen E. Walsh, M.D., M.Sc. is the Director of the Patient Safety Research Core and Director of the Harvard-Wide Pediatric Health Services Research Fellowship. Her research focuses on patient safety and implementation science. Funded by AHRQ R01 and R18 grants, she is leading two studies on the epidemiology and prevention of medication errors and treatment delays in children with chronic conditions. She is also leading an AHRQ R18 funded study to test strategies to improve the national spread and scale of up of a pediatric patient safety intervention. She has experience in the study medication errors and adverse drug events among children in the hospital, emergency department, clinic, and home. She has developed and evaluated health information technology interventions to support medication use. She visited the homes of children with sickle cell disease, cancer, and epilepsy in single site and multisite studies to understand barriers and facilitators of safe home medication use. In collaboration with parents of children with chronic conditions, she led the development, implementation, and testing of information technology interventions to improve home medication use. She has served as a mentor to several junior faculty interested in health services research. Her research has been funded by the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute, the Charles H. Hood Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

 

Research Background

Dr. Walsh is a practicing primary care pediatrician with NRSA T32 clinical research fellowship training, including a Masters in Epidemiology from Boston University. She received her medical degree from Georgetown and completed residency and chief residency at Rhode Island Hospital.

Selected Publications

  1. Goldstein SL, Dahale D, Kirkendall ES, Mottes T, Kaplan H, Muething S, Askenazi D, Henderson T, Dill L, Somers M, Kerr J, Gilarde J, Zaritsky J, Bica V, Brophy PD, Misurac J, Hackbarth R, Steinke J, Mooney J, Ogrin S, Chadha V, Warady B, Ogden R, Hoebing W, Symons J, Yonekawa K, Menon S, Abrams L, Sutherland S, Weng P, Zhang F, Walsh KE. A prospective multi-center quality improvement initiative (NINJA) indicated a reduction in nephrotoxic acute kidney injury in hospitalized children. Kidney International. 2020 Mar; 97(3): 580-588. PubMed PMID: 31980139
  2. Walsh KE, Razzaghi H, Hartley DM, Utidjian L, Alford S, Darwar RA, Shenkman E, Jonas S, Goodick M, Finkelstein J, Ozonoff A, Black LV, Shapiro M, Shaw K, McCafferty-Fernandez J, Marsolo K, Kelly A, Werk LN, Smallwood J, Bailey C. Testing the Use of Data Drawn from the Electronic Health Record to Compare Quality. Pediatric quality & safety. 2021 Jul 28; 6(4): e432. PubMed PMID: 34345748; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8322494.
  3. Hartley DM, Jonas S, Grossoehme D, Kelly A, Dodds C, Alford SM, Shenkman E, Simmons J, Bailey LC, Razzaghi H, Utidjian LH, McCafferty-Fernandez J, Cole FS, Smallwood J, Werk LN, Walsh KE. Use of EHR-Based Pediatric Quality Measures: Views of Health System Leaders and Parents. American journal of medical quality : the official journal of the American College of Medical Quality. 2020 Mar 1; 35(2): 177-185. PubMed PMID: 31115254.
  4. Hoffman JM, Keeling NJ, Forrest CB, Tubbs-Cooley HL, Moore E, Oehler E, Wilson S, Schainker E, Walsh KE. Priorities for Pediatric Patient Safety Research. Pediatrics. 2019 Feb 1; 143(2). PubMed PMID: 30674609; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6361358
  5. Walsh KE, Marsolo KA, Davis C, Todd T, Martineau B, Arbaugh C, Verly F, Samson C, Margolis P. Accuracy of the medication list in the electronic health record-implications for care, research, and improvement. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA. 2018 Jul 1; 25(7): 909-912. PubMed PMID: 29771350
  6. Walsh KE, Harik P, Mazor KM, Perfetto D, Anatchkova M, Biggins C, Wagner J, Schoettker PJ, Firneno C, Klugman R, Tjia J. Measuring Harm in Health Care: Optimizing Adverse Event Review. Medical care. 2017 Apr 1; 55(4): 436-441. PubMed PMID: 27906769; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5352561.
  7. Goudie A, Dynan L, Brady PW, Fieldston E, Brilli RJ, Walsh KE. Costs of Venous Thromboembolism, Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection, and Pressure Ulcer. Pediatrics. 2015 Sep 1; 136(3): 432-9. PubMed PMID: 26260712.
  8. Walsh KE, Roblin DW, Weingart SN, Houlahan KE, Degar B, Billett A, Keuker C, Biggins C, Li J, Wasilewski K, Mazor KM. Medication errors in the home: a multisite study of children with cancer. Pediatrics. 2013 May 1; 131(5): e1405-14. PubMed PMID: 23629608; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4074655.
  9. Walsh KE, Dodd KS, Seetharaman K, Roblin DW, Herrinton LJ, Von Worley A, Usmani GN, Baer D, Gurwitz JH. Medication errors among adults and children with cancer in the outpatient setting. Journal of clinical oncology: official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. 2009 Feb 20; 27(6): 891-6. PubMed PMID: 19114695 .
  10. Walsh KE, Landrigan CP, Adams WG, Vinci RJ, Chessare JB, Cooper MR, Hebert PM, Schainker EG, McLaughlin TJ, Bauchner H. Effect of computer order entry on prevention of serious medication errors in hospitalized children. Pediatrics. 2008 Mar 1; 121(3): e421-7.

Education

Undergraduate School

Cornell University
Ithaca NY

Graduate School

Boston University
Boston MA

Medical School

Georgetown Medical School
Washington DC

Internship

Pediatrics Brown Medical School
Providence RI

Residency

Pediatrics Brown Medical School
Providence RI

Fellowship

Pediatrics Boston University General Academic
Boston MA

Publications

  1. Characterizing Pediatric Aspiration Pneumonia: Diagnostic Gaps and Stewardship Opportunities. Hosp Pediatr. 2025 Oct 01; 15(10):e500-e504. View Abstract
  2. Key partner priorities for measures of safe outpatient paediatric medication use. BMJ Qual Saf. 2025 Aug 27. View Abstract
  3. Concordance Between Emergency Department Triage Score and Resource Utilization for Children From Different Racial and Ethnic Groups. Acad Emerg Med. 2025 Dec; 32(12):1356-1359. View Abstract
  4. Novel Use of a Simulation in Pediatric Type 1 Diabetes Sick-Day Education for Patients and Caregivers. Diabetes Spectr. 2025; 38(2):171-179. View Abstract
  5. Pediatric Triage Accuracy in Pediatric and General Emergency Departments. Hosp Pediatr. 2025 Jan 01; 15(1):37-45. View Abstract
  6. Factors Associated With Repeat Pediatric Influenza Vaccination Among Inconsistent Vaccinators. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2025 Jun; 64(5):681-694. View Abstract
  7. Developing methods to identify resilience and improve communication about diagnosis in pediatric primary care. Front Med (Lausanne). 2024; 11:1414892. View Abstract
  8. The Association Between Child Food Allergy and Family Food Insecurity in a Nationally Representative US Sample. Acad Pediatr. 2025 Jan-Feb; 25(1):102565. View Abstract
  9. Clinician Perspectives on Continuous Monitor Use in a Children's Hospital: A Qualitative Study. Hosp Pediatr. 2024 08 01; 14(8):649-657. View Abstract
  10. Potential Utility of C-reactive Protein for Tuberculosis Risk Stratification Among Patients With Non-Meningitic Symptoms at HIV Diagnosis in Low- and Middle-income Countries. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2024 Jul; 11(7):ofae356. View Abstract
  11. Feasibility of a clinic-based, multicomponent hydroxyurea adherence intervention for adolescents and young adults with sickle cell disease. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2024 Sep; 71(9):e31144. View Abstract
  12. Assessing the Revised Safer Dx Instrument® in the understanding of ambulatory system design changes for type 1 diabetes and autism spectrum disorder in pediatrics. Diagnosis (Berl). 2024 08 01; 11(3):266-272. View Abstract
  13. Factors Associated With HIV Testing in Adolescent and Young Adult Females With a History of STI. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2024 Nov; 63(11):1520-1527. View Abstract
  14. Measurement of Ambulatory Medication Errors in Children: A Scoping Review. Pediatrics. 2023 12 01; 152(6). View Abstract
  15. Successful outcomes for patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis despite civil unrest and COVID-19 in Haiti. PLOS Glob Public Health. 2023; 3(9):e0002356. View Abstract
  16. Same-day testing with initiation of antiretroviral therapy or tuberculosis treatment versus standard care for persons presenting with tuberculosis symptoms at HIV diagnosis: A randomized open-label trial from Haiti. PLoS Med. 2023 06; 20(6):e1004246. View Abstract
  17. "Mobilizing our leaders": A multi-country qualitative study to increase the representation of women in global health leadership. PLOS Glob Public Health. 2023; 3(1):e0000646. View Abstract
  18. Time to Culture Conversion of Bedaquiline and High-Dose Isoniazid for Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2022 Sep; 9(9):ofac440. View Abstract
  19. Context in Implementation Science. Pediatrics. 2022 03 01; 149(Suppl 3). View Abstract
  20. Editors' Note and Prologue. Pediatrics. 2022 03 01; 149(Suppl 3). View Abstract
  21. Professional stakeholders' perceptions of barriers to behavioral health care following pediatric traumatic brain injury. Brain Inj. 2022 03 21; 36(4):536-543. View Abstract
  22. Response to letter to the editor regarding "Development and validation of a predictive model algorithm to identify anaphylaxis in adults with type 2 diabetes in U.S. administrative claims data". Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2022 01; 31(1):110-111. View Abstract
  23. Testing the Use of Data Drawn from the Electronic Health Record to Compare Quality. Pediatr Qual Saf. 2021 Jul-Aug; 6(4):e432. View Abstract
  24. Development and validation of a predictive model algorithm to identify anaphylaxis in adults with type 2 diabetes in U.S. administrative claims data. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2021 07; 30(7):918-926. View Abstract
  25. Barriers and Facilitators of Adverse Event Reporting by Adolescent Patients and Their Families. J Patient Saf. 2020 09; 16(3):232-237. View Abstract
  26. The Parent Role in Advocating for a Deteriorating Child: A Qualitative Study. Hosp Pediatr. 2020 09; 10(9):728-742. View Abstract
  27. Case 21-2020: A 66-Year-Old Homeless Man with Covid-19. N Engl J Med. 2020 Jul 09; 383(2):170-178. View Abstract
  28. Smart pumps improve medication safety but increase alert burden in neonatal care. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2019 11 07; 19(1):213. View Abstract
  29. Quality and Safety of Pediatric Inpatient Care in Community Hospitals: A Scoping Review. J Hosp Med. 2019 11 01; 14(11):694-703. View Abstract
  30. Prevalence of hypertension and cardiovascular risk factors among long-term AIDS survivors: A report from the field. J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2019 10; 21(10):1558-1566. View Abstract
  31. Improved Outcomes With High-dose Isoniazid in Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis Treatment in Haiti. Clin Infect Dis. 2019 08 01; 69(4):717-719. View Abstract
  32. Use of EHR-Based Pediatric Quality Measures: Views of Health System Leaders and Parents. Am J Med Qual. 2020 Mar/Apr; 35(2):177-185. View Abstract
  33. Accelerating Improvement in Children's Healthcare Through Quality Improvement Collaboratives: A Synthesis of Recent Efforts. Curr Treat Options Pediatr. 2019 Jun; 5(2):111-130. View Abstract
  34. Female global health leadership: data-driven approaches to close the gender gap. Lancet. 2019 02 09; 393(10171):521-523. View Abstract
  35. Priorities for Pediatric Patient Safety Research. Pediatrics. 2019 02; 143(2). View Abstract
  36. Potentially High Number of Ineffective Drugs with the Standard Shorter Course Regimen for Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis Treatment in Haiti. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2019 02; 100(2):392-398. View Abstract
  37. Patient and Family Partnership for Safer Health Care. Pediatrics. 2018 09; 142(3). View Abstract
  38. Factors associated with adolescent and caregiver reported problems in using asthma medications. J Asthma. 2019 04; 56(4):451-457. View Abstract
  39. Tackling the Social Determinants of Health: A Critical Component of Safe and Effective Healthcare. Pediatr Qual Saf. 2018 Mar-Apr; 3(2):e054. View Abstract
  40. Using Health Information Technology to Improve Safety in Neonatal Care: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Clin Perinatol. 2017 09; 44(3):583-616. View Abstract
  41. Measuring Harm in Health Care: Optimizing Adverse Event Review. Med Care. 2017 04; 55(4):436-441. View Abstract
  42. Impact of a Pressure Injury Prevention Bundle in the Solutions for Patient Safety Network. Pediatr Qual Saf. 2017 Mar-Apr; 2(2):e013. View Abstract
  43. The Creation of a Pediatric Hospital Medicine Dashboard: Performance Assessment for Improvement. Hosp Pediatr. 2016 07; 6(7):412-9. View Abstract
  44. Costs of Venous Thromboembolism, Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection, and Pressure Ulcer. Pediatrics. 2015 Sep; 136(3):432-9. View Abstract
  45. Medication adherence among pediatric patients with sickle cell disease: a systematic review. Pediatrics. 2014 Dec; 134(6):1175-83. View Abstract
  46. Home medication support for childhood cancer: family-centered design and testing. J Oncol Pract. 2014 Nov; 10(6):373-6. View Abstract
  47. Automated conversation system before pediatric primary care visits: a randomized trial. Pediatrics. 2014 Sep; 134(3):e691-9. View Abstract
  48. Preventing health care-associated harm in children. JAMA. 2014 May 07; 311(17):1731-2. View Abstract

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