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Katherine
Miller

Assistant Professor

Katherine Miller, PhD, studies how public policies impact the long-term care workforce and the people with complex medical needs for whom they care.

Contact Info

Research Interests

Health services research, disability, personal care, family caregiving, formal caregivers, long-term care, health economics

Experiences & Accomplishments
Overview

As a health services researcher, I apply an economic lens to research at the intersection of aging and health policy evaluation. I am interested in understanding how public policies impact the long-term care workforce and the people with complex medical needs for whom they care. Collectively, my work examines the effects of policies and interventions on outcomes of the workforce (e.g., wages of the paid caregivers and well-beings of unpaid/family caregivers); the mechanisms impacting quality of care (e.g., turnover); and, patient outcomes across the spectrum of long-term care settings. While these are my core research questions, I am also interested in understanding disparities in long-term care by rurality.

Honors & Awards

2022    Delta Omega Theta Chapter, University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health

2022    Best Overall Abstract, Conference on Caregiving Research, The National Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Family Support at the University of Pittsburgh

2020    Finalist, HSRproj Research Competition for Students, AcademyHealth

2019    UNC Graduate School Transportation Grant

2014    Jean G. Yates Public Health Policy Award, Department of Health Policy & Management, University of North Carolina

Select Publications

Selected publications

  • Miller KEM, Ornstein K, and Coe NB. “Rural disparities in use of family and formal caregiving for older adults with disabilities.” Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2023 Apr 20. doi: 10.1111/jgs.18376. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37081828.

  • Miller KEM, Van Houtven CH, Kent EE, Gilleskie D, Holmes GM, Smith VA, Stearns SC. Short-term effects of comprehensive caregiver supports on caregiver outcomes. Health Services Research. 2023 Feb;58(1):140-153. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.14038. Epub 2022 Aug 5. PMID: 35848763.

  • Miller KEM, Zhao J, Laine L, and Coe NB. “Growth of Private Pay Residential Care Communities in Metropolitan Areas in the United States, 2006-2018”. Medical Care Research and Review. 2022:107755872211061. doi:10.1177/10775587221106121.

  • Miller KEM, Stearns SC, Van Houtven CH, Gilleskie D, Holmes GM, and Kent EE. “The Landscape of State Policies Supporting Family Caregivers as aligned with the National Academy of Medicine Recommendations” The Milbank Quarterly.   May 17, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0009.12567

  • Miller KEM, Gorges RJ, Konetzka RT, Van Houtven CH. The Metrics Matter: Improving Comparisons of COVID-19 Outbreaks in Nursing Homes. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. 2021 May;22(5):955-959.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2021.03.001. Epub 2021 Mar 10. PMID: 33812840; PMCID: PMC7945871.

Projects
Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Youth and Young Adult Caregivers. National Institute on Aging via Population Aging Research Center at University of Pennsylvania. Co-PI: Miller, KEM and Coe, NB.
The Mediating Role of State Policies Supporting Care Partners of Persons Living with Dementia on Care Partner Outcomes. National Institute on Aging via CeASES-ADRD. PI: Miller, KEM
VA Caregiver Support Program Partnered Evaluation Center. Quality Enhancement Research Initiative. Project Director: Van Houtven, CH. Associate Directors: Miller, KEM and Shepherd-Banigan M