Dr. Cynthia Zubritsky
Director of Integrated Primary Care and Behavioral Health Initiatives; Senior Research Faculty, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Zubritsky has a background in psychology, with specific training and expertise in developing system integrative tools for consumer-driven behavioral health systems with the expertise to collaborate on the qualitative data collection components.
Previous work on a five year health disparity study with Philadelphia-based Community Mental Health Centers, focusing on the consumer response to the implementation of an electronic prescribing system, provided her with the opportunity to develop and implement consumer focus groups, surveys and interviews targeted toward a similar intervention.
As the Director of Integrated Programs she completed ethnographic and survey research with a variety of mental health and substance abuse service programs participants and service recipients. Her extensive experience in working with state mental health agencies on a variety of mental health studies has always included the measurement of consumer response to the study’s targeted goals. Examples of this work include: consumer response to the Olmstead decision (2006); older adults’ response to randomized integrated treatment programs (SAMHSA sponsored PRISM-E study) a consumer assessment of needs for the Delaware State Hospital (2009); and consumer and stakeholder response to the development of integrated mental health and substance abuse programs in two states. Qualitative data is a key element in understanding the outcome and impact of the targeted intervention. She has successfully administered multiple studies, collaborated with other researchers, and produced peer-reviewed publications from multiple projects.
Her research experience has taught her the importance of collaboration amongst researchers, service site and research participants. This application builds logically on her prior work in studies investigating issues of treatment engagement and comparison of innovative models of care.