Lauren Crain, PhD
Senior Research Investigator and Statistician

About

Lauren Crain, PhD, is a Senior Research Investigator at HealthPartners Institute and a member of the Research Methodology Group. She earned her PhD in Psychology (Social) at the University of Kansas her MS in Psychology (Social) at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She sees research as a tool for learning how to deliver health care in a way that results in better health for people. For the past decade she has worked with her colleagues to design and evaluate the effectiveness system-wide interventions that embed clinical decision support tools into the electronic health record to promote the delivery of evidence-based care to patients. Prior to that, she contributed to work to assess the efficacy of behavioral interventions to promote the initiation and maintenance of behaviors related to physical activity and weight management.

Conducting Institute research since 2001.

Education and training:
PhD, social psychology, University of Kansas, 1996
MS, social psychology, Unive

Affiliation

positions

  • Senior Research Investigator and Statistician, Research Methodology Group
  • Sr. Research Investigator & Statistician, Center for Chronic Care Innovation 2001 -
  • Publications While At HealthPartners

    selected publications

    Journal Article
  • Clinical decision support to improve primary care obesity management in adults with diabetes: clinic-randomized study design
    Contemporary Clinical Trials. 2025
  • A CKD clinical decision support system: a cluster randomized clinical trial in primary care clinics
  • Applying meaning and self-determination theory to the development of a web-based mHealth physical activity intervention: proof-of-concept pilot study
  • Confidence in diagnosing and managing care for cognitive impairment in primary care: a survey comparing barriers by primary care clinician type
    Family Practice. 2024
  • Cumulative environmental stress and emerging cardiometabolic risk during childhood
  • Editorial Article
  • Risk and benefit information and use of aspirin [editorial]
    JAMA internal medicine.  177. 2017
  • Self-reported diabetes is a valid outcome in pragmatic clinical trials and observational studies [editorial]
  • Conference Paper
  • Changes in physical activity and nutrition in a behavioral intervention pilot study: Passport to Brain Wellness
    2010
  • Does comorbid bipolar condition affect diabetes quality of care measures?
    2007
  • Maintaining physical activity among older adults: six months outcomes of the Keep Active Minnesota (KAM) randomized controlled trial
    2007
  • Research integrity and the social and psychological environments of science
    2007
  • Should diabetes accountability measures be adjusted for mental health diagnosis? The case of schizophrenia
    2007
  • Conference Poster
  • A clinical decision support system promotes shared decision-making and cardiovascular risk factor management [poster]
    2017
  • Aspirin for primary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease: challenges to appropriate use [poster]
    2017
  • Can prioritized clinical decision support in primary care reduce cardiovascular risk? [poster]
    2017
  • Clinical decision support impact on overuse and underuse of aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular events [poster]
    2017
  • Impact of improving diabetes care on Quality adjusted Life Expectancy (QALE) and costs: a 40-year perspective [poster]
    2017
  • Report
  • Comparing telehealth and clinic-based care for lowering uncontrolled high blood pressure
    2021
  • Review
  • The effect of exercise during pregnancy on maternal outcomes: practical implications for practice [review]
    American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. 2008
  • Weight-loss outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of weight-loss clinical trials with a minimum 1-year follow-up [review article] J Am Diet Assoc
    2007
  • Abstract
  • Comparing change in systolic blood pressure with clinic-based care versus telehealth care in a pragmatic cluster-randomized trial (Hyperlink 3) [abstract]
  • Differences in chronic kidney disease management in patients with and without diabetes in a large care delivery system [abstract]
    Diabetes. 2020
  • A web-based clinical decision support system (Wizard) increases appropriate cardiometabolic diagnostic coding at primary care visits [abstract]
    Journal of patient-centered research and reviews. 2019
  • Dissemination and sustained use of an outpatient clinical decision system with high use rates, high clinician satisfaction, and positive impact on quality of care [abstract]
    Journal of patient-centered research and reviews. 2019
  • Variation in care improvement opportunities suggests need for tailored clinician-specific improvement interventions [abstract]
    Journal of patient-centered research and reviews. 2019
  • Document
  • Correlations of body mass index with the circadian mean and amplitude of endocrine and metabolic functions in the elderly
    2007
  • Depression diagnosis is related to number of outpatient visits in diabetes and non-diabetes patients
    2007
  • Diabetes care is no better in clinics that use electronic medical records (EMR)
    2007
  • Does diabetes double the risk of depression?
    2007
  • EMR (Electronic Medical Record) is not associated with better diabetes care
    2007
  • presentations

    Presentation
  • A partnership approach to evaluation of the implementation of a natural experiment [presentation], Seattle Implementation Research Conference (SIRC)
  • Associations between the survey of organizational research climate and self-reported research behavior [presentation], Office of Research Integrity Quest for Research Excellence Conference
  • Challenges in recruiting family caregivers to a clinical trial on MBSR (mindfulness-based stress reduction) for stress reduction [presentation], Gerontological Society of America 63rd Annual Scientific Meeting
  • Comparing self-report and objective measurement of physical activity in successful weight losers [presentation], American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Annual Meeting
  • Control over work and time: implications for racial differences in physical activity among working mothers [presentation], American Public Health Association 140th Annual Meeting and Exposition
  • Contact

    full name

  • Lauren Crain, PhD
  • primary email

  • Lauren.A.Crain@HealthPartners.com
  • located in facility

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