Our work

Developing and Disseminating Health Knowledge

Research

Kaiser Permanente is one of the largest nonacademic research institutions in the nation, and our unique ability to make important contributions to health-related research is increasingly recognized throughout the nation. With an integrated structure and stable member population, we can track health outcomes over decades, drawing from a rich, detailed database of protected information.

At our eight research centers across the country, we study the causes of disease, prevention strategies, new treatments and diagnostic procedures, and more effective methods of delivering and financing health care. We have studied thousands of topics, including: the effectiveness of new childhood vaccines, colon cancer prevention, and the use of health education sessions as a tool for chronic disease management. In 2003 alone, we conducted 1,776 clinical trials, epidemiological studies, and health services research.

Moving Research into Practice

We are deeply committed to extending the benefits of our enormous research capabilities beyond our walls to the entire medical field and the communities we serve. Our findings are published in peer-reviewed medical journals, helping to expand the evidence base for what medical care works, for whom, under what circumstances, and at what cost.

Besides making our findings public, we share them with safety net providers we work with – hospitals, clinics, and health departments – as well as various community partners. By moving our research into practice in this way, we are making a significant contribution to community health. In Oregon, for example, our researchers discussed their latest findings on childhood obesity in seven public forums. At an asthma program for low-income children based in San Francisco, we shared successful chronic conditions management practices that we developed.

We also expect our new Kaiser Permanente HealthConnect, a comprehensive, cutting-edge electronic medical information system, to yield huge new possibilities for health research and health practice.

Health Policy

Our research and clinical expertise is also shared with policymakers. Kaiser Permanente’s Institute for Health Policy provides a focus and resources to help advance the nation’s health policy agenda. We bring experts together to research and analyze health policy, with a goal of increasing understanding of policy issues and helping provide solutions. Working in collaboration with foundations, policy institutes, research programs, policymakers, and other organizations, the Institute seeks to develop unbiased information about health policy issues and alternatives.

The Institute has played an active role in advancing national patient safety policies that reduce medical and system errors.

Consumer Education

Education is critical to community health. Kaiser Permanente uses innovative methods ranging from health educational theatre in schools, to farmers' markets offering nutritional information, Web sites, and hands-on experience to help empower people in our communities to make informed health choices.

Our professional, award-winning Educational Theatre Program has been one of our most visible and successful Community Benefit programs since our troupes of actor-educators first began presenting to schools in 1985. More than 11 million people have attended our shows, which provide current, age-appropriate health information to young people between the ages of 5 and 18 and to a growing number of adults.

We recently expanded public access to a wealth of health information, including Kaiser Permanente’s health encyclopedia on our Web site, www.kaiserpermanente.org. Visitors to many public libraries can check out Kaiser Permanente health education videos on a broad array of topics.

Consumer education is also a key element at most of our Farmers’ Markets. We expect to have 29 markets in operation at our facilities across the nation by the end of 2005 – providing our members, our staff and the people in our local communities with access to high quality, reasonably priced fresh fruits and vegetables.

Clinician Education

The nation increasingly faces a shortage of medical personnel as the population ages, and new innovative approaches are needed to recruit and train medical professionals to assure that the United States maintains its high standards of health care. Kaiser Permanente is keenly aware of the need to address this problem. A critical part of our community benefit strategy is educating, training, and developing the health care workforce. We do this through a number of avenues including residencies, clinical training programs such as our School of Allied Health Sciences in Richmond, California, and nursing scholarships and loans.

Residencies
Each year, we train more than 2,000 physician residents and interns. Many of our residency programs include a community service rotation through a community clinic or public hospital. Placing medical residents in community clinics provides much-needed staffing, but just as important, it sensitizes these residents to the needs of the uninsured and inspires them to continue serving the community.

School of Allied Health Sciences
Our School of Allied Health Sciences, located in Richmond, California, helps fill the tremendous need for medical imaging technologists and other allied health professionals—as well as access to well-paying career opportunities. The school offers 18- to 24-month certificate courses in radiography, sonography, nuclear medicine, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), basic and advanced phlebotomy, venipuncture, fluoroscopy, mammography, and radiational therapy. It also trains phlebotomists in a traveling program.

About 200 students attend the school annually, with another 1,000 taking short-term courses.

Nurse Scholarships and Loans
Kaiser Permanente is committed to developing the future nursing workforce and providing career mobility for employees within this profession. Efforts to help students obtain basic and advanced nursing degrees have become even more important as the nation contends with a nursing shortage that threatens to become much worse.

Our Student Financial Aid Program provides a variety of student loans, some that can be forgiven if, on graduating, the student is employed with Kaiser Permanente. Loans are available for schooling in various levels of nursing. Check with your local Kaiser Permanente nursing administration to see what programs are available in your area.