George Jackson, M.H.A., Ph.D.

George L. Jackson, Ph.D., MHA is a healthcare epidemiologist and implementation scientist with a background in health administration.  He joined the faculty of the UT Southwestern Medical Center in February of 2023 as a Professor and Director of the Advancing Implementation & Improvement Science Program in the Peter O'Donnell Jr. School of Public Health.  Dr. Jackson is also a Veterans Affairs (VA) Health Services Research & Development (HSR&D) Research Health Scientist who works with the VA healthcare systems in both Durham, NC and Dallas, TX.  He is the Director of the Implementation and Improvement Science Lab/Core at the Durham VA Center of Innovation to Accelerate Discovery and Practice Transformation (ADAPT).  Additionally, he is a co-leader of a cooperative effort between the Dallas VA and Program on Implementation and Improvement Science designed to enhance the infrastructure for partnered health services and other research across the Dallas VA and UT Southwestern focused on enhancing the health and healthcare of Veterans in North Texas and across the Nation.

 

The UT Southwestern Advancing Implementation & Improvement Science Program seeks to further enhance collaborations between the UT Southwestern and affiliated health systems and community partners in the pursuit of common missions to enhance the health and healthcare of the people of North Texas.  The goal is to develop a system to identify potentially successful projects using implementation and improvement science – which uses rigorous, data-driven research to expand programs and improve a community’s health.

 

Dr. Jackson’s own research and evaluation efforts focus on the development, testing, and implementation of team-based approaches to address the treatment and prevention of chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and cancer.  He has also evaluated efforts to enhance the organization of mental health care.  As an implementation scientist, Dr. Jackson studies strategies focused on the adoption and spread of evidence-informed practices across large health systems.  He is currently the corresponding principal investigator for two VA program grants focused on the process of identifying, replicating, and spreading innovations across large healthcare systems.  These include the Spreading Healthcare Access, Activities, Research and Knowledge (SHAARK) partnered evaluation of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Diffusion of Excellence program and the Dynamic Diffusion Network (DDN) QUERI Program, both funded by the VA Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI).

Dr. Jackson received his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in epidemiology, Master of Health Administration (MHA), and Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPH) in health policy and administration degrees from the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  He completed an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) pre-doctoral fellowship in health services research at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research and AHRQ post-doctoral fellowship in health services research in the Duke Division of General Internal Medicine and HSR&D Center at the Durham VA.  He came to UT Southwestern from Duke University, where he was a Professor in the Departments of Population Health Sciences, Medicine (Division of General Internal Medicine), and Family Medicine & Community Health.  He also co-taught evidence-based practice in the Duke Physician Assistant (PA) Program.  Dr. Jackson currently maintains appointments as an Adjunct Professor of Population Health Sciences at Duke and Adjunct Professor of Health Policy and Management at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

• Cancer Prevention & Control
• Chronic Illness Care, Prevention, & Outcomes
• Disease Management
• Enhancing Healthcare Outcomes
• Epidemiology
• Health Administration
• Health Services Research
• Healthcare Epidemiology
• Healthcare Innovation
• Healthcare Structure & Delivery Processes
• Implementation Science
• Public Health
• Quality Improvement
• Team-based Care

Featured Publications

A cluster-randomized trial of two implementation strategies to deliver audit and feedback in the EQUIPPED medication safety program.

Vaughan CP, Burningham Z, Kelleher JL, McGwin G, Jasien CL, Hastings SN, Stevens MB, Morris I, Jackson GL, Acad Emerg Med 2023 Feb

Diffusion of excellence: evaluating a system to identify, replicate, and spread promising innovative practices across the Veterans health administration.

Jackson GL, Fix GM, White BS, Cutrona SL, Reardon CM, Damschroder LJ, Burns M, DeLaughter K, Opra Widerquist MA, Arasim M, Lindquist J, Gifford AL, King HA, Kaitz J, Jasuja GK, Hogan TP, Lopez JCF, Henderson B, Fitzgerald BA, Goetschius A, Hagan D, McCoy C, Seelig A, Nevedal A, Front Health Serv 2023 3 1223277

Balancing reality in embedded research and evaluation: Low vs high embeddedness.

Jackson GL, Damschroder LJ, White BS, Henderson B, Vega RJ, Kilbourne AM, Cutrona SL, Learn Health Syst 2022 Apr 6 2 e10294

Merging Implementation Practice and Science to Scale Up Promising Practices: The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Diffusion of Excellence (DoE) Program.

Jackson GL, Cutrona SL, White BS, Reardon CM, Orvek E, Nevedal AL, Lindquist J, Gifford AL, White L, King HA, DeLaughter K, Houston TK, Henderson B, Vega R, Kilbourne AM, Damschroder LJ, Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2021 Apr 47 4 217-227

Dynamic Diffusion Network: Advancing moral injury care and suicide prevention using an innovative model.

Smigelsky MA, Nieuwsma JA, Meador K, Vega RJ, Henderson B, Jackson GL, Healthc (Amst) 2020 Sep 8 3 100440

Utilization and Costs by Primary Care Provider Type: Are There Differences Among Diabetic Patients of Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, and Physician Assistants?

Smith VA, Morgan PA, Edelman D, Woolson SL, Berkowitz TSZ, Van Houtven CH, Hendrix CC, Everett CM, White BS, Jackson GL, Med Care 2020 Aug 58 8 681-688

Impact Of Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, And Physician Assistants On Utilization And Costs For Complex Patients.

Morgan PA, Smith VA, Berkowitz TSZ, Edelman D, Van Houtven CH, Woolson SL, Hendrix CC, Everett CM, White BS, Jackson GL, Health Aff (Millwood) 2019 Jun 38 6 1028-1036

Intermediate Diabetes Outcomes in Patients Managed by Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, or Physician Assistants: A Cohort Study.

Jackson GL, Smith VA, Edelman D, Woolson SL, Hendrix CC, Everett CM, Berkowitz TS, White BS, Morgan PA, Ann Intern Med 2018 Dec 169 12 825-835

Implementation of Lung Cancer Screening in the Veterans Health Administration.

Kinsinger LS, Anderson C, Kim J, Larson M, Chan SH, King HA, Rice KL, Slatore CG, Tanner NT, Pittman K, Monte RJ, McNeil RB, Grubber JM, Kelley MJ, Provenzale D, Datta SK, Sperber NS, Barnes LK, Abbott DH, Sims KJ, Whitley RL, Wu RR, Jackson GL JAMA Intern Med 2017 Jan

Patient characteristics associated with the level of patient-reported care coordination among male patients with colorectal cancer in the Veterans Affairs health care system.

Jackson GL, Zullig LL, Phelan SM, Provenzale D, Griffin JM, Clauser SB, Haggstrom DA, Jindal RM, van Ryn M, Cancer 2015 Jul 121 13 2207-13

 Featured Books

Resilience in Chronic Illness. In Resilience in Aging: Concepts, Research and Outcomes

Trivedi R, Bosworth HB, Jackson GL. Resnick B, Gwyther LO, Roberto KA, eds. (2011). New York, NY, Springer Publishing

• First author for Center of Innovation to Accelerate Discovery and Practice Transformation (ADAPT) Article of the Year Award
  (2020)
• First author/presenter for the AcademyHealth Anural Research Meeting Dissemination, Implementation, and Impact Theme Best Abstract
  (2020)
• Senior author for Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) Article of the Year Award
  (2020)
• First author for Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) Article of the Year Award
  (2019)
• Senior author of Best Poster from the United States at the International Health Workforce Collaborative meeting
  (2018)
• Plenary Paper Session Presentation, VA Health Services Research & Development National Meeting
  (2011)
• Delta Omega, The Honorary Public Health Society
  (2008)
• Medical Care Exceptional Reviewer
  (2008-2011)
• Veterans Affairs Merit Review Entry Program award (the VA career development award for non-clinician Ph.D. scientists)
  (2006-2009)
• Service Award from the Theta Chapter of Delta Omega (the honorary public health society)
  (2004)
• National Research Service Award – Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Postdoctoral Fellowship
  (2003-2005)
• National Research Service Award – Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Pre-doctoral Fellowship
  (2001)
• Alpha Epsilon Lambda, The Honor Society for Graduate and Professional Students
  (2000)
• Frank Porter Graham Graduate and Professional Student Honor Society, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  (2000)
• Golden Key International Honor Society
  (1996)
• Order of the Golden Fleece, honor society at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  (1996)
• North Carolina Fellows Program (competitive four-year undergraduate leadership development program)
  (1994)
• Recognized by the Governor of North Carolina at the Healthy Carolinians Conference for service to the program
  (1994)

• AcademyHealth (2004)