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General Medicine and Bioethics Research | Department of Internal Medicine | UC Davis Health

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General Medicine and Bioethics

General Medicine and Bioethics Research

Dr. Erin Noren presents a poster at the 2025 Internal Medicine Research Symposium to a man in a blue shirt.

The UC Davis Health Division of General Medicine and Bioethics is committed to improving patient outcomes and quality of care through innovative research that meets current community needs. Our research addresses health outcome disparities, the primary care provider shortage, opioid addiction and pain management, while prioritizing patient autonomy and ensuring adherence to bioethical standards. Funding for our research is provided by the National Institute for Health (NIH), the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), the National Institute on Aging (NIA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Medical Association (AMA), and UC Davis Health. 

Some of our current research projects include investigating: 

  • Overdose in patients co-prescribed opioids and benzodiazepines.
  • Tobacco control policy and cessation, focusing on health services delivery of tobacco treatment, interventions to address tobacco/cancer disparities, and the behavioral impact of smoke and tobacco-free policies.
  • Accelerated competency-based education in primary care programs to address the primary care provider shortage.
  • Disparities in rural health and education in Northern California and Oregon (COMPADRE).
  • Guideline-recommended diabetes testing after gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) (SUNRISE).
  • Motivational determinants of postpartum lifestyle behaviors, weight retention, and metabolic syndrome (PETALS-2).
  • The effects of visit characteristics on patient-clinician interactions and health outcomes in knee osteoarthritis.
  • The role of bilingualism in cognitive resilience, aging and dementia.
Research Spotlight

Addressing the Primary Care (PC) Physician Shortage

As the region’s only academic health center, a core mission of UC Davis is to meet the Primary Care (PC) workforce needs of California’s rural and urban counties. 

Learn more
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General Medicine and Bioethics News
Latest Publications
  • October 2026

    Neighborhood Walkability, Green Space, and Incident Hip Fracture among Older U.S. Adults: The Cardiovascular Health Study

    This prospective cohort study evaluated associations of neighborhood walkability and green space with incident hip fracture in older, community-dwelling U.S. adult. Greater neighborhood walkability, but not green space, was associated with lower hip fracture risk among older women.

    Elam RE, Bůžková P, Fink HA, Barzilay JI, Roseen EJ, Cauley JA, Robbins JA, Carbone LD, Lovasi GS, Mukamal KJ. Neighborhood Walkability, Green Space, and Incident Hip Fracture among Older U.S. Adults: The Cardiovascular Health Study. Environmental Research 2026 (online ahead of print) doi:10.1016/j.envres.2026.125875. 
    Open Access
  • October 2026

    Implementation Evaluation of Virtual Family-Centered Hospital Rounds Using the RE-AIM Framework: A Mixed Methods Study

    This implementation evaluation identified perceived benefits of virtual family-centered rounds that were not revealed in the quantitative assessment while also revealing implementation challenges that influence the sustainability of this telehealth healthcare delivery innovation. Addressing these challenges will enhance the ability of our intervention to achieve broad impact.

    Horath, E.T., Hoffman, K.R., Ketchersid, A., Haynes, S.C., Tancredi, D.J., Marcin, J.P., Romano, P.S., Young, H.M., and Rosenthal, J.L. Implementation evaluation of virtual family-centered hospital rounds using the RE-AIM framework: a mixed methods study. BMC Health Services Research 2026. doi.org/10.1186/s12913-026-15759-6
    Open Access
  • October 2026

    Using Structured Analysis and Design Technique to Characterize Barriers and Facilitators to Outpatient Care Coordination After Emergency Department-Initiated Buprenorphine

    Emergency department (ED)-initiated buprenorphine is an evidence-based strategy for treating opioid use disorder, but reducing overdose requires patients to stay on buprenorphine after they leave the ED. This study used the structured analysis and design technique to identify key activities for successful ED-outpatient care coordination; characterize variation in care coordination across ED-clinic pairs, and identify barriers and facilitators to connecting patients to outpatient buprenorphine.

    Stephen G. Henry, Marykate E. Miller, Christina Mastrangelo, Shin-Ping Tu, Amanda M. Midboe, Melissa M. Gosdin, and Aimee Moulin. Using structured analysis and design technique to characterize barriers and facilitators to outpatient care coordination after emergency department-initiated buprenorphine. Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment 2026; 189: 210006. doi.org/10.1016/j.josat.2026.210006
    Open Access
  • October 2026

    Relationship Between Urinary Tract Stones and Incident Hypertension Among Postmenopausal Women: Results from the Women's Health Initiative

    This prospective cohort study evaluates whether self-reported urinary tract stones (UTS) are associated with incident hypertension in postmenopausal women in the Women’s Health Initiative; potential effect modification by diet-related inflammation and lifestyle factors; whether recurrent UTS further increased risk.

    Mahsa H. Javadi, Danielle J. Harvey, Nora Franceschini, JoAnn E. Manson, James R. Hébert, Bernhard Haring, Matthew Allison, John Robbins, and Lorena Garcia. Relationship between urinary tract stones and incident hypertension among postmenopausal women: Results from the women's health initiative. Annals of Epidemiology 2026; 122: 110258. doi.org/10.1016/j.annepidem.2026.110258
  • September 2026

    Evaluating the Validity and Performance of a Modifiable Prediction Model to Predict New Long-Term Opioid Use in Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs

    A California prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMP)-derived prediction model transported successfully to Kentucky with minimal updating. Its strong comparative performance provides a feasible foundation for PDMP agencies to develop transparent, in-house clinical decision support (CDS) systems with potential clinical implications for safer and more individualized opioid prescribing.

    Tseregounis IE, Shin E, Henry SG, Delcher C. Evaluating the validity and performance of a modifiable prediction model to predict new long-term opioid use in prescription drug monitoring programs. JAMIA Open. 2026; 9(5):ooag192. doi: 10.1093/jamiaopen/ooag192.
    Open Access
  • August 2026

    Healthcare Utilization and Economic Analysis of an Internal On-Demand Telehealth Service for Upper Respiratory Infections

    On-demand telehealth services are available to improve access and convenience of care, with some expectation that these visits may replace scheduled video visits and in-person visits. As on-demand telehealth becomes integrated into healthcare delivery models, there is a need to evaluate its impact on access, utilization, and charges.

    Moghaddamziabari, S., Haynes, S. C., Romano, P. S., Xing, G., Khounani, T. P., Stein, D., Black, D. W., & Marcin, J. P. Healthcare utilization and economic analysis of an internal on-demand telehealth service for upper respiratory infections. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare 2026; (online ahead of print). doi.org/10.1177/1357633X261474287
    Open Access
  • August 2026

    Building Tobacco Treatment Capacity and Sustainability: A Qualitative Study on Implementation of Community Pharmacy Technicians as Community Health Workers

    Community pharmacies are increasingly providing health care services like tobacco treatment and disease-related management but need sustainable models for implementation. As several state Medicaid programs reimburse for community health worker services, one promising model is to have pharmacy technicians engage with patients as designated community health workers.

    Valencia CV, Corelli RL, Tu S-P, Gosdin MM, Tong EK. Building Tobacco Treatment Capacity and Sustainability: A Qualitative Study on Implementation of Community Pharmacy Technicians as Community Health Workers. Pharmacy 2026; 14(5):114. doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy14050114
    Open Access
  • July 2026

    Advancing Environmental Sustainability in Health Care: Evaluating and Prioritising Sustainability Measures for Quality Reporting and Improvement

    Achieving environmentally sustainable health systems represents a crucial objective for both planetary and human health. This work presents the first proposed list of environmental measures for use in quality reporting and a pathway for integrating environmental sustainability measures into existing quality measurement frameworks.

    Michael Padget, Gregg Furie, Dionne Kringos, Patrick S Romano, Jonathan E Slutzman. Advancing environmental sustainability in health care: evaluating and prioritising sustainability measures for quality reporting and improvement. The Lancet Planetary Health 2026; 10(7):101501. doi.org/10.1016/j.lanplh.2026.101501
    Open Access
  • July 2026

    Development of a Virtual Transition Program for Adolescents and Young Adults With Type 1 Diabetes: Three-Stage User-Centered Design Study

    Adolescents and young adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D) face a heightened risk of care gaps and preventable complications during the transition from pediatric to adult care. Using a human-centered virtual transition, this intervention addressed priorities identified by adolescents and young adults, peer mentors, and clinicians, including peer support, judgment-free discussion, and self-advocacy.

    Haynes SC, Romano PS, Lopez S, Conboy Heiser E, Reggiardo A, Kwan BM, Morrato EH, Rosenthal JL, Sarkisian M, Leon A, Plante D, and Crossen SS. Development of a Virtual Transition Program for Adolescents and Young Adults With Type 1 Diabetes: Three-Stage User-Centered Design Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research: Pediatrics and Parenting 2026; 9:e91543. doi:10.2196/91543
  • July 2026

    Not Yet Ready for Internship: National Study Exploring Readiness for Postgraduate Training in Multiple Specialties by Types of Medical School

    This retrospective study compares postgraduate year one competency assessments for graduates from different types of medical schools in internal medicine, family medicine, surgery, and pediatrics who graduated in 2021 and 2022.

    Sally A Santen, Jose A Negrete Manriquez, Yoon Soo Park, Eric Holmboe, Michael S Ryan, Sean O Hogan, and Tonya Fancher. Not yet ready for internship: national study exploring readiness for postgraduate training in multiple specialties by types of medical school, Academic Medicine, 2026; wvag186. doi.org/10.1093/acamed/wvag186
    Open Access