Krista Harrison, PhD

Associate Professor of Medicine

Krista Harrison, PhD, is a health policy, ethics, and health services researcher who is an Associate Professor in the Division of Geriatrics and the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies (IHPS) within the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Her research aims to improve models of care & policies for older adults living with, dying from, and grieving neurodegenerative diseases and other serious illnesses. Examples include formative qualitative data to develop geriatric neuropalliative care interventions and using nationally representative quantitative data to examine the impact of hospice, and hospice policy changes, on community-dwelling people with dementia and care partners. She completed her PhD in health policy and bioethics at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; postdoctoral training in aging research and implementation science at UCSF, and an Atlantic Fellowship for Equity and Brain Health at the Global Brain Health Institute. Before joining UCSF, Dr. Harrison was an executive leader at a large nonprofit community-based hospice and palliative care organization and evaluated national policies and programs at Mathematica Policy Research. Her current leadership roles at UCSF include IHPS Associate Director of Training, Director of the AHRQ T32 Health Policy Postdoctoral Fellowship, co-Associate Director of the NIA T32 Aging Research Program, and co-Leader of the Vulnerable Aging Research Core of the UCSF Claude D. Pepper Older American Independence Center.

Visit Dr. Harrison's Network Website: https://geriatrics.ucsf.edu/harrison-network
Education
2002 - Biology, English, Oxford University
Honors and Awards
  • UCSF Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center (OAIC) Research Scholar, University of California San Francisco, 2017-2019
  • Trainee Poster of the Year, American Academy of Home Care Medicine, 2017
  • Victor P. Raymond Memorial Fund, Health Policy and Management Endowment Award, Johns Hopkins University, 2012-2013
  • President’s Volunteer Service Award, N Street Village, 2007-2008
  • Good Citizen Award, Daughters of the American Revolution, 2000
Publications
  1. Petrillo LA, Dzeng E, Harrison KL, Forbes L, Scribner B, Koenig BA. How California Prepared for Implementation of Physician-Assisted Death: A Primer. Volume 107 of Issue 6. 2017. PMID: 28426307


  2. Harrison KL, Dzeng E, Ritchie CS, Shanafelt TD, Kamal AH, Bull JH, Tilburt JC, Swetz KM. Addressing Palliative Care Clinician Burnout in Organizations: A Workforce Necessity, an Ethical Imperative. Volume 53 of Issue 6. 2017. PMID: 28196784


  3. Harrison KL, Adrion ER, Ritchie CS, Sudore RL, Smith AK. Low Completion and Disparities in Advance Care Planning Activities Among Older Medicare Beneficiaries. Volume 176 of Issue 12. 2016. PMID: 27802496


  4. Harrison KL, Taylor HA. Healthcare resource allocation decisions affecting uninsured services. Volume 30 of Issue 8. 2016. PMID: 27934550


  5. Harrison KL, Taylor HA. Organizational values in the provision of access to care for the uninsured. Volume 7 of Issue 4. 2016. PMID: 28781981


  6. Harrison KL, Boyden JY, Kalish VB, Muir JC, Richardson S, Connor SR. A Hospice Rotation for Military Medical Residents: A Mixed Methods, Multi-Perspective Program Evaluation. Volume 19 of Issue 5. 2016. PMID: 27139524


  7. Kamal AH, Harrison KL, Bakitas M, Dionne-Odom JN, Zubkoff L, Akyar I, Pantilat SZ, O'Riordan DL, Bragg AR, Bischoff KE, Bull J. Improving the Quality of Palliative Care Through National and Regional Collaboration Efforts. Volume 22 of Issue 4. 2015. PMID: 26678966


  8. Davis MS, Harrison KL, Rice JF, Logan A, Hess B, Fine PG, Muir JC. A Model for Effective and Efficient Hospice Care: Proactive Telephone-Based Enhancement of Life Through Excellent Caring, "TeleCaring" in Advanced Illness. Volume 50 of Issue 3. 2015. PMID: 25896105


  9. Harrison KL, Errett NA, Rutkow L, Thompson CB, Anderson MK, Ferrell JL, Freiheit JM, Hudson R, Koch MM, McKee M, Mejia-Echeverry A, Spitzer JB, Storey D, Barnett DJ. An intervention for enhancing public health crisis response willingness among local health department workers: a qualitative programmatic analysis. Volume 9 of Issue 2. 2014. PMID: 25068938


  10. Barnett DJ, Thompson CB, Semon NL, Errett NA, Harrison KL, Anderson MK, Ferrell JL, Freiheit JM, Hudson R, McKee M, Mejia-Echeverry A, Spitzer J, Balicer RD, Links JM, Storey JD. EPPM and willingness to respond: the role of risk and efficacy communication in strengthening public health emergency response systems. Volume 29 of Issue 6. 2013. PMID: 23799806


  11. Harrison KL, Farrell RM, Brinich MA, Highland J, Mercer M, McCormick JB, Tilburt J, Geller G, Marshall P, Sharp RR. 'Someone should oversee it': patient perspectives on the ethical issues arising with the regulation of probiotics. Volume 18 of Issue 2. 2012. PMID: 23279082


  12. Geller G, Harrison KL, Rushton CH. Ethical challenges in the care of children and families affected by life-limiting neuromuscular diseases. Volume 33 of Issue 7. 2012. PMID: 22947883


  13. Harrison KL, Geller G, Marshall P, Tilburt J, Mercer M, Brinich MA, Highland J, Farrell RM, Sharp RR. Ethical Discourse about the Modification of Food for Therapeutic Purposes: How Patients with Gastrointestinal Diseases View the Good, the Bad, and the Healthy. Volume 3 of Issue 3. 2012. PMID: 22773953


  14. Mercer M, Brinich MA, Geller G, Harrison K, Highland J, James K, Marshall P, McCormick JB, Tilburt J, Achkar JP, Farrell RM, Sharp RR. How patients view probiotics: findings from a multicenter study of patients with inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome. Volume 46 of Issue 2. 2012. PMID: 21716123


  15. Mathias CB, Freyschmidt EJ, Caplan B, Jones T, Poddighe D, Xing W, Harrison KL, Gurish MF, Oettgen HC. IgE influences the number and function of mature mast cells, but not progenitor recruitment in allergic pulmonary inflammation. Volume 182 of Issue 4. 2009. PMID: 19201896


  16. Marvin M, O'Rourke D, Kurihara T, Juliano CE, Harrison KL, Hutson LD. Developmental expression patterns of the zebrafish small heat shock proteins. Volume 237 of Issue 2. 2008. PMID: 18161059


  17. Bryce PJ, Mathias CB, Harrison KL, Watanabe T, Geha RS, Oettgen HC. The H1 histamine receptor regulates allergic lung responses. Volume 116 of Issue 6. 2006. PMID: 16680192