Teresa M. Damush, PhD

Contact :

Teresa.Damush@va.gov

Engaging multiple stakeholders throughout the implementation process and listening well are essential when locally adapting evidence-based practices in a healthcare organization.

Initiatives

Care Delivery

Research Scientist, William M. Tierney Center for Health Services Research, Regenstrief Institute
Research Career Scientist, VA Health Services Research and Development COIN [Center for Health Information and Communication CHIC]
Senior Research Professor of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine
Senior Investigator, VA HSR&D Center for Health Information and Communication
Co-Principal Investigator, VA HSR&D Precision Monitoring to Transform Care Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (PRIS-M QUERI)

During the past two decades, Dr. Damush has served as an embedded implementation scientist inside the Veterans Health Administration healthcare system collaborating with clinical operations and translating research into practice. She is an expert in implementation science methodology and evaluations of evidence-based clinical and behavioral practices including the following: formative (pre-) and summative (post-) implementation evaluations; implementation strategy bundle design and evaluation; and stakeholder engagement and mixed-methods evaluations of complex interventions. Nationally, she serves on the Editorial Board for Translational Behavioral Medicine and is a member of the VA Health Services Research & Development Scientific Member Review Board for Quality Enhancement Research Evaluation and Implementation. Dr. Damush has served on Data Safety Monitoring Boards for implementation trials.

As Co-Principal Investigator for the VA Health Services Research & Development (HSR&D) Expanding Expertise through E-Health Network Development (EXTEND) QUERI Center, Dr. Damush’s research focuses on evaluating the implementation of evidence-based telehealth delivery models across three clinical areas: geriatrics; headache; and stroke. She directs the Implementation Science Core for the EXTEND QUERI Center.

As a research health psychologist, Dr. Damush’s expertise embraces the development and evaluation of patient-centered self-management programs adjuvant to traditional healthcare services for complex conditions including cancer, chronic pain and stroke.

In 2019, Dr. Damush was awarded the advanced VA HSR&D Research Career Scientist Award which provides support for her research and mentoring effort of early scientists. Recently, Dr. Damush, as Co-Director, successfully competed for a VA Advanced HSR&D Learning Healthcare System Fellowship at the CHIC Coin Center, Roudebush VAMC.

Featured Projects

EXTEND: Expanding expertise Through E-health Network Development

(VA HSR&D)

Role: Co-Principal Investigator

Working in VA service lines of Primary and Specialty Care, EXTEND QUERI’s specific aims are to expand the reach and effectiveness of VA care to improve Veteran outcomes by delivering high-quality evidence-based telehealth services “Anywhere to Anywhere”; Identify and apply successful strategies for optimizing shared care between telehealth, specialty, and primary care services for Veterans served by telehealth services; Identify factors that influence adaptation, adoption, and sustainment of VA telehealth services; and assess the business case for implementing, scaling, and sustaining telehealth care services.

Telemedicine Cognitive Behavioral Medicine for Migraine Headaches

(VA HSR&D)

Role: Principal Investigator

The specific aim of this pilot randomized controlled trial is to develop and test a bundle of implementation strategies at three VA medical centers with variation in headache care expertise to implement an evidence -based Telemedicine-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) program (TENACITY) for Veterans with chronic headaches.

Advanced Fellowships in Health Services Research and Development; Learning Health System

(HSR&D OAA Program #: 3K62021B)

Role: Co-Director

This VA HSR&D CHIC Advanced Fellowship Program builds on the many strengths of VA CHIC, the VA EXTEND QUERI Center, and our local partners (e.g., Regenstrief Institute, IU School of Medicine). Together, VA CHIC Advanced Fellowship expertise spans the key elements of the LHS: bioethics, data science, health services, informatics, implementation science, leadership engagement, quality improvement, and systems engineering redesign. Our overarching goal is to develop the skills of the VA HSR&D embedded workforce to conduct rigorous research of the VHA LHS, to foster systematic improvements in areas prioritized by VHA operations and leadership, and to improve Veteran health and wellbeing.

Career Research Scientist Award

(VA HSR&D)

Role: Principal Investigator

To support rigorous, implementation quality improvement and evaluations, mentoring of junior scientists and contributed service to VA HSR&D.

Research Headache Center of Excellence

(VA Office of Specialty Care Neurology – Headache Centers of Excellence)

Role: Primary Investigator

This project will conduct a formative evaluation with both Veteran patients with chronic headaches and their VA providers and Community Care providers. We will also evaluate the implementation of the VA Headache Centers of Excellence.

Highlighted Publications

Feb 2021

Implementation evaluation of a complex intervention to improve timeliness of care for Veterans with Transient Ischemic Attack

Publication: Journal of General Internal Medicine

doi: 10.1007/s11606-020-06100-w

Authors: Damush TM, Miech EJ, Rattray NA, Homoya B, Penney LS, Cheatham A, Baird S, Myers J, Austin C, Myers LJ, Perkins AJ, Zhang Y, Giacherio B, Kumar M, Murphy LD, Sico JJ, Bravata DM

May 12, 2021

Acceptability of a complex, team-based quality improvement intervention for transient ischemic attack

Publication: BMC Health Services and Research

DOI: 10.1186/s12913-021-06318-2

Authors: Damush TM, Penney LS, Miech EJ, Rattray NA, Baird SA, Cheatham AJ, Austin C, Sexson A, Myers LJ, Bravata DM

Jan 25, 2022

Comparing Complementary and Integrative Medicine Perspectives among Veteran Patients and VA Healthcare Providers for the Treatment of Headache Disorders

Publication: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies

DOI: 10.1186/s12906-022-03511-6

Authors: Kuruvilla DE, Lindsey H, Grinberg A, Goldman R, Riley S, Baird S, Fenton BT, Sico JJ, Damush TM

Nov 2020

Empowering implementation teams with a Learning Health Approach: Leveraging Data to Improve Quality of Care for Transient Ischemic Attack

Publication: Journal of General Internal Medicine

DOI: 10.1007/s11606-020-06160-y

Authors: Rattray NA, Damush TM, Miech EJ, Homoya B, Myers LJ, Penney LS, Ferguson J, Giacherio B, Kumar M, Bravata DM

Jul 27, 2021

Multi-Tiered External Facilitation: The Role of Feedback Loops and Tailored Interventions in Supporting Change in a Stepped-Wedge Implementation Trial

Publication: BMC Implementation Science Communications

DOI:10.21203/rs.3.rs-51848/v1

Authors: Penney LS, Damush TM, Rattray NA, Miech EJ, Baird SA, Homoya BJ, Myers LJ, Bravata DM

Feb 6, 2021

Building cohesion in distributed telemedicine teams: findings from the Department of Veterans Affairs National Telestroke Program

Publication: BMC Health Services Research

DOI: 10.1186/s12913-021-06123-x

Authors: atel H, Damush TM, Miech EJ, Rattray NA, Martin HA, Savoy A, Plue L, Anderson J, Martini S, Graham GD, Williams LS

Apr 26, 2020

Evaluating the feasibility of implementing a telesleep pilot program using two-tiered external facilitation

Publication: BMC Health Services Research

DOI: 10.1186/s12913-020-05164-y

Authors: Rattray NA, Khaw A, McGrath M, Damush TM, Miech EJ, Lenet A, Stahl S, Ferguson J, Austin C, Myers J, Guenther D, Homoya BJ, Bravata DM

Sep 1, 2020

Seeding structures for a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) Community of Practice: Implementing across Disciplines and Waves

Publication: Journal of General Internal Medicine

DOI: 10.1007/s11606-020-06135-z

Authors: Penney LS, Homoya BJ, Damush TM, Rattray N, Miech EJ, Cheatham A, Baird S, Myers J, Austin C, Myers LJ, Perkins AJ, Bravata DM

Nov 20, 2019

The protocol-guided rapid evaluation of veterans experiencing new transient neurological symptoms (PREVENT) quality improvement program: rationale and methods

Publication: BMC Neurology

DOI: 10.1186/s12883-019-1517-x

Authors: Bravata DM, Myers LJ, Homoya B, Miech EJ Rattray NA, Perkins AJ, Zhang Y, Ferguson J, Myers J, Cheatham A, Murphy L, Giacherio B, Kumar M, Cheng E, Levine DA, Sico JJ, Ward MJ, Damush TM

Sep 8, 2020

Assessment of the Protocol-Guided Rapid Evaluation of Veterans Experiencing New Transient Neurological Symptoms (PREVENT) Program for Improving Quality of Care for Transient Ischemic Attack: A Nonrandomized Cluster Trial

Publication: JAMA Network Open

DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.15920

Authors: Bravata DM, Myers LJ, Perkins AJ, Zhang Y, Miech EJ, Rattray NA, Penney LS, Levine D, Sico JJ, Cheng EM, Damush TM

Nov 5, 2020

The “State of Implementation” Progress Report (SIPREP): A Pilot Demonstration of a Navigation System for Implementation

Publication: Implementation Science & Communication

DOI: 10.1186/s43058-020-00085-7

Authors: Miech EJ, Larkin A, Lowery JC, Butler AJ, Pettey KM, Rattray NA, Penney LS, Myers J, Damush TM

Feb19, 2021

The Participant-Reported Implementation Update and Score (PRIUS): A novel method for capturing implementation-related data over time

Publication: Jove Journal

DOI: 10.3791/61738

Authors: Miech EJ, Rattray N, Bravata DM, Myers J, Damush TM

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Teresa M. Damush, PhD

Contact :

Initiatives

Featured Projects

EXTEND: Expanding expertise Through E-health Network Development

Telemedicine Cognitive Behavioral Medicine for Migraine Headaches

Advanced Fellowships in Health Services Research and Development; Learning Health System

Career Research Scientist Award

Research Headache Center of Excellence

Highlighted Publications