An independent research folio 2024–2026
I study pediatric patient safety using national inpatient data. My research examines how adverse events are defined, how they relate to severe outcomes, and how measurement choices affect the conclusions we draw.
01 / Research overview
This work offers a closer look at what pediatric safety data can tell us about severe hospital courses—and how the way we define a cohort can change that picture. The papers connect national patterns with practical questions for clinicians, quality teams, and researchers.
The respiratory-complications study found substantial differences in mortality across respiratory-support phenotypes. A broad complication category can contain very different hospital courses.
Explore the respiratory study ↗Among very low birth weight discharges, bloodstream infection coding was associated with mechanical ventilation and prolonged hospitalization as well as mortality. These outcomes offer complementary views of hospital-course burden.
Explore the neonatal study ↗The neonatal study showed that excluding short hospital stays changed the estimated association with mortality. Surveillance definitions therefore need scrutiny when they are reused to study patient outcomes.
Read the measurement findings ↗These findings can help teams frame case reviews, examine the composition of a safety signal, and choose outcomes for further investigation. They support more specific questions about severe courses and resource needs. Because the studies use discharge records, the associations do not establish causation or preventability; clinical validation is needed before using the phenotypes for bedside prediction or hospital comparisons.
02 / Peer-reviewed work
Five first-author studies examine neonatal and postoperative complications, mortality, respiratory support, and prolonged hospitalization, with particular attention to how safety measures are constructed.
Connects bloodstream infection coding with mortality, mechanical ventilation, and prolonged hospitalization in very low birth weight discharges, while examining how eligibility rules shape interpretation.
Read article ↗Distinguishes respiratory-support patterns among children with postprocedural complications and examines their relationship with in-hospital mortality.
Read article ↗Studies postoperative sepsis and associated adverse events in pediatric inpatient care through a national patient safety lens.
Read article ↗Examines patient and hospital characteristics associated with postoperative respiratory failure using the 2019 Kids’ Inpatient Database.
Read article ↗Investigates hospital and patient characteristics associated with neonatal bloodstream infection in a national inpatient sample.
Read article ↗03 / Research in progress
My next studies ask which definitions most consistently identify severe hospital-course burden, how cohort restrictions alter mortality estimates, and which patient and hospital characteristics warrant closer investigation. The longer-term objective is a more clinically interpretable basis for pediatric safety surveillance and quality review.
“Nested sepsis-coded phenotypes and severe hospital-course burden in pediatric surgical hospitalizations: a national cross-sectional study of the 2022 Kids' Inpatient Database.” Examines nested sepsis-coded phenotypes and severe hospital-course burden in a national surgical cohort.
“When Eligibility Shapes the Outcome: Length-of-Stay Restrictions, Survivor Selection, and Mortality in AHRQ NQI 03.” Tests how denominator eligibility and short-stay restrictions affect mortality estimates. Working title and scope may change before submission.
04 / Wider contributions
Collaborative research also examines population health in Jordan and communication among interdisciplinary response teams.
Collaborative analysis of a nationally representative survey. Submitted to Women; no public manuscript link is available while it is under review.
With Jacquelyn Mesenbrink. Examines communication barriers in coordinated services for survivors and their implications for care.
View APHA program ↗05 / Why this work matters
I develop research questions, construct cohorts, conduct risk-adjusted analyses, and carry studies through peer review. My work examines whether administrative safety measures capture clinically meaningful outcomes and how eligibility rules affect results. The aim is to help research and quality teams interpret their data more accurately and identify priorities for further study and improvement.
Reconstruct cohorts and test eligibility rules to assess how measurement choices affect estimates and interpretation.
Examine mortality, respiratory support, and prolonged hospitalization to distinguish patterns of severe hospital-course burden.
Produce auditable SAS analyses, sensitivity checks, and clear reporting that support reproducibility, further research, and quality-improvement planning.
06 / Contact
I welcome conversations about research partnerships, patient safety, health-services research, and opportunities to contribute this work to your team.