Leslie Curry, PhD, MPH
Professor of Public Health (Health Policy) and Professor of ManagementCards
Additional Titles
Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health
Lecturer, Yale College
Associate Director Yale Scholars in Implementation Science Training Program
Contact Info
Health Policy & Management
PO Box 208034, 60 College Street
New Haven, CT 06520-8034
United States
About
Titles
Professor of Public Health (Health Policy) and Professor of Management
Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health; Lecturer, Yale College; Associate Director Yale Scholars in Implementation Science Training ProgramBiography
Leslie Curry, PhD, MPH, is Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Yale School of Public Health, Professor of Management at Yale School of Management, Lecturer in Yale College, and core faculty at the Yale Global Health Leadership Initiative. Leslie’s research focuses on management, culture and organizational performance in diverse health care settings in the U.S. and internationally. She is especially interested in the development and scale up of innovative, evidence-based health practices, programs and policies and regularly collaborates with health and social care providers in these efforts. Leslie was a Public Voices Thought Leader Fellow in 2016-17. Leslie's work has been published in JAMA, American Journal of Public Health, Health Affairs, Annals of Internal Medicine and the BMJ, and featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR and ABC News.
Leslie's current primary research portfolio includes: 1) MPI on an NIH R01 funded effort, Champions Advancing Racial Equity in Sepsis (CARES) to develop and evaluate a coalition-based leadership intervention to equip health systems and their surrounding communities to mitigate structural racism and drive measurable reductions in inequities in sepsis outcomes, 2) Yale core team for Equitable Breakthroughs in Medicine Development (EQBMED), a national collaboration to increase diversity in clinical trials and address systemicbarriers to participation by communities of color, 3) Implementation evaluation lead for All of Us (Yale site), a large-scale NIH funded national initiative with a goal of enrolling one million or more participants, particularly those who are under-represented in biomedical research, and 4) Co-investigator with Dr. Dowin Boatright on an NIH funded R01, Developing an Evidence-Based Toolkit to Improve Diversity in the Physician-Scientist Workforce. She also supports colleagues and mentees across the Yale Schools of Medicine and Public health working on implementation science and community-driven projects.
Her work has been supported by a variety of funders including NIH, AHRQ, The Commonwealth Fund, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and The World Bank. Leslie is a recognized expert in qualitative and mixed methods and regularly teaches at the undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate levels. She is co-author of Mixed Methods in the Health Sciences: A Practical Primer, commissioned by Sage Publications, 2014.
Appointments
Departments & Organizations
- Global Health Leadership Initiative
- Global Health Studies
- Yale Center for Implementation Science (YCIS)
- Yale Institute for Global Health
- Yale School of Public Health
Education & Training
- PhD
- University of Connecticut (2000)
- MPH
- University of Connecticut (1991)
- BA
- Tufts University (1984)
Research
Overview
Research interests include:
1. I served as lead investigator for the first qualitative study demonstrating the importance of hospital organizational culture in performance in a clinical outcome, acute myocardial infarction (AMI) mortality. The paper drew international attention with more than 36,850 hits on the Annals of Internal Medicine website, and more than 40 news stories nationally. It was foundational to the first prospective longitudinal intervention study directed at influencing organizational culture in hospitals (Leadership Saves Lives, Curry, PI) with the goal of improving evidence-based practices and outcomes for patients hospitalized with AMI. I am multiple PI on an NIH R01 funded study testing an intervention aimed at mitigating structural racism to reduce inequities in sepsis outcomes.
a. Curry, L. A., Spatz, E., Cherlin, E., Thompson, J. W., Berg, D., Ting, H. H., Decker, C., Krumholz, H. M., & Bradley, E. H. (2011). What distinguishes top-performing hospitals in acute myocardial infarction mortality rates? A qualitative study. Annals of Internal Medicine, 154(6), 384–390. PMICID: PMC4735872.
b. Curry, L. A., Brault, M. A., Linnander, E. L., McNatt, Z., Brewster, A. L., Cherlin, E., Flieger, S. P., Ting, H. H., & Bradley, E. H. (2018). Influencing organisational culture to improve hospital performance in care of patients with acute myocardial infarction: a mixed-methods intervention study. BMJ Quality & Safety, 27(3), 207–217. PMCID: PMC5867431.
c. Curry, L.A., Ayedun, A., Cherlin, E.J., Allen, N., & Linnander, E.L. (2020). Leadership development in complex systems: The Yale and NHS England experience. BMJ Open.
d. Linnander, E. L., Ayedun, A., Boatright, D., Ackerman-Barger, K., Morgenthaler, T. I., Ray, N., Roy, B., Simpson, S., & Curry, L. A. (2022). Mitigating structural racism to reduce inequities in sepsis outcomes: a mixed methods, longitudinal intervention study. BMC Health Services Research, 22(1), 975. PMCID: PMC9338573.
2. Together with colleagues Elizabeth Bradley and Harlan Krumholz, I collaborated in the development and application of a positive deviance approach to improving health outcomes. The positive deviance approach addresses limitations of biomedical, epidemiological, quality improvement and action research combining intensive organizational-level examination using qualitative methods with the broader-scale statistical analysis possible with a large sample of organizations. This approach takes advantage of natural variation in performance, develops an evidence base through detailed organizational analysis and statistical testing of hypotheses, and supports collaboration between researcher and practitioner in ways that identify feasible solutions and foster support for dissemination and uptake of recommendations. Our paper in Implementation Science is classified as “highly accessed”; we have since applied this method in multiple studies.
Bradley, E. H., Curry, L. A., Ramanadhan, S., Rowe, L., Nembhard, I. M., & Krumholz, H. M. (2009). Research in action: using positive deviance to improve quality of health care. Implementation Science, 4, 25. PMCID: PMC2690576.
Krumholz, H. M., Curry, L. A., & Bradley, E. H. (2011). Survival after acute myocardial infarction (SAMI) study: the design and implementation of a positive deviance study. American Heart Journal, 162(6), 981–987.e9. PMCID: PMC3688068.
Bradley, E. H., Byam, P., Alpern, R., Thompson, J. W., Zerihun, A., Abebe, Y., & Curry, L. A. (2012). A systems approach to improving rural care in Ethiopia. PloS One, 7(4), e35042. PMCID: PMC3338815.
Brewster, A. L., Brault, M. A., Tan, A. X., Curry, L. A., & Bradley, E. H. (2018). Patterns of collaboration among health care and social services providers in communities with lower health care utilization and costs. Health Services Research, 53 Suppl 1(Suppl Suppl 1), 2892–2909. PMCID: PMC6056597.
3. I am an internationally recognized expertise in qualitative and mixed methods in health sciences. My expertise includes: 1) lead author on qualitative and mixed methods textbooks commissioned by Sage Publications (2014) and the American Public Health Association (2006); 2) elected member of 9-person governing board of the Mixed Methods International Research Association; 3) member of an advisory committee appointed by the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research at the National Institutes of Health charged with defining best practices in mixed methods research; 4) co-PI on a series of grants awarded by the National Institute on Aging, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the John A Hartford Foundation designed to enhance the rigor and credibility of qualitative and mixed methods in health research; 5) ad hoc reviewer on the Health Services, Organization and Delivery study section for qualitative and mixed methods proposals; 6) regularly invited speaker in national and international settings, including as the keynote address at the International Conference on Mixed Methods in Harrogate, UK (2009); and 7) editorial board member and regular reviewer for top tier peer-reviewed journals.
a. Curry, L. & Nunez-Smith, M. (2014). Mixed Methods in Health Sciences Research. Sage Publications; Thousand Oaks, CA.
b. Curry, L. A., Krumholz, H. M., O'Cathain, A., Plano Clark, V. L., Cherlin, E., & Bradley, E. H. (2013). Mixed methods in biomedical and health services research. Circulation. Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, 6(1), 119–123. PMCID: PMC3569711.
c. Bradley, E. H., Curry, L. A., & Devers, K. J. (2007). Qualitative data analysis for health services research: developing taxonomy, themes, and theory. Health Services Research, 42(4), 1758–1772. PMCID: PMC1955280.
d. Creswell, J.W., Klassen, A., Clark V., Smith, K., & the Mixed Methods Research Working Group. (2011). Best practices for mixed methods research in health sciences. Prepared for: Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR), National Institutes of Health.
4. I have more than 20 years of experience evaluating complex health care financing and delivery programs and interventions in the US and internationally. Illustrative policies, programs and interventions include: The Partnership for Long Term Care Insurance, Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Program, Senior Care Options Program, The Patient Self Determination Act. Recent projects include Project Last Mile, a multi-country effort to translate the supply chain and logistics expertise of the Coca-Cola system to public sector medical supply chain organizations across Africa, and a realist evaluation of the Mesoamerica Salud Mesoamerica Initiative (SMI), a large-scale,multi-country program that uses supply-side financial incentives and evaluation of public, health sector performance to induce improvements in primary care performance in eight low and middle-income countries.
a. Linnander, E., Yuan, C. T., Ahmed, S., Cherlin, E., Talbert-Slagle, K., & Curry, L. A. (2017). Process evaluation of knowledge transfer across industries: Leveraging Coca-Cola's supply chain expertise for medicine availability in Tanzania. PloS One, 12(11), e0186832. PMCID: PMC5679563.
b. Curry, L. A., Byam, P., Linnander, E., Andersson, K. M., Abebe, Y., Zerihun, A., Thompson, J. W., & Bradley, E. H. (2013). Evaluation of the Ethiopian Millennium Rural Initiative: Impact on mortality and cost-effectiveness. PloS One, 8(11), e79847. PMCID: PMC3832618.
c. Munar, W., Wahid, S. S., & Curry, L. (2018). Characterizing performance improvement in primary care systems in Mesoamerica: A realist evaluation protocol. Gates Open Research, 2, 1. PMCID: PMC5801599.
d. Bernstein, S. L., Weiss, J., & Curry, L. (2020). Visualizing implementation: contextual and organizational support mapping of stakeholders (COSMOS). Implementation Science Communications, 1, 48. PMCID: PMC7427961.
5. Increasing evidence demonstrates that services supporting social determinants of health can improve health and reduce health care costs for older adults, particularly older adults with complex health care needs. As part of a multidisciplinary team at Yale, our recent work focuses on the structure and nature of relationships among service providers in the health care and social service sectors. Outcomes of interest include hospital readmissions, avoidable nursing home use, and costs. Current work investigates the role of Area Agencies on Aging as a mechanism for cross-sector partnerships in high-performing communities.
- Curry, L., Cherlin, E., Ayedun, A., Rubeo, C., Straker, J., Wilson, T. L., & Brewster, A. (2022). How do area agencies on aging build partnerships with health care organizations? The Gerontologist, gnac019. PMID: 35092437.
- Brewster, A. L., Kunkel, S., Straker, J., & Curry, L. A. (2018). Cross-sectoral partnerships by area agencies on aging: associations with health care use and spending. Health Affairs (Project Hope), 37(1), 15–21. PMID: 29309226.
- Brewster, A. L., Yuan, C. T., Tan, A. X., Tangoren, C. G., & Curry, L. A. (2019). Collaboration in health care and social service networks for older adults: association with health care utilization measures. Medical Care, 57(5), 327–333. PMID: 30908380.
- Taylor, L. A., Tan, A. X., Coyle, C. E., Ndumele, C., Rogan, E., Canavan, M., Curry, L. A., & Bradley, E. H. (2016). Leveraging the social determinants of health: what Works? PloS One, 11(8), e0160217. PMCID: PMC4988629.
Illustrative projects:
Effective Partnership Strategies in Area Agencies on Aging to Improve Health Outcomes
Leadership Save Lives, Culture Change in US Hospitals to Improve Performance in AMI Care, The Medicines Company
Diffusion, Dissemination, and Widespread Take Up: What Works? Gates Foundation
All-Cause Hospital Readmission Rates for Patients with Heart Failure and Acute Myocardial Infarction: What Hospital Practices Make a Difference and How Are They Adopted? Commonwealth Fund
Ethiopian Millennium Rural Initiative External Evaluation, Clinton Health Access Initiative and Children's Investment Fund Foundation
Strategies for Reducing Mortality after Acute Myocardial Infarction Evidence-Based Approaches to Improving Quality, AHRQ and United Health Care Foundation
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Publications Timeline
Research Interests
Harlan Krumholz, MD, SM
Erika Linnander, MPH, MBA
Marcella Nunez-Smith, MD, MHS
Marie Brault, PhD
Deepa Camenga, MD, MHS, FAAP
Jeph Herrin, PhD
Quality of Health Care
Public Health
Global Health
Health Policy
Publications
2024
Modeling of drinking and driving behaviors among adolescents and young adults in the United States: Complexities and Intervention outcomes
Hosseinichimeh N, MacDonald R, Li K, Fell J, Haynie D, Simons-Morton B, Banz B, Camenga D, Iannotti R, Curry L, Dziura J, Andersen D, Vaca F. Modeling of drinking and driving behaviors among adolescents and young adults in the United States: Complexities and Intervention outcomes. Social Science & Medicine 2024, 354: 117087. PMID: 39043064, DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117087.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsAlcohol-impaired drivingAlcohol-related crash fatalitiesLikelihood of unintended consequencesUnited StatesAlcohol-related crashesPolicy-makersUnintended consequencesGroup model building sessionsInterconnected factorsModel building sessionsCrash fatalitiesYoung adultsModels of drinkingHistorical trendsPublic health problemStakeholder actionsCombined interventionSustained declineIntervention outcomesHealth problemsActivistsCrash deathsInterventionSubject matter expertsQualitative and Mixed Methods Research in Cardiovascular Care: Opportunities in the Coming Decades
Curry L, Carter C, Cherlin E, Turk S. Qualitative and Mixed Methods Research in Cardiovascular Care: Opportunities in the Coming Decades. Circulation Cardiovascular Quality And Outcomes 2024, 17: e010586. PMID: 38771913, DOI: 10.1161/circoutcomes.124.010586.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricExploring the Potential for Cultural Humility in the Evolving Field of Mixed Methods Research
Toraman Turk S, Plano Clark V, Guetterman T, Curry L. Exploring the Potential for Cultural Humility in the Evolving Field of Mixed Methods Research. Journal Of Mixed Methods Research 2024 DOI: 10.1177/15586898241250085.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetric
2023
Shared and distinct parental influences on teen impaired driving in rural and suburban contexts: A mixed methods study of young drivers
Camenga D, Li K, Banz B, Zuniga V, Iannotti R, Grayton C, Haynie D, Simons-Morton B, Curry L, Vaca F. Shared and distinct parental influences on teen impaired driving in rural and suburban contexts: A mixed methods study of young drivers. Accident Analysis & Prevention 2023, 193: 107330. PMID: 37788529, PMCID: PMC10634432, DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2023.107330.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsParental influenceTrajectory classesNEXT Generation Health StudyHigh schoolYoung driversParent modelingRural adolescentsImpaired driversSuburban adolescentsEcodevelopmental theoryChildren's riskImpaired behaviorMixed-methods studyAdolescentsQualitative interviewsPrevention interventionsParticipantsMethods studyContextInterviewsSchoolsPurposeful selectionRural contextSuburban contextAdulthoodDo adolescent trajectories of riding with an impaired driver and driving impaired predict similar behaviors in early adulthood?
Li K, Camenga D, Banz B, Zuniga V, Iannotti R, Grayton C, Dziura J, Haynie D, Simons-Morton B, Curry L, Vaca F. Do adolescent trajectories of riding with an impaired driver and driving impaired predict similar behaviors in early adulthood? Accident Analysis & Prevention 2023, 193: 107304. PMID: 37729749, PMCID: PMC10591885, DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2023.107304.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsDWI behaviorEarly adulthoodMarijuana useImpaired driversAnnual assessment wavesNEXT Generation Health StudyAdolescent trajectoriesLatent class analysis studyRepresentative longitudinal studyAssessment wavesNext participantHigher engagementTrajectory classesLongitudinal studyProspective associationsMixed-methods studyLatest followWork hoursRelated deathsLong-term effectsAdulthoodInterview 4Health StudyHealth statusGrade cohortsLongitudinal perspectives of riding with a cannabis-impaired driver
Banz B, Camenga D, Li K, Zuniga V, Iannotti R, Grayton C, Haynie D, Simons-Morton B, Curry L, Vaca F. Longitudinal perspectives of riding with a cannabis-impaired driver. Accident Analysis & Prevention 2023, 193: 107300. PMID: 37717297, PMCID: PMC10757553, DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2023.107300.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsCannabis-impaired driversYoung adulthoodTrajectory classesHigh schoolNEXT Generation Health StudyAdolescent health behaviorsYoung driversSemi-structured interviewsLongitudinal perspectiveEveryday activitiesMultifaceted natureAdulthoodHealth behaviorsQualitative interviewsUnique themesParticipantsSchoolsTheoretical modelInterviewsLegal concernsPerceptionContextEmergeDriversThemesIllness Perception and the Impact of a Definitive Diagnosis on Women With Ischemia and No Obstructive Coronary Artery Disease: A Qualitative Study.
Tseng L, Göç N, Schwann A, Cherlin E, Kunnirickal S, Odanovic N, Curry L, Shah S, Spatz E. Illness Perception and the Impact of a Definitive Diagnosis on Women With Ischemia and No Obstructive Coronary Artery Disease: A Qualitative Study. Circulation Cardiovascular Quality And Outcomes 2023, 16: 521-529. PMID: 37476997, DOI: 10.1161/circoutcomes.122.009834.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsObstructive coronary artery diseaseCoronary function testingCoronary artery diseaseInvasive coronary angiographyArtery diseaseCoronary angiographyFunction testingDefinitive diagnosisYale-New Haven HospitalNon-Hispanic blacksMore patient-centered careNew Haven HospitalPatient-centered careStructured telephone interviewQuality of lifeHealth care experiencesNon-Hispanic whitesGroup of womenCoronary functionIllness perceptionsMean ageINOCAUncertain causeMultidisciplinary teamPatient carePerspectives of Clinicians and Staff at Community-Based Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Settings on Linkages With Emergency Department–Initiated Buprenorphine Programs
Sue K, Chawarski M, Curry L, McNeil R, Coupet E, Schwartz R, Wilder C, Tsui J, Hawk K, D’Onofrio G, O’Connor P, Fiellin D, Edelman E. Perspectives of Clinicians and Staff at Community-Based Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Settings on Linkages With Emergency Department–Initiated Buprenorphine Programs. JAMA Network Open 2023, 6: e2312718. PMID: 37163263, PMCID: PMC10173026, DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.12718.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsCommunity-based cliniciansOpioid use disorderEmergency departmentOUD treatmentMedication treatmentSubstance use disorders trainingUrban academic emergency departmentEffectiveness-implementation studyAcademic emergency departmentDisorder treatment settingsPerspectives of cliniciansCommunity-based treatmentCommunity-based treatment programsStaff perspectivesImplementation science frameworkBuprenorphine programTreatment cliniciansPeer navigatorsReferral sitesPromoting ActionMAIN OUTCOMEED staffBuprenorphineFocus groupsUse disordersPerspectives on National Institutes of Health Funding Requirements for Racial and Ethnic Diversity Among Medical Scientist Training Program Leadership
Ayedun A, Agbelese V, Curry L, Gotian R, Castillo-Page L, White M, Antwi A, Buchanan M, Girma M, Kline D, Okeke C, Raghu A, Saleh H, Schwartz A, Boatright D. Perspectives on National Institutes of Health Funding Requirements for Racial and Ethnic Diversity Among Medical Scientist Training Program Leadership. JAMA Network Open 2023, 6: e2310795. PMID: 37126348, PMCID: PMC10152303, DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.10795.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricOrganizational culture and barriers to change in University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital Cardiac Unit
Mengstie M, Biks G, Cherlin E, Curry L. Organizational culture and barriers to change in University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital Cardiac Unit. BMC Health Services Research 2023, 23: 296. PMID: 36978055, PMCID: PMC10053860, DOI: 10.1186/s12913-023-09278-x.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsMeSH Keywords and Concepts
Academic Achievements and Community Involvement
activity Member
Professional OrganizationsAcademy Health Methods Council elected memberDetails05/31/2016 - Presentactivity Member
Peer Review Groups and Grant Study SectionsEditorial Board Member: Circulation, Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes; Journal of Mixed Methods Research othersmemeDetails08/31/2013 - Presentactivity Partnerships for social and medical care integration
ResearchDetails01/01/2015 - 06/29/2018New York, NY, United Statesactivity Leadership Saves Lives culture change intervention
ResearchDetails12/01/2012 - 01/17/2018Rochester, MN, United Statesactivity Member
Professional OrganizationsMixed Methods International Research Association elected Board MemberDetails08/31/2014 - 08/31/2017
Links & Media
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News
- July 23, 2024
Embracing cultural humility in mixed methods research
- April 18, 2024Source: Fortune
10 free data analytics courses you can take online
- November 27, 2023Source: Yale Daily News
Federal program to reduce health disparities is ineffective, YSPH researchers find
- May 31, 2023
NIH-funded MD-PhD programs foster diversity in biomedical science, Yale study finds
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Health Policy & Management
PO Box 208034, 60 College Street
New Haven, CT 06520-8034
United States
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