Rebecca A. Meehan, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Health Informatics
School of Library and Information Science
314 Library
Kent State University
Kent, OH  44242
rmeehan3@kent.edu
W: 330.672-9715 
​

Education
Ph.D. Sociology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, 1997
Specialties: Medical Sociology, Gerontology
M.A.  Sociology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, 1994
B.S.  Biology, St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN, 1991

Academic Experience
Kent State University, School of Information, Kent, OH (2012 – present)
Position: Assistant Professor, Health Informatics
Case Western Reserve University, Department of Sociology, Cleveland, OH (1997, 1999)
Position: Adjunct Professor   

Publications
Peer reviewed journal articles & book chapters

• Meehan, R. (2020): Health Information Technology Use Among Nursing Assistants in Long Term Care: A User Study of a Touch Screen Point of Care System. The Journal of Nursing Home Research Science (JNHRS). http://dx.doi.org/10.14283/jnhrs.2020.20
• Meehan, R. (2020).  Optimizing the Electronic Health Record:  Fixing Usability Issues in Legacy Systems to Improve Patient Safety.  Conference Proceedings HEALTHINF/BIOSTEC International Joint Conference on Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies. Valletta, Malta.
• Meehan, R., Kawalec, J., Caldwell, B., and Putman, D. (2018). Proficiency of first year podiatric medical residents in the use of electronic medical records. Perspectives in Health Information Management (Winter 2018): 1-14.
  
• Meehan, R., and Staley, J. (2017). Facilitating participation of long term care in ACOs through HIE.  Perspectives in Health Information Management, (Summer), 1-7.  
• Meehan, R.  (2017). Continued access to hospital patient health record data in long term care:  User experience study.  Journal of Applied Gerontology, (August), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1177/0733464817723565  
• Meehan, R., Mon, D., Kelly, K., Rocca, M., Dickinson, G., Ritter, J., & Johnson, C. (2016).  Increasing EHR system usability through standards:  Conformance criteria in the HL7 EHR system-functional model. Journal of Biomedical Informatics, 63, 169-173.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbi.2016.08.015
• Meehan, R. & Shura, R. (2016).  Residents’ perspectives on living with vision impairment in long-term care:  An unseen factor in quality of life and appropriateness of care.  Journal of Nursing Home Research,  2, 34-40. http://dx.doi.org/10.14283/jnhrs.2016.5]
• Meehan, R. (2015).  Improving continuity of care in long term care:  Impact of health information exchange. Journal of Healthcare Information Management, 29 (4), 14-17.
• Meehan, R.  (2015) Electronic Health Records in Long Term Care:  Staff Perspectives.  Journal of Applied Gerontology, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1177/0733464815608493
• Meehan, R.  (2015). Usability improvements to electronic health records:  Finding realistic paths to success. Proceedings of the International Conference on Health Informatics, 514-518, ISBN: 978-989-758-068-0, SCITEPRESS.
• Grogan-Johnson, S., Meehan, R., McCormick, K. & Miller, N. (2015).  Results of a national survey of pre-service telepractice training in graduate speech-language pathology and audiology programs.  Contemporary Issues in Communication Science and Disorders, 42,  122-137.
• Cuttler, L., Marinova, D., Mercer, M.B., Connors, A., Meehan, R., & Silvers, J.B. (2009).  Patient, Physician, and Consumer Drivers: Referrals for Short Stature and Access to Specialty Drugs.  Medical Care, 47(8), 858-65.
• Meehan, R. (2006, September).  Advances in Monitoring System Technology for Long Term Care.  Interview with Nursing Homes Magazine.
• Meehan, R. (2006).  The Role of the Deacon’s Wife.  In Keating, J. (Ed.),. The Deacon Reader. New Jersey: Paulist Press.
• Kahana, E., Kahana, B., King, C., Meehan, R., & Lovegreen, L.  (2005). The role of health communication in contributing to health disparities in cancer prevention and screening. In S. Rubinelli & J. Haes (Eds.) Tailoring Health Messages:  Bridging the Gap Between Social and Humanistic Perspectives on Health Communication. Switzerland: Universita della Svizzera Italiana
• Marsden, J., Meehan, R., & Calkins, M. (2002).  Activity-based kitchens with dementia: Design strategies that support group activities.  Activities Directors’ Quarterly, 3(3).
• Brush, J., Meehan, R., & Calkins, M.  (2002). Using the environment to improve intake for people with dementia.  Alzheimer’s Care Quarterly, 3(4).
• Meehan, R. A. & Brush, J.A. (2001). An overview of AIDS dementia complex. The American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias, 16(4), 225-229.
• Marsden, J., Meehan, R., & Calkins, M. (2001).  Therapeutic Kitchens for residents with dementia. The American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias, 16(5), 303-311.
• Kahana, E., Stange, K., Meehan, R. & Raff, L.  (1997). Forced disruption in continuity of primary care: Managed Care: The Patient’s Perspective.  Sociological Focus, 29 (3). ​

Selected Presentations
Presentations at Peer Reviewed Conferences

• Davidson, J., Egbert, N., Guan, Q., Katila, S., & R. Meehan (2020).  STREAM (Smart Translation Enabling and Aiding Multi-cultural populations).  North American Refugee Health Conference, Society of Refugee Healthcare Providers (August 2020), Cleveland, Ohio.
• Katila, S., Meehan, R., Egbert, N., Guan, Q. & J. Davidson (2020). Going the Shortest Distance: Designing Research Frameworks for Reducing Translation Time in a Multi-Cultural Language Tool. UCDA Design Education Summit. Des Moines, IA. July 2020. 
• Meehan, R. (2020).  Optimizing the Electronic Health Record:  Fixing Usability Issues in Legacy Systems to Improve Patient Safety.  Presented at HEALTHINF/ BIOSTEC, International Joint Conference on Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies. Valletta, Malta.  February, 2020. 
• Meehan, R. (2019).  Presenter and Panel member for World Usability Day:  Health and Wellness.  The South Florida UX and UXPA International Chapter.  Boca Raton, FL.  November, 2019.
• Meehan, R. (2019, October).  Innovation for Online Graduate Students:  Design Thinking Exercise.  Kent State University Teaching Council Teaching Conference, October 2019.  
  
• Meehan, R. (2019, June). Real World Process for Improving EHR Usability. presented to Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) Annual Conference, Cleveland, OH.
• Meehan, R. (2019, June). Fostering Innovative Thinking among Online Students in a Health Informatics Master’s Program. presented to the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) Educators Forum, St. Louis, MO.
• Meehan, R. (2018, June).  Improving the Educational Experience of Non-Clinician and Clinician Students in an Online Master's Degree in Health Informatics. presented to the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) Educators Forum, New Orleans, LA.
• Meehan, R. (2017, August). Health Information Exchange:  Opportunities for Improving Care for Older Adults in Long Term Post-Acute Care. International Conference on Medical Informatics & Telemedicine, Prague, Czech Republic.  
• Meehan, R. (2017, February). Continued Access to Hospital Patient Health Record Data in Long Term Care. Poster presented to Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Annual conference, Orlando, FL.
• Rocca, M., Meehan, R. Mon, D. Johnson, C., Ritter, J. and G. Dickinson. (2016, November).  Creating Standards in HL7 Functional Model to Improve EHR Usability. Poster presented to American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), Chicago, IL.  
• Kawalec, J., Meehan, R., Caldwell, B., Putman, D. and J. Clunis. (2016, July).  EHR Preparedness among New Podiatric Residents: National Survey of Podiatric Residency Directors.  Poster presented to the American Podiatric Medical Association, Philadelphia, PA.
• Meehan, R. (2016, June).  Considerations of Health Information Exchange Use for Long Term Care Participation in Accountable Care Organizations.  Poster presented to the American Health and Information Management Association LTPAC Summit, Reston, VA.
• Meehan, R. (2016, February).  New Frontiers: Improving Long Term Care through Health Information Exchange.  Presented to the International Conference on Health Informatics, as part of the International Joint Conference on Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies in Rome, Italy.  
• Meehan, R. (2015, June). User Experience of Health Information Exchange in Long Term Post-Acute Care.  Presented to the International Symposium on Health Information Management Research (ISHIMR): Health Informatics for Enhancing Health and Well-Being. York, England.   
• Shura, R. and Meehan, R. (2015, August). Residents’ Perspectives on Living with Vision Impairment in Long Term Care .  Roundtable discussion at the Annual meeting of the American Sociological Association. Chicago, IL.
• Meehan, R. (2015, March). The Evolving Role of Applied Social Scientists in Health Informatics.  Presented at the Society for Applied Anthropology. Pittsburgh, PA.
• Meehan, R. (2014, November).  Point of Care Touch Screen Systems in Long Term Care:  End User Evaluation. Presented at the Gerontological Society of America. Washington, D.C.
• Meehan, R. (2014, June). Qualitative Case Study of EMR in LTC:  Implications for Administration. Poster. AHIMA Long Term and Post-Acute Care Health IT Summit.  Baltimore, MD.
• Meehan, R. (2013, November).  Electronic Health Record Use in Long Term Care:  End User’s Experience. Poster. Gerontological Society of America Conference.  New Orleans, LA.
• Meehan, R. (2006, November).  New Technology in Long Term Care:  A Cost-Benefit Analysis. Presented at the Gerontological Society of America Conference, Dallas, TX.  
• Meehan, R. (2005, July).  Independent Case Studies of Two Assisted Living Facilities using New In-Room Monitoring Technology vs. Traditional Monitoring.  Presented at the American Alzheimer’s Association Conference, Chicago, IL.
• Kahana E., Kahana, B., Tascar, D., Daub, A., King, C., Meehan R., & Lovegreen, L.  (2005, June). Vulnerability and resilience among old-old survivors of natural disasters.  Presented at the 9th European Conference on Traumatic Stress, Stockholm, Sweden.
• Kahana, E., Kahana, B., Brown, J., King, Cathie, & Meehan, R.  (2005, July). Socioeconomic differences between physicians and patients: contributions to health care disparities.  Presented at the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics Annual Meeting, Budapest, Hungary.
• Meehan, R. & R. Patterson (2004, November).  Promoting Health in Older Adults in Long Term Care:  Adaptation to Vision Impairment. Presented at the Gerontological Society of America, Washington, DC.
• Webster, N., Kahana, E., Kahana, B., Kercher, K., King, C., & Meehan, R.  (2004, November). The physical, social and psychological effects of concerns about falling among community-dwelling elders.  Presented at the Gerontological Society of American Annual Meeting, Washington, DC.
• King, C., Meehan, R, & Kahana, E.  (2004, November). Expanding conceptualization of cultural competency in dealing with diverse populations of aged.  Presented at the Gerontological Society of American Annual Meeting, Washington, DC.
• Meehan R.  (2003, December).  Staff Perceptions of New Technology in Long Term Care.  International Conference on Aging, Disability, and Independence (ICADI, hosted by the American Society on Aging), Washington, DC.  
• Brush, J., Meehan, R., & Calkins, M.P.  (2001, November). Turn the Lights On! Improving Caloric Intake of People with Dementia. Paper presented at the 54th Annual Meeting of The Gerontological Society of America, Chicago, IL.
• Calkins, M. Meehan, R., & Briller, S.  (2001, November). Validation of Place-Based Models of Care. Paper presented at the 54th Annual Meeting of The Gerontological Society of America, Chicago, IL.
• Calkins, M. & Meehan, R. (2000).  Results of Video-based Caregiver Training. Poster session presented at the 13th Annual Conference of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
• Calkins, M., Meehan, R., Briller, S., Lipstreurer, E., Perez, K., Marsden, J. & Proffitt, M. (1999, November).   “Managing Depression: A Caregiver Training Video for HIV-Associated Dementia and Related Cognitive Disorders,” media session of the 53rd Annual Meeting of The Gerontological Society of America, Washington, DC.\
• Meehan, R.A., Calkins, M. P., Ogrocki, P.K., & Camp, C.  (1999). HIV-Associated Dementia and Related Cognitive Disorders: Efficacy of Video Based Caregiver Training. Round-table discussion at the 12th Annual Conference of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, San Diego, CA.
• Marsden, J., Meehan, R., & Calkins, M. (1999, October).  Therapeutic Kitchen Design: Features That Can Benefit Residents with Dementia. Presented to the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging.
• Kahana, E., King, C., Meehan, R., Smith, T., Boswell, G., Newell, K., Kahana, B., Kercher, K., & Borawski, E.  (1996, November). Gender and Aging Successfully. Paper presented at the 49th Annual Meeting of The Gerontological Society of America, Washington, DC.
• Kahana, E., Stange, K., Meehan, R., & Raff, L.  (1996, August). Forced disruption of the patient-physician relationship due to managed care: The patient’s perspective.  Paper presented at the 91st Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, New York, NY.​

Invited Webinar Presentations

• Meehan, R. (2017, June).  Preparing Medical Professionals in Health Informatics:  Case Study from Podiatric Residency Directors. Webinar presented to the Northern Ohio Healthcare Information Management and Systems Society (NOHIMSS).
• Meehan, R. (2016, April).  Health Information Exchange in Long Term Care:  Opportunities and Challenges. Webinar presented to the Northern Ohio Healthcare Information and Systems Society (NOHIMSS).  
• Meehan, R., Gachago, J. & Ritter, J.  (2015, April). Improving in EHR Usability through Standards:  Health Level Seven (HL-7) EHR Usability Update. Webinar presented to the Northern Ohio Health Information Systems Society (NOHIMSS).

Grants

• Smart Translation for Enabling and Aiding Multi-cultural Populations [STREAM]. Funded by the College of Communication and Information, Research and Creative Activities Fund, Kent State University. R. Meehan (Co-Investigator) with N. Egbert, Q. Guan, & S. Katila. ​
• Technology Cost-Benefit Analysis:  Case Study of Two Independent Assisted Living Facilities using In-Room Sensor Technology vs. Traditional Monitoring. Funded by Vigil Health Management. 2004.  Principal Investigator.
• On-Line Courses for Physicians:  HIV & Older Adults. Funded by National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).  2004. SBIR Phase I. Consultant and Data Analyst. C. King (PI) of Senior Links, LLC.  
• Staff Productivity Using In-Room Monitoring for People with Dementia. Funded by Vigil Health Management. 2001. Principal Investigator.   
• On-Line courses for Nurse and Family Caregivers:  HIV Associated Dementia. SBIR Phase I (funded 2001).  Funded by National Institute of Mental Health. Principal Investigator (later transferred over to J. Brush when I left IDEAS, Inc., the applicant small business).
• HIV-Associated Dementia: Caregiver Training Project. SBIR Phase I (funded 1998) to IDEAS, Inc.  Funded by National Institute of Mental Health. Grant writer and Project Director. SBIR Phase II (funded 1999). Project Director.

Teaching
Advisor on Doctoral Dissertations
Kent State University

• Julaine Clunis, June 2020, Dissertation Proposal:   “Semantic analysis mapping framework for clinical terminologies in cancer research”  College of Communication and Information, Kent State University. 
• Mana Azram, July 2020, Dissertation Defense: “A Patient-Centered Framework for System-Level Sharing of Health Records.” School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Ottawa.   

Courses Developed / Taught
Kent State University

• HI 60414  Human Factors and Usability in Health Informatics
• HI 60415  Inquiry And Assessment in Health Informatics
• HI 60403  Health Information Systems
• HI 61095  Consumer Health Informatics
• UXD 60001 User Experience Design:  Principles and Concepts
• CCI 80001 Foundations of Research in Communication & Information​

Webinars

• Meehan, R. (2017, June).  Preparing Medical Professionals in Health Informatics:  Case Study from Podiatric Residency Directors. Webinar presented to the Northern Ohio Healthcare Information Management and Systems Society (NOHIMSS).
• Meehan, R. (2016, April).  Health Information Exchange in Long Term Care:  Opportunities and Challenges. Webinar presented to the Northern Ohio Healthcare Information and Systems Society (NOHIMSS).  
• Meehan, R., Gachago, J. & Ritter, J.  (2015, April). Improving in EHR Usability through Standards:  Health Level Seven (HL-7) EHR Usability Update. Webinar presented to the Northern Ohio Health Information Systems Society (NOHIMSS).  ​

Guest Lectures
Kent State University

• Graduate level
• Lecturer, Foundations of Communication and Information        Fall 2015
• Panelist, VCD Design for Aging (for Prof. Katila)                 Spring 2017
• Panelist, CCI Doctoral Seminar                                                  Fall 2018

Service
Kent State University School of Information

• Program Coordinators Committee
• Admissions and Awards Committee
  • Chairperson
• Search Committee for Faculty for joint hire between CCI and Digital Science
  • Co-Chairperson
• Search Committee for Faculty for iSchool and Digital Science
  • Chairperson
• Student Affairs Committee
  • Co-Chairperson
• On-line Education Committee
• Search Committee for User Experience Design (UXD) Faculty
  • Chairperson
• Education Technology Committee

Kent State University

• Committee for the Kent State University Symposium on Aging​

Health Informatics Service and Industry

• HEALTHINF (International Conference on Health Informatics) / BIOSTEC (Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technology)
  • International Program Committee for HEALTHINF Conference 2016 - present 
  • Chaired Sessions on Current Research in Health Informatics in 2015, 2017, 2020
• HIMSS- Xcertia Health App Work Group  (2020 - present)
• Workgroup member of the Improving Usability in Medication List Project, U.S. Office of the National Coordinator (ONC)/ Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). 
• Subject Matter Expert/Consultant to the Colorado Regional Health Information Organization (CORHIO), funded by the Department of Health and Human Services/
• Volunteer to Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) Connectathon.
• Participant at Pew Charitable Trusts, Improving Usability of the Electronic Health Record to Improve Patient Safety, Washington, DC
• HIMSS HIT User Experience Group
• Health Information Exchange in Long-Term Post-Acute Care (LTPAC):  Preparation, Implementation and Impact. Nominated for and Interviewed as a subject matter expert. Federally funded Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) project through the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE)
• HL-7 (Health Level Seven International) Electronic Health Record Usability Workgroup
• HIMSS Interoperability Showcase Volunteer

Peer Reviewer

• Reviewer for Applied Clinical Informatics
• Reviewer for Journal of Medical Internet Research
• Reviewer for Journal of Public Health
• Reviewer for Journal of Biomedical Informatics 
• Reviewer for IEEE Communications Standards Journal 
• International Program Committee for HEALTHINF Conference 
• Reviewer for International Archives of Nursing and Health Care 
• Reviewer for AMIA Annual Conference
• Reviewer for IAGG Annual Conference
• Reviewer for International Conference on Health Informatics / Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technology Conference

Professional Memberships

• American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA)
• Northern Ohio HIMSS (NOHIMSS)
• Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS)
• Northeast Ohio Usability Professionals Association (NEOUPA)​

Professional Training Programs Designed and Taught

• Intuit, Inc.
  • Instructional presentations for end-users of new software
  • Research & experience design training courses for software engineering team
• Senior Links, LLC
  • On-line courses for Physicians: HIV & Older Adults; 3 modules developed. (2005). Hosted by University of California at San Francisco.  Produced for Senior Links from a study funded by National Institute of Mental Health, Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant.
• Innovative Designs in Environments for an Aging Society, Inc. (IDEAS, Inc.)
  • On-line courses for Caregivers: HIV Associated Dementia; 5 modules developed. (2001). Hosted by University of California at San Francisco. Produced by IDEAS, Inc. from a study funded by National Institute of Mental Health, Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant.

Professional Experience
Intuit, Inc. (division sold to MRI Software, LLC in 2010), Highland Hills, Ohio (2007 – 2011)

• Senior Experience Design Researcher
• Product Manager

Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (January 2004 – 2007)  

• Senior Research Associate School of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Endocrinology
• Project Director of a National Institute of Health Study, Referral Patterns of Physicians for Growth Hormone for Children of Idiopathic Short Stature  
• Senior Research Associate, Department of Sociology
• Co-Investigator & Project Director of National Institute on Aging study, Buffers of the Disability Cascade Among the Old-Old Continuum
• Project Director of a National Cancer Institute funded study, Health Care Partnerships in Cancer Prevention and Care of the Aged
• IRB Protocol Manager for the Elderly Care Research Center

Myers Research Institute of Menorah Park Center for Senior Living, Beachwood, Ohio (2001 –2003)

• Senior Research Scientist, IRB Protocol Manager
  • Principal Investigator for “Catalyst for Success in Using Assistive Devices for Low Vision.”
  • Principal Investigator for “An Evaluation of In-Room Monitoring Technology in Special Care Units of Assisted Living Facilities.”
  • Presentations of findings at national conferences, educational workshops and classes
  • In-depth interviews, focus groups, task analysis, data analysis.  

Innovative Designs in Environments for an Aging Society (I.D.E.A.S., Inc.), Kirtland, Ohio (1997 – 2001)

• Research Scientist, IRB Protocol Manager
  • Principal Investigator and Project Director  for a federal research study: On-Line Courses for Caregivers regarding HIV-Associated Cognitive Deficits
  • Evaluated the impact / success of on-line training classes using efficacy testing methodology  
  • Leading research projects in health and aging  
  • Determined and executed every stage of the research process including survey design, data collection, data analysis  
  • Managed data and dissemination for project assessing the impact (staff, residents, family) of a newly created skilled nursing unit
  • Presentations of findings at national conferences  
• Executive Director of IDEAS Institute
  • Executive Director of a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of older adults.

Case Western Reserve University, Department of Sociology, Cleveland, Ohio (1992 – 1997)

• Research Assistant

St. Elizabeth Hospital Medical Center, Department of Research and Medical Education, Youngstown, Ohio (1991– 1992)

• Research Associate
• Managing Editor for in-house medical research journal for St. Elizabeth Hospital   ​