Research
Kaiser Permanente's eight research centers comprise one of the largest research programs in the U.S. and engage in work designed to improve the health of individuals everywhere. In 2007. Kaiser Permanente investigators participated in 2,079 research and evaluation studies. Funding from these studies came from a variety of sources, including National institutes of Health, the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and private foundations, along with core support from Kaiser Permanente. A number of unique KP assets go into this research, including a large, stable and representative population of Kaiser Permanent members and our clinical information systems that systematically capture patient demographics, clinical process measures and clinical endpoints.
Kaiser Permanente research units have also worked with community partners, academic institutions, and other research partners to deepen our understanding of community-level interventions, including school and work-based prevention initiatives and neighborhood-level interventions. Other studies have focused on increasing our understanding of the social and environmental factors that influence health.