Frances M. Yang, PhD

Professional Background

Dr. Frances M. Yang is a gerontologist and epidemiologist who is a Research Associate Professor in the School of Nursing. She received her training from Harvard Medical School, where she also served as a faculty member. Her expertise is examining the measurement of person-centered health outcomes in the presence of comorbid chronic health conditions, race/ethnic/cultural, language, and rural/urban differences. She was a subcontract Principal Investigator (PI) on the U01 grant entitled: “Patient Reported Outcomes in Clinical Care of Patients with HIV” to validate and develop new patient reported outcomes (PRO) for HIV patients. Her experience working with HIV patient data allowed me to develop expertise as a Program Evaluator for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) funded “Supporting Health Engagement through Prevention, Recovery, and Empowerment Via Access, Intervention, and Linkage Services (SHE PREVAILS)” that expanded and enhanced the care for African American (AA) women, including those who were pregnant and post-partum, with substance abuse and co-occurring mental health disorders who are at-risk or living with HIV in the Central Savannah River Area (Georgia and South Carolina). Currently, she is a member of the EPIC PROMIS Collaborative to better understand the implementation of PROMIS in the EPIC Electronic Health Record System. She is currently the PI of the University of Kansas Medical Center Research Institute Lied Pre-Clinical and Clinical Research Award for "END COVID NOW: Emerging Novel Data on COVID-19 for iNvestigating Outcomes Worldwide Study” to use the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Data Science Strategy Open-Access Data and Computational Resources to develop a common metric to identify indicators for strategies to decrease cases and deaths due to COVID-19 around the world. Another emerging epidemic that Dr. Yang is addressing due to the recent mass shootings is the “Mass Shootings Survivor Support Study,” a state of the art interactive and culturally adaptive survey that allows for survivors of mass shootings to anonymously assess their emotional distress and receive resources.

With internationally recognized expertise in measurement methodology, she is a past chair of the Psychometrics Special Interest Group of the International Society for the Quality of Life Research. She has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles and a book entitled: "Measurement and the Measurement of Change." Dr. Yang is currently co-facilitating the Faculty of Color United in Support (FOCUS) Affinity Group.

• PhD, Gerontology, Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
• Post Doctoral Fellowship, Epidemiology, Harvard Medical School

• Asian Pacific Islander American Heritage Month Planning Committee, Member, 2021 - Present
• Faculty of Color United in Support (FOCUS) Affinity Group, Faculty of Color United in Support (FOCUS) Affinity Group, Chair, 2020 - Present

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Research

Overview

Identifying and understanding outcomes that are most important to people as they make choices regarding their health conditions over time is an important area of research in measurement, prediction modeling, and implementation science. Building upon methodology and measures from the National Institutes of Health Blueprint Research Initiative of Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information Systems (PROMIS), we focus on the refinement and development of measuring outcomes that are important to the patients to produce evidence for decisions made for prevention, monitoring, and treatment. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) currently uses patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) for monitoring health status and evaluating medical devices.

An important aspect of this line of research is measuring changes in outcomes with time and culture, by comparing changes to the population level to identify normal age-related changes, as opposed to changes that signal impairment over the life course since birth. Through latent variable modeling, we develop and test models to measure and predict on the symptom level, as well as overall condition level, how patients or persons may change with aging and in the presence of other significant life events or cultural influences.

We are currently examining the measurement and interpretation of change scores for well-being as part of quality of life research for older populations as they age in the United States while living with one or more chronic health conditions, including cancer. We are also developing a metric for both university and faculty productivity across the United States that include academic medical centers that move beyond traditional publications in peer-reviewed medical journals, impact factors, and citation indices due to the rising costs of journal subscriptions and paywalls faced by both institutions and individuals, such as patients who want to access results from research that uses taxpayer dollars. To help develop better strategies to end pandemics, we are identifying more sensitive and specific profiles of strategies across countries.

Using big data, which include aggregating data from cohorts, databases, and electronic medical records, we are investigating different interventions and therapies on the population level. In relation to the level of well-being for older adults, we are examining care strategies in national datasets. We are also investigating risk factors and therapies that significantly impact overall health status. Ultimately, this line of research is for translational outcomes through development of digital strategies, such as apps that improve maternal and fetal health in rural areas based on the knowledge, access to, and needs of pregnant mothers.

• Taylor, D., C, Ferguson, H., W, Stevens, M, Kao, S, Yang, F., M, Looney, S. 2020. Does Including Dexmedetomidine Improve Outcomes After Intravenous Sedation for Outpatient Dentoalveolar Surgery?. Journal of oral and maxillofacial surgery : official journal of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, 78 (2), 203-213
• Mansour, N., M, Balas, E., A, Yang, F., M, Vernon, M., M. 2020. Prevalence and Prevention of Reproducibility Deficiencies in Life Sciences Research: Large-Scale Meta-Analyses.. Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research, 26, e922016
• Huang, T., C, Wu, W., T, Chen, Y., C, Yang, F., M, Tsai, W., C, Lee, C., H. 2020. Betel-Quid Chewing, Heart Failure, and Premature Ventricular Contractions in Patients with Cardiopulmonary Symptoms.. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17 (20)
• Fredericksen, R., J, Yang, F., M, Gibbons, L., E, Edwards, T., C, Brown, S, Fitzsimmons, E, Alperovitz-Bichell, K, Godfrey, M, Wang, A, Church, A, Gutierrez, C, Paez, E, Dant, L, Loo, S, Walcott, M, Mugavero, M., J, Mayer, K., H, Mathews, W., C, Patrick, D., L, Crane, P., K, Crane, H., M. 2019. Development and content validation of measures assessing adherence barriers and behaviors for use in clinical care.. Research in social & administrative pharmacy : RSAP, 15 (9), 1168-1176
• Dong, Y, Yang, F., M. 2019. Insomnia symptoms predict both future hypertension and depression.. Preventive medicine, 123, 41-47
• Lee, C., H, Ko, A., M, Yang, F., M, Hung, C., C, Warnakulasuriya, S, Ibrahim, S., O, Zain, R., B, Ko, Y., C. 2018. Association of DSM-5 Betel-Quid Use Disorder With Oral Potentially Malignant Disorder in 6 Betel-Quid Endemic Asian Populations.. JAMA psychiatry, 75 (3), 261-269
• Fredericksen, R., J, Walcott, M, Yang, F., M, Gibbons, L., E, Fitzsimmons, E, Brown, S, Mayer, K., H, Edwards, T., C, Loo, S, Gutierrez, C, Paez, E, Dant, L, Mathews, W., C, Mugavero, M., J, Patrick, D., L, Crane, P., K, Crane, H., M. 2018. Circumstances Surrounding High-risk Sexual Experiences Among Primary Care Patients Living With and Without HIV.. Journal of general internal medicine, 33 (12), 2163-2170
• Yang, F., M, Jones, R., N, Inouye, S., K, Tommet, D, Crane, P., K, Rudolph, J., L, Ngo, L., H, Marcantonio, E., R. 2013. Selecting optimal screening items for delirium: an application of item response theory.. BMC medical research methodology, 13, 8