Bio: Adam Steventon, a 2013-14 U.K. Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice, is a senior research analyst at the Nuffield Trust. Prior to this appointment, Steventon worked as a senior policy analyst at Pensions Policy Institute in London. With a background in mathematics and actuarial consulting, Steventon has recently focused his work on the use of technology--including telehealth and telecare--to support people with chronic health conditions and the aging population. His work has also dwelt on inequalities and under-provision of health care for vulnerable elderly populations, and in 2009 Steventon served as special advisor to the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee for their enquiry into pensioner poverty. Steventon holds a master's of arts with first class honors in mathematics from the University of Cambridge. He is currently working on his Ph.D. at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where his thesis examines methods to increase the validity of evaluations of complex community-based interventions in health care.
Placement: Yale University
Mentors: Harlan Krumholz, M.D., S.M.,Yale University School of Medicine
Project: Comparison of Interventions to Reduce Hospital Admissions and Readmissions
Description: Steventon will explore interventions to prevent unnecessary hospitalization for patients with chronic conditions in the U.S. and U.K., and identify the elements associated with success. He will undertake case studies of interventions identified through a literature review; data will be requested from these sites and, where available, a quantitative analysis performed to determine the intervention's effectiveness. In addition, Steventon will conduct a literature review on strategies to increase the chances of successful hospital avoidance during the implementation phase of an intervention (e.g., technical assistance).