Bio: Ngaire Kerse, a 2002-03 Commonwealth Fund Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice, has her medical degree from the University of Otago, New Zealand, a Ph.D. from the University of Melbourne a Geriatric Medicine fellowship from the University of Pennsylvania, and general practitioner training in the United States, New Zealand and Australia. Her research interests are the care of older people, maximizing potential function to improve well-being and better understanding the complexities of social, economic and health aspects of quality of life for older people. As a senior lecturer in the Department of General Practice and Primary Heath Care her role in educating medical students about primary health care has developed in tandem with a programme of research about older people, the doctor-patient relationship and health services research. Kerse is a member of the National Council for the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners and has served on various guidelines groups.
Placement: Group Health Cooperative
Mentors: James LoGerfo, M.D., M.P.H., Harborview Medical Center; Edward Wagner, M.D., M.P.H., Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound
Project: Who Cares for Older People?
Description: Kerse's project aimed to explore, from the perspective of older people and their families, the extent to which cultural differences related to health and health care beliefs affect care delivery in residential care setting. She conducted an ethnographic study at two residential homes, and conducted interviews with nurses, nursing assistants, and a sample of older residents of different races and ethnicities.