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Sandra Wilson, Ph.D.

Senior Staff Scientist and Chair, Health Services Research

Sandra Reitz Wilson, Ph.D., is senior staff scientist and chair of the Department of Health Services Research at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation’s Research Institute. She is also adjunct clinical professor of medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology and zoology from the University of Minnesota and has a doctorate in physiological (experimental) psychology from Stanford University, where she also did a post-doctoral fellowship in neuropsychology.

Dr. Wilson has served on the board of directors of the American Thoracic Society as chair of its Behavioral Sciences Assembly; the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on the Assessment of Asthma and Indoor Air Quality, which produced the report “Clearing the Air”; the Pulmonary Diseases Advisory Committee of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI); the executive committee of the NHLBI Workshop on Outcomes Measures for Asthma Clinical Research and previously on the executive committee of the NHLBI Working Group on Asthma in the Elderly; the American Lung Association (ALA) Advisory Committee on Certification of Asthma Educators; the ALA Advisory Council; on numerous other federal, state, and professional organization boards and committees, and on numerous editorial boards and National Institute of Health (NIH) peer review and advisory groups.

Prior to joining the Palo Alto Medical Foundation’s Research Institute in 1997, Dr. Wilson was at the American Institutes for Research in Palo Alto, where she was senior research fellow and director of the Institute for Health Care Research, and for 17 years the director of the development of all materials and test forms for the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT). The published results of her research and its products – both educational programs and tests and measurement processes - have had major impact on patient education, on methods for evaluation of behavioral interventions in health care, the selection of medical students, and the award of National Health Service Corps’ scholarships for health professions training. In 2006, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Behavioral Sciences Assembly of the American Thoracic Society for her outstanding scientific contributions and service related to the behavioral aspects of the prevention and treatment of lung diseases.

Research Interests

Experimental evaluation of novel approaches to changing health behaviors of patients and/or the clinical practices and communication behaviors of health care providers in order to improve patient health or reduce health risks.
Measurement of health status and outcomes, especially, patient-centered outcomes.
Clinical research methods, both quantitative and qualitative.
Asthma and other lung diseases; other chronic and infectious diseases.
Older adults and other vulnerable populations and those experiencing disparities in health and health care.

Publications

Wilson SR, Strub P, Buist AS, Knowles SB, Lavori PW, Lapidus J, Vollmer WM, and the BOAT study group. Shared treatment decision-making improves adherence and outcomes in poorly controlled asthma. Amer J Resp Crit Care Med 2010;181:566-577. (e-published December 17, 2009. Doi:10.1164/rccm.200906-0907OC). PMID: 20019345.
Ma J, Strub P, Camargo CA, Xiao L, Ayala E, Gardner CD, Buist S, Haskell WL, Lavori PW, Wilson SR. The Breathe Easier through Weight Loss Lifestyle (BE WELL) Intervention: A randomized controlled trial. BMC Pulmonary Medicine 2010, 10:16. (e-published March 24, 2010. Doi:10.1186/1471-2466-10-16). PMID: 20334686.
Swigris JJ, Wilson SR, Green KE, Sprunger DB, Brown KK, Wamboldt FS. Development of the ATAQ-IPF: A tool to assess quality of life in IPF. Health Qual Life Outcomes 2010;8:77. (e-published July 31,2010. Doi:10.1186/1477-7525-8-77). PMID: 20673370.
Wilson SR, Farber HJ, Knowles SB, Lavori PW. A randomized trial of parental behavioral counseling and cotinine feedback for Lowering Environmental Tobacco Smoke exposure of children with asthma: results of the LET'S Manage Asthma trial. Chest 2010. (e-published Sept. 23, 2010. Doi:10.1378/chest.10-0772) PMID: 20864611.
Wilson SR, Farber HJ. Asthma Education Programs for Children (Chapter 39). In D Leung, H Sampson, R Geha, S Szefler, (Eds), Pediatric Allergy: Principles and Practice (2^ndedition). W. B. Saunders Co. Publishing: Philadelphia, PA, October 13, 2010. ISBN: 978-1-4377-0271-2.