By Merin C. MacDonald
In this month’s Chair’s Spotlight, we highlight the work of Kathleen Mazor, EdD, professor of medicine and interim chief in the Division of Health Systems Science. Prior to her work as interim chief, Dr. Mazor also served as the associate director of the Meyers Health Care Institute, a joint endeavor of UMass Chan Medical School, Reliant Medical Group, and Fallon Health. This August, she will “semi-retire” after having been at UMass Chan for over 25 years. We recently had the opportunity to speak with her about some of the highlights of her work, what has been most meaningful, and her plans as she begins her next chapter.
Having trained in psychometrics, Dr. Mazor has spent her career leading or collaborating on the development and application of numerous instruments assessing knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behavior in trainees, providers, patients, and the public. A critical part of her ongoing research has been utilizing qualitative methods to inform instrument development and to gain insights into patients’, providers’, and stakeholders’ perspectives on health and healthcare. “Patients’ stories have been particularly influential as they help frame my colleagues’ and my own research so that it is more relatable. Beyond the numbers and data are the stories of real people—people who are just like my co-workers, friends, and family,” said Dr. Mazor.
Her research has focused on provider-patient communication, breakdowns in care, disclosure of medical errors, vaccine hesitancy, decision-making, and health literacy. She has led and collaborated on numerous studies investigating the impact of various strategies for communicating health-related information to patients and the public. She explained that some of her most meaningful work has been understanding patients’ perspectives on breakdowns in care, in cancer. She shared that one study investigating the disclosure of medical errors had been particularly poignant. Here, she and her colleague Tom Gallagher from the University of Washington collaborated on a study where they interviewed over 70 cancer patients at healthcare centers around the country, who believed they had experienced a medical error or miscommunication in their care. Their study revealed that in these cases, while patients understood that clinicians are human and can make mistakes, an acknowledgment and explanation of the error was a critical step toward moving past the error. Patients also strongly valued apologies and a caring explanation of what had occurred, from their clinician. However, they found this was not what had happened in many cases, which negatively impacted patient outcomes. In one case, a patient they spoke to described how they were given a diagnosis that turned out to be not as bad as the clinician had initially communicated. Dr. Mazor and her colleagues found that this misdiagnosis had an extremely negative impact on the patient physically and emotionally. These results led study investigators to make recommendations for clinicians who are preparing to talk with patients after an adverse event or medical error. In these cases, they advised clinicians to be aware of their patients’ expectations and understand that their actions and words should be congruent. Learn more about this work.
Along with the passion she has had for her research, Dr. Mazor has greatly appreciated the relationships that she has built throughout her career. “What has made my career satisfying is that it is interesting work…but the part that makes it most satisfying for people like me and has kept me wanting to do it, is the people that I work with and that I have had the opportunity to work with. [There have been] so many people who are interesting, smart, and supportive, and I have enjoyed those relationships. I have been lucky to work with really great people and that makes it very satisfying,” said Dr. Mazor.
Dr. Mazor earned her EdD in Psychometrics at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA, and has a master’s degree in Psychology from Eastern Washington University. She has been the recipient of distinguished honors in mentoring including the UMass Chan Outstanding Mentor to Women Faculty Award and the Health Care Systems Research Network Mentor of the Year Award. Dr. Mazor has been at UMass Chan since 1996.
We are grateful for Dr. Mazor’s contributions as a leader, scientist, mentor, and colleague. We would also like to give her special thanks for her leadership as interim chief of Health Systems Science over the past year. As she shifts into her semi-retirement, she said she plans to spend more time with her family. Her busy work days will soon shift to ones filled with youthful energy, laughter, and the joy of being with her three grandchildren. We wish her much happiness.