J. Margo Brooks Carthon, PhD, RN, FAAN, Tyson Family Endowed Term Chair for Gerontological Research at Penn Nursing, is a researcher and scholar whose work focuses on advancing health equity through innovative models of care for vulnerable older adults.
Dr. Brooks Carthon says her experience as a nurse and nurse practitioner working in community settings inspired her interest in pursuing health equity as a focus for her research. “In these settings, it was clear to me that the health care system can be very challenging for many patients to navigate, particularly members of historically minoritized groups,” she explained. “Through my research I seek to determine how health care can be delivered and tailored in a way that supports the needs of socially disadvantaged patients, including low-income older adults.”
In recognition of her significant contributions to the field, Dr. Brooks Carthon will receive the 18th Claire M. Fagin Distinguished Researcher Award, which honors outstanding individuals who have made a profound impact in advancing the nursing profession and improving healthcare practices through research and leadership. The award presentation will be on April 9, 2025.
Q: What innovative techniques or models have significantly helped your work?
A: “My work in the past 5-7 years has been informed my human centered design and implementation science. Using principles of human centered design our team developed Thrive, an evidenced based intervention that addresses the clinical and social needs of people who are insured through Medicaid and transitioning from hospital to home. Thrive was developed by leveraging interdisciplinary collaborations and using the “power of collaboration” has been implemented in three of our Penn Medicine Hospitals and supported over 1,000 patients in the past 5 years.”
Q: What’s next for you in terms of future projects or research directions?
A: “Our future goals are to scale and expand the Thrive pathway locally and nationally and to consider adaptations of Thrive to other populations.”
Recent Publications:
- Pre-Implementation Strategies to Support Adaptation of Thrive: A Care Transitions Model for Economically Disadvantaged Patients with Serious Mental Illness
- Transitional Care Support for Medicaid-Insured Patients With Serious Mental Illness: Protocol for a Type I Hybrid Effectiveness-Implementation Stepped-Wedge Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial
- Transitional care programs to improve the post-discharge experience of patients with multiple chronic conditions and co-occurring serious mental illness: A scoping review