How High-Quality Research Shapes Smarter Healthcare Decisions: Westat at 2026 AcademyHealth
May 27, 2026
Westat health policy experts will be participating in the AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting (ARM), May 30–June 2, 2026, in Seattle, Washington. This year’s conference theme, “Rigor and Relevance Driving Action,” is focused on the importance of high-quality research that informs healthcare decisions.
Dominick Esposito, PhD, a Westat Vice President for Health, will chair several conference sessions focused on advancing innovation and rigor in health research. These sessions will examine how collaboration can drive meaningful progress in areas like type 1 diabetes, highlighting methods to strengthen observational studies and improve decision-making using imperfect healthcare data. As Esposito notes, “Bringing together strong methods is essential to turning complex data into meaningful insights that improve lives.”
Joann Sorra, PhD, a Westat Vice President for Healthcare Quality, will present a poster on the Surveys on Patient Safety Culture® (SOPS®) Nursing Home Survey 2.0. The study developed and pilot-tested survey items that nursing homes and researchers can use to assess how well a nursing home’s organizational culture supports resident safety and workplace safety for providers and staff.
Following are details on the activities of Westat staff:
Saturday, May 30
12:30–1:45 pm (PT)
Dominick Esposito (Session Chair). Are You Sure? Sensitivity Analyses and Causal Inference in Health Services and Policy Research.
Monday, June 1
8:00–8:25 am (PT)
Dominick Esposito (Session Chair). Solve It Together: Finding Signal in the Noise: Policy Research in a Fragmented Data Landscape.
8:00–9:15 am (PT)
Joann Sorra, Naomi Yount, Reanne Townsend, Sarah Bennett-Harper, Jessica Kirchner, and Dawn Nelson (Poster Session on Safety, Quality, and Workforce: C-363; Hall 4AB). Assessing Safety Culture in Nursing Homes: Development and Pilot Test Results From an Updated AHRQ Nursing Home Survey Version 2.0.
3:30–4:45 pm (PT)
Dominick Esposito (Session Chair). Building Partnerships to Spur Innovation and Improve Lives.