Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion

Profile

LauraEllen Ashcraft, PhD, MSW (she/her) is the Implementation Scientist for the VA Safer Aging through Geriatrics-Informed Evidence-Based Practices (SAGE) Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) at the VA Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion. The SAGE QUERI focuses on implementing four evidence-based practices to promote an age-friendly health system within the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Dr. Ashcraft's work as an implementation science methodologist seeks to advance the field of implementation science by leveraging theory to promote equity, excellence, and innovation in methods, analysis, and dissemination in health and human services.

Dr. Ashcraft completed her PhD in Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh in 2021 with a focus on implementation science in chronic pain management in primary care settings. Her dissertation work involved the development of a novel strategy to quantify implementer concordance. Dr. Ashcraft led the first systematic review examining strategies to disseminate research to U.S. policymakers, which was published in Implementation Science. She has prior experience conducting mixed methods research in critical care and long-term acute care settings. She completed her Masters of Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh in 2013 with concentrations in Community Organizing and Social Administration.