Linda H Aiken, PhD, FAAN, FRCN, RN
Claire M. Fagin Leadership Professor in Nursing, Professor of Sociology, and Director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research
Contact Information
University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing
Room 387 Fagin Hall
418 Curie Blvd.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-4217
UNITED STATES
tel: (215) 898-9759
email: laiken@nursing.upenn.edu
Linda H. Aiken, PhD, RN, FAAN, FRCN is the Director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research, and The Claire M. Fagin Leadership Professor of Nursing and Professor of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Dr. Aiken conducts research on the health care workforce and quality of healthcare in the U.S. and globally. She co-directs RN4CAST, a European Union funded study of nurse workforce and quality of care in 12 European countries, China, and South Africa. Her funded NIH research has received numerous awards including the Individual Codman Award from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations for leadership utilizing performance measures to demonstrate relationships between nursing care and patient outcomes. She was honored with the Academy Health Distinguished Investigator Award, the William B. Graham Prize for Health Services Research, and the Episteme Award from Sigma Theta Tau International. Dr. Aiken is a former President of the American Academy of Nursing, Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing, a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, and a Fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Teaching
Dr. Aiken teaches undergraduate and graduate level courses that delve into current issues in health and social policy and health outcomes research in both nursing and sociology. She also directs an NIH-funded pre- and post-doctoral research training program in health outcomes research.
Research
Linda H. Aiken is an authority on causes, consequences, and solutions for nurse shortages in the United States and around the world. Dr. Aiken leads the International Hospital Outcomes Consortium studying the impact of nursing on patient outcomes in 13 countries, and directed the Nursing Quality Improvement Program in Russia and Armenia demonstrating the successful application of twinning initiatives in nursing to improve hospital quality. She is a member of the Expert Advisory Panel guiding the World Alliance for Patient Safety. She is a leading expert on global nurse migration, its consequences, and solutions in developing and developed countries. Her research is frequently cited by the press, and she is winner of 3 American Academy of Nursing Media Awards.
• Currently Funded Grants
• Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research
Clinical Practice
Dr. Aiken is interested in medical-surgical nursing, AIDS care, and care for serious mental illness.
Honors/Credentials
Dr. Aiken is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, a Fellow and former president of the American Academy of Nursing, an Honorary Fellow in the Royal College of Nursing of the United Kingdom, and a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance. Recent awards acknowledging Dr. Aiken's significant contributions to health outcomes research include the following:
- Elected Theodore Roosevelt Fellow, American Academy of Political & Social Science, 2002
- Barbara Thoman Curtis Award 2002, American Nurses Association
- Baxter Episteme Research Award 2001, Sigma Theta Tau International
- Distinguished Pathfinder Research Award 2001, Friends of National Institute of Nursing Research
- Media Award 2001, American Academy of Nursing
- William B. Graham Prize for Health Services Research, Baxter International Foundation and Association of University Programs in Health Administration, 2006
- Distinguished Investigator Award, AcademyHealth, 2005
- Raymond and Beverly Sackler Award for Sustained National Leadership in Health Research, Research!America, March 21, 2006
- Article-of-the-Year Award for best health services research article, AcademyHealth, 2003 for “Hospital nurse staffing and patient mortality, nurse burnout, and job dissatisfaction,” JAMA 288/16;1987-1993, 2002.
- Individual Ernest A. Codman Award, Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, 2003
- Media Award, American Academy of Nursing, 2004, for press coverage of “Hospital Staff Nurse Work Hours and Patient Safety” Health Affairs, 23(4):202-212, July, 2004.
- Media Award, American Academy of Nursing, 2003 for press coverage of “Hospital nurse staffing and patient mortality, nurse burnout, and job dissatisfaction”
- Media Award, American Academy of Nursing, 2001, for press coverage of “Nurses’ Reports on Hospital Quality in Five Countries”.
| Publications (select year) 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 and Prior | In Press | More Publications |
My policy research agenda is motivated by a commitment to improving health care outcomes by building an evidence base for health services management and providing direction for national policymakers. My Center’s program of international outcomes research deals with the impact of modifiable organizational attributes on patient outcomes and workplace stability in hospitals, causes and consequences of, and solutions for, cyclical nurse shortages, and managerial innovations such as magnet hospitals. 