Heather Brom, PhD, RN

Dr. Brom is a health services researcher focused on improving the health outcomes for individuals with complex medical and social needs. She accomplishes this by (1) examining how variations in organizational factors and policies impacting nurses and nurse practitioners (such as scope of practice, and health system practices and policies) influence outcomes of care and (2) by collaborating with interdisciplinary teams to develop and implement multi-level solutions (such as system-level interventions and employing best practices) to achieve health equity. She has conducted this research through multi-level, mixed methodologies that leverage data from a range of sources (e.g., large-scale surveys, interviews, electronic health records (EHR), clinical registry data, hospital discharge files, and ambulatory claims data).

Dr. Brom’s work has added to the evidence-base that investments in nurses and nurse practitioners, particularly through their work environments, have important implications for a variety of patient outcomes. For example, her work is among the first to demonstrate a relationship between the nurse work environment and 7-day readmissions and length of stay for ischemic stroke patients.

Recent Publications

1. * Copel, LC, Smeltzer, SC, Byrne, CD, Chen, M, Havens, DS, Kaufmann, P, Brom, H, Durning, JD, Maldonado, L, Bradley, PK, Mensinger, JL, Yost, J. (2023). Essential workers who worked directly or indirectly with individuals with COVID-19 during the pandemic: What they wanted the world to know. PLOS ONE, 18(3), e0282946. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282946
2. * Brooks Carthon, JM, Brom, H, French, R, Daus, M, Grantham-Murillo, M, Bennett, J, Ryskina, K, Ponietowicz, E, & Cacchione, P. (2022). Transitional care innovation for Medicaid-insured individuals: Early findings. BMJ Open Quality, 11, e001798. doi:10.1136/ bmjoq-2021-001798.
3. * Smeltzer, SC, Copel, LC, Bradley, PK, Maldonado, LT, Byrne, CD, Durning, JD, Havens, DS, Brom, H, Mensinger, JL, & Yost, J. (2022). Vulnerability, loss, and coping experiences of health care workers and first responders during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, 17(1). doi: 10.1080/17482631.2022.2066254
4. * Brooks Carthon, JM, Brom, H, Nikpour, J., Todd, B., Aiken, L., & Poghosyan, L. (2022). Supportive practice environments are associated with higher quality ratings among nurse practitioners working in underserved areas. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 13(1), 5-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2155-8256(22)00028-X
5. * Viscardi, M., French, R., Brom, H, Lake, E., Ulrich, C., & McHugh, M. (2022). Care quality, patient safety, and nurse outcomes at hospitals serving economically disadvantaged patients: A case for investment in nursing. Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice, 23(1), 5-14. doi: 10.1177/15271544211069554
6. * Brooks Carthon, JM, Brom, H, McHugh, M, Daus, M, French, R, Sloane, D, Berg, R, Merchant, R, & Aiken, L. (2022). Racial disparities in stroke readmissions reduced in hospitals with better nurse staffing. Nursing Research, 71(1), 33-42. doi: 10.1097/NNR.0000000000000552
7. * Porat-Dahlerbruch, J., Aiken, LA, Todd, B, Cunningham, R, Brom, H, Peel, M, & McHugh, MD. (2022). Policy evaluation of the Affordable Care Act Graduate Nurse Education Demonstration. Health Affairs, 41(1), 86-95. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2021.01328
8. * Mensinger, JL, Brom, H, Havens, DS, Costello, A, Bradley, PK, Copel, LC, D’Annunzio, C, Durning, JD, Maldonado, L, Smeltzer, SC, Yost, J, & Kaufmann, P. (2022). Psychological responses of hospital-based nurses working during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States: A cross-sectional study. Applied Nursing Research, 63, 151517. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnr.2021.151517
9. Kaufmann, PG, Havens, DS, Mensinger, JL, Bradley, PK, Brom, HM, Copel, LC, Costello, A, D’Annunzio, C, Durning, JD, Maldonado, L, McKenzie, AB, Smeltzer, SC & Yost, J. (2021). The COVID-19 Study of Healthcare and Support Personnel (CHAMPS): A longitudinal observational study. JMIR Research Protocols, 10(10), e30757. doi: 10.2196/30757
10. * Aiken, LH, Sloane, DM, Brom, HM, Todd, BA, Barnes, H, Cimiotti, JP, Cunningham, RS, & McHugh, MD. (2021). Value of nurse practitioner inpatient hospital staffing. Medical Care, 59(10), 857-863. doi: 10.1097/MLR.0000000000001628
11. * Brom, H, Anusiewicz, C, Udoeyo, I, Chittams, J., & Brooks Carthon, JM. (2021). Access to post-acute care services reduces emergency department utilisation among individuals insured by Medicaid: An observational study. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 31, 726-732. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.15932
12. Brooks Carthon, JM, Brom, H, Kim, V, Hedgeland, T, Ponietowicz, E & Cacchione, P. (2021). How innovation and design thinking can improve care. American Nurse, 16(6), 2-5.
13. * Brom, H, Brooks Carthon, JM, Sloane, DM, McHugh, M, & Aiken, LH. (2021). Better nurse work environments associated with fewer readmissions and shorter length of stay among adults with ischemic stroke: A cross-sectional analysis of U.S. hospitals. Research in Nursing & Health, 44(3), 525-533. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/nur.22121 Wiley Top Cited Article for 2021-2022 in Research in Nursing & Health
14. * Brooks Carthon, JM, Brom, H, McHugh, M, Sloane, DM, Berg, R, Merchant, R, Girotra, S, & Aiken, LH. (2021). Better Nurse Staffing is Associated with Survival for Black Patients and Diminishes Racial Disparities in Survival after In-Hospital Cardiac Arrests. Medical Care, 59(2), 169-176(8). doi: https://doi.org/10.1097/mlr.0000000000001464

As a member of Penn Nursing’s Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research, Dr. Brom collaborates with faculty and students interested in nursing health services research. Dr. Brom is a founding member of an interdisciplinary workgroup that developed the THRIVE intervention to support the post discharge needs of patients insured by Medicaid. In this role she collaborates with academic and health system partners.