PhD, MPH

Assistant Professor

Educational background

• Ph.D. – Health Services Research, Administration, & Policy, University of Nebraska Medical Center
• MPH – Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center
• B.S. – Biological Sciences, Peru State College

Courses taught

• Global Public Health & Health Care Systems
• Genetics
• Microbiology & Lab
• Human Anatomy & Lab
• Human Physiology & Lab

Research interests

• Health policy and systems research (HPSR)
• Convergence Science
• Health information technologies (HITs)
• One Health
• Health Data Ecosystems
• Health Services Research
• Rural Health
• Global Health
• Access to health care in underserved, low-resourced populations
• Health Workforce Development
• Team Science
• Human-centered design

Health policy and systems research (HPSR) is a multidisciplinary field that relies on team science to “draw a comprehensive picture of how health systems respond and adapt to health policies, and how health policies can shape – and be shaped by – health systems and the broader determinants of health” (Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research). Large scale datasets collected by Information Technologies have continued to have an increasing role in nearly every sector of the economy over the past decade and will continue to do so in the next. Despite national goals of achieving interoperability of electronic health records (EHRs) and enhanced clinical decision making, health data remains fragmented. Dr. Trout’s research interest lies at the intersection of Public Health, Health Policy, and Health Informatics to develop novel, data-driven ‘One Health’ approaches to rural health issues. Dr. Trout is a health services researcher and epidemiologist with research focusing on the utilization of Health Information Technologies (HITs) such as EHRs, Telehealth, and M-health to improve access, efficiency, safety, quality, and cost-effectiveness of healthcare in the United States and internationally with an emphasis on rural and low-resource settings. Effectively incorporating HITs at the system-level and improving the health data ecosystem will create an environment that supports utilizing big data to inform health policy and evidence-based decision making.

Sensor Enabled Decision Support System for Safe, Equitable Food Systems (SENS-D)

• Researchers see new salmonella sensors shaking up the entire chicken supply chain (St. Louis Public Radio)
• America’s chicken supply chain is vulnerable to salmonella. Researchers think they have a fix (KCUR)
• America’s chicken supply chain is vulnerable to salmonella. Researchers think they have a fix (Iowa Public Radio)
• America’s chicken supply chain is vulnerable to salmonella. Researchers think they have a fix (Nebraska Public Media)
• America’s Chicken Supply Chain is Vulnerable to Salmonella. Researchers Think They Have a Fix (Farms.com)
• Sensor-based system aims to tackle Salmonella across poultry supply chain (Food Safety Africa Magazine)

Selected publications

* Student publication

Trout, K. E., Chen, L. W., Wilson, F. A., Tak, H. J., & Palm, D. (2021). The Impact of Electronic Health Records and Meaningful Use on Inpatient Quality. Journal for Healthcare Quality: Official Publication of the National Association for Healthcare Quality. DOI: 10.1097/jhq.0000000000000314. PMID: 34267170

Trout, K. E., & Chen, L. W. (2021). Geographic distribution of bed occupancy during the COVID‐19 epidemic in the United States: A nationwide study. Health Science Reports, 4(2).

Kiselica, A. M., Johnson, E., Lewis, K. R., & Trout, K. E. (2021). Examining racial disparities in the diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment. Applied Neuropsychology: Adult, 1-8.

*McMann, N., & Trout, K. E. (2021). Assessing the knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding sexually transmitted infections among college students in a Rural Midwest Setting. Journal of Community Health, 46(1), 117-126.

Trout, K. E., Chaidez, V., & Palmer-Wackerly, A. L. (2020). Rural-Urban Differences in Roles and Support for Community Health Workers in the Midwest. Family & Community Health, 43(2), 141-149.

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