Alana Knudson, PhD
Dr. Alana D. Knudson is the Associate Director for Research at the Center for Rural Health at the University of North Dakota (UND), School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Grand Forks, ND.
In her position, Dr. Knudson conducts health services research examining access, quality and cost-effectiveness of health care. Ultimately, these findings are used to provide information to assist in the development of health policy. Her research interests also include population health, health economics, health care quality, patient safety, and international health development.
Dr. Knudson’s research on access to health care has focused primarily on financial access. She has examined health insurance access for North Dakotans, Native American elders, and Midwestern farmers. Her health services research projects, which focus on quality and patient safety, include the following: the Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center projects, a partnership between the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center and the UND Center for Rural Health funded by the Office of Rural Health Policy; the Medication Safety Project, an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) funded project conducted in partnership with the University of Nebraska Medical Center; and, the Building Research and Infrastructure Capacity Project, funded by AHRQ.
Dr. Knudson also completed a five-year project as the assistant director of the North Dakota – Turkmenistan Partnership Program. The project’s primary goal was to develop and establish a primary care training center for physicians and nurses in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. The curriculum developed through this project serves as a model for other countries in the former Soviet Union and in Central Asia.
Prior to her return “home” to North Dakota, she served as the senior director for public health information and infrastructure policy at the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASHTO) in Washington, DC, where she contributed to the development of national public health policies relating to information technology, performance standards, workforce, and preparedness. In addition, she has also worked for the North Dakota Task Force and for the North Dakota Department of Health.
Dr. Knudson grew up on a farm near Towner, North Dakota, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in management/finance from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa in 1988. She earned a dual Master of Education degree in college student services administration, and training and development 1991 from Oregon State University (OSU) in Corvallis, Oregon. In 1997, she earned a Ph.D. in public health from OSU.
Contact Information:
Projects
Publications
- How Farmers and Ranchers Get Health Insurance and What They Spend for Health Care, Pryor, C., Prottas, J., Lottero, B., Rukavina, M., & Knudson, A., Issue Brief No. 2, December 2007
“How Farmers and Ranchers Get Health Insurance and What They Spend for Health Care,” is the second in a series of issue briefs based on a survey of farm and ranch operators in seven Great Plains states. The report examines how farm and ranch operators get health insurance coverage and the amount of their overall healthcare costs including insurance premiums and money spent out-of-pocket for medical services, treatments, products or prescription drugs. It highlights the inadequacies of relying on the private, non-group market to provide affordable, comprehensive insurance coverage to farm and ranch operators.
- Overview of Findings, Lottero, B., Pryor, C., Rukavina, M., Prottas, J., & Knudson, A., Issue Brief No. 1, September 2007
This first in a series of briefs based on a survey of farm and ranch operators in Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota, provides information on insurance status, source of health insurance, health care access, and medical debt for these families. It urges policymakers to carefully consider proposals that will ease the burden of health care costs for rural residents and small business operators.
- North Dakota Facts, Knudson, K., Winter 2006
There are many opportunities for North Dakotans to make healthier choices. This fact sheet provides an overview of North Dakotans’ health risk behaviors.
- North Dakota Health Insurance Study State Planning Grant Initiative, Baird, J.R., Cogan, M., Knudson, A., Kruger, G., & Muus, K., September 2006
Final report including activities in the third year of funding.
- Health Care Access in North Dakota: Characteristics of the Uninsured, Knudson, A., Winter 2005
The lack of health insurance poses a great risk to the well being of North Dakotans and economic viability of the state. Uninsured children and adults do not receive the health care they need; they suffer from poorer health; and are more likely
to die earlier than those with coverage.
- Prevalence of Chronic Disease Among American Indian and Alaska Native Elders, Moulton, P., McDonald, L., Muus, K., Knudson, A., Wakefield, M., & Ludtke, R., October 2005
Presentations
- Culturally Appropriate and Valid Psychological Assessments for Ethical Use with American Indians and Alaska Natives
Presented by Gray, J., Green, J., & Knudson, A. on
Jun 23,
2008 at the 21st Annual Conference for the Society of Indian Psychologists, Logan, UT.
- Rural Health Policy: Framing Your Message to Maximize Change
Presented by Gibbens, B., Knudson, A., & Fry, T. on
May 8,
2008 at the National Rural Health Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA.
Policy framing is an approach to communicate policy messages to an audience so that they better understand the perspective of the presenter. Policy framing techniques have been acquired through the Center's participation in the Rural People Rural Policy program of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
- Bacterial Pneumonia Hospitalizations in the US: Rural/Urban Comparisons
Presented by Muus, K., Knudson, A., Lancette, S., & Klug, M.G. on
May 8,
2008 at the National Rural Health Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA.
- The Rural Public Health System
Presented by Knudson, A. on
Apr 21,
2008 at the International Visitor Leadership Program, Minot, ND.
Alana Knudson and Brad Gibbens co-presented as part of a panel presentation on April 21, 2008, Minot Center for Family Medicine. The event was the International Visitor Program, Public Safety: Preparing for Potential Pandemic Disease. This international educational program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. International participants included representatives from Bangladesh, Ghana, and India. Dr. Knudson's presentation was titled "The Rural Public Health System" and Mr. Gibbens' presentation was titled " The Rural Health Delivery System." The event was hosted and facilitated by Kim Krohn, MD, Director, Center for Family Medicine, Minot, ND.
- Rural Health Policy: Framing Policy Messages to Better Understand Your Message
Presented by Gibbens, B. & Knudson, A. on
Mar 27,
2008 at the Dakota Conference on Rural and Public Health, Fargo, ND.
The presentation addressed a policy communication process, referred to as policy framing, and how this process can be applied to further rural health policy development. Common framing techniques and applications were discussed. The Center for Rural Health has been applying the process to policy messages and to grant development.
- The Effect of Rural Hospital Transfers on Mortality of Medicare Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction
Presented by Muus, K, Knudson, A, Klug, M.G., & Beattie, R. on
Mar 27,
2008 at the Frank Low Research Day, UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Grand Forks, ND.
- North Dakota Medicare Hospital Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction: Characteristics and Outcomes of Transferred versus Non-Transferred Patients
Presented by Muus, K., Knudson, A., Beattie, S., & Beattie, R. on
May 7,
2007 at the National Rural Health Association Annual Conference, Anchorage, AK.
- To Map or Not To Map?
Presented by Beattie, S. & Knudson, A. on
Mar 20,
2007 at the 2007 Dakota Conference on Rural and Public Health, Mandan, ND.
Download the presentation handout.
The Medication Safety Project has focused on the organizational infrastructure for reporting, providing timely feedback, and analyzing medication errors in small rural hospital necessary to identify and implement evidence-based practices that minimize the latent system cases of these errors. A key strategy in examining the infrastructure is the use of process maps. This session, presented as part of the FLEX pre-conference workshop at the Dakota Conference on Rural and Public Health in Bismarck on April 3, 2007, demonstrated how to construct a process map and to identify opportunities to implement evidence based best practices. Process maps focus on developing team strategies to identify problems and implement solutions.
- Implementing a Program of Patient Safety in Small Rural Hospitals
Presented by Knurdson, A., Beattie, S., & Miller, M. on
Jul 1,
2006 at the site visits for the 10 participating hospital staff, in Bowman, Harvey, Hettinger, Hillsboro, Mayville, McVille, Park River, Rolla, Rugby, and Watford City, ND.
This presentation was an introduction to the North Dakota Medication Safety Project. Ten rural hospitals will be part of this year long project, conducted in partnership with the University of Nebraska Medical Center, which is funded through a patient safety grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). University of Nebraska Medical Center project members, Katherine Jones, PhD, and Gary Cochran, PharmD, participated in the site visits at Bowman and Hettinger. Site visits also were conducted at hospitals located in Harvey, Hillsboro, Mayville, McVille, Park River, Rolla, Rugby, and Watford City.
- Budget Committee on Human Services Testimony
Presented by Knudson, A. on
Mar 9,
2006 at the North Dakota Legislative Council, Bismarck, ND.
Discusses the Medical School’s role and involvement with local public health units. The presentation encompass the three primary areas of collaborative efforts between the Medical School and local public health units which relate to
some of the 10 essential public health services. These three areas include:
1. Technical Assistance and Research;
2. Educational Support; and,
3. Information Dissemination.
- Which Factors Increase the Likelihood of Being Uninsured in a Rural State? Identifying Opportunities to Reduce Disparities
Presented by Cogan, M., Knudson, A., & Muus, K. on
Jun 27,
2005 at the Annual AcademyHealth Research Conference, Boston, MA.
Poster presentation on the uninsured in rural states.
- Chronic Diseases and Co-Morbidities in Older Native Americans
Presented by Muus, K., Moulton, P., Knudson, A., McDonald, L., & Ludtke, R. on
May 20,
2005 at the National Rural Health Association's Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA.
Discusses results from the "Identifying Our Needs: A Survey of Elders" needs assessment surveys conducted by the National Resource Center on Native American Aging on chronic diseases and co-morbidities in older Native Americans.
- Who Are North Dakota's Uninsured?
Presented by Knudson, A., Muus, K., Cogan, M., Kruger, G., Baird, J., & Apostal, K. on
May 19,
2005 at the National Rural Health Association's Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA.
Poster presentation on North Dakota's uninsured.
- Health Insurance Access in North Dakota
Presented by Cogan, M., Knudson, A., Baird, J., Muus, K., & Kruger, G. on
Mar 8,
2005 at the Dakota Conference on Rural and Public Health, Bismarck, ND.
Disucsses consequences of the uninsured, uninsured in the United States, uninsured in North Dakota, and policy options for North Dakota to consider.
- Health Insurance Coverage in North Dakota
Presented by Baird, J.R., Cogan, M., Knudson, A., Kruger, G., & Muus, K. on
Sep 4,
2004 at the North Dakota Healthcare Association, Bismarck, ND.
Discusses findings from the North Dakota Household Survey. For more information contact Alana Knudson or Kyle Muus at (701)
777-3848.
- North Dakota's Uninsured Children and Families
Presented by Knudson, A., Muus, K., Cogan, M., & Kruger, G. on
Aug 12,
2004 at the Governor's Health Insurance Advisory Commission meeting, Grand Forks, ND.
Presentation on North Dakota's uninsured.
- Uninsured Adults in North Dakota
Presented by Knudson, A., Muus, K., Cogan, M., & Kruger, G. on
Aug 12,
2004 at the Governor's Health Insurance Advisory Commission meeting, Grand Forks, ND.
Overview of the uninsured in North Dakota.
- Health Insurance Coverage Among North Dakotans
Presented by Knudson, A., Muus, K., Cogan, M., & Kruger, G. on
Jul 28,
2004 at the Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota Board of Directors meeting, Fargo, ND.
Overview of the uninsured in North Dakota.
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