Making a Difference

Rebecca Meehan, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the School of Information at Kent State University, where she teaches in both the Health Informatics (HI) and User Experience Design (UXD) programs. Dr. Meehan is a health informaticist with over 20 years of experience in applied research in health and aging. Her interests center on improving patient safety outcomes by improving the user experience of health information technology, and sociotechnical approaches to improving health outcomes for a diverse cultural population. Dr. Meehan's work in academic research is complemented by industry knowledge in software development having worked as a product manager and usability researcher for Intuit, Inc, a fortune 500 company, for global enterprise level software systems. She has also consulted independently on usability projects for U.S. and global clients in healthcare and wellness. These experiences allow her to bring a unique perspective for her students and research as having both academic and industry experience in health information research. Her previous experience includes senior research roles with Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and Department of Sociology, Myers Research Institute of Menorah Park Center for Senior Living, and Innovative Designs in Environments for an Aging Society (IDEAS, Inc.). Dr. Meehan earned a B.S. in Biology at St. Mary's College and then went on to Case Western Reserve University for both her M.A. and Ph.D. in Medical Sociology & Gerontology. She is the author of multiple publications and has presented at national and international conferences. Dr. Meehan is a member of the HIMSS-Xcertia Health App Work Group, HL-7 EHR Usability Workgroup, the Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS), the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), and the User Experience Professional Association (UXPA).