Robert M. Jacobson, M.D.

Dr. Jacobson leads the Employee and Community Health (ECH) Research Initiative at Mayo Clinic. The initiative will create a base of investigation for the study of population-based interventions to improve our patients' health. The efforts will involve the direct participation of our community of patients and their families, our ECH consulting and allied health staff, and the Population Health Science Program of the Mayo Clinic Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery.

Focus areas

Dr. Jacobson and his team will focus on the development and evaluation of:

• Population-based interventions that improve vaccination delivery resulting in on-time and up-to-date routine vaccination rates for both children and adults
• Stepped-wedge cluster randomized controlled trial design as a methodology for evaluating population-based interventions
• Systematic reviews as a methodology for evaluating population-based interventions
• Teaching methods for the instruction of clinicians in evidence-based medicine
• Simulation education as a means for teaching vaccine providers in addressing vaccine hesitancy among patients and parents

Significance to patient care

Primary care still relies upon the office visit to pursue its mission of achieving optimal health for that individual. Much of what the primary care clinician seeks to accomplish for that clinician's panel of patients can and should take place outside that office visit. These include efforts to alert, educate, screen, and even intervene. Such efforts could make good use of modern electronics, self-efficacy, and community resources. Such efforts should improve the health of the individuals while reducing the cost of their care.

Professional highlights

• President, Minnesota Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, 2012-present
• Section Editor for Systematic Reviews, Academic Pediatrics, 2009-present
• Chair Elect, South-Eastern Minnesota Immunization Connection or SEMIC, 2012-present
• Co-Chair, Academic Pediatrics Assocation Evidence-Based Pediatrics Special Interest Group, 2007-present
• Election into Membership, American Pediatric Society,January, 2007