Jennifer M Boggs, PhD, MSW, is an Associate Investigator at the Institute for Health Research. As a mental health services researcher, Dr. Boggs uses training in qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods to evaluate the effectiveness of innovative mental health, suicide, and violence prevention interventions. Dr. Boggs relies heavily on models from implementation science to inform strategies for adapting and implementing new interventions in health systems. She is passionate about firearm injury prevention and serves as a Scientist in Residence with the Kaiser Permanente Center for Gun Violence Research and Education, where she helps inform, develop, and oversee quality improvement programs to reduce firearm harms across the KP Enterprise.

Dr. Boggs received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Indiana University with a minor in business, a Master of Social Work from the University of Denver with concentrations in animal assisted approaches and marriage and family therapy, and a Doctorate in Health Services Research from the University of Colorado with training in epidemiology and health economics.

Selected Research:

• Scaling Out S.A.F.E. Firearm Across Two Health Systems as a Universal Suicide Prevention Strategy (SCALE ASPIRE)

In collaboration with partners at Northwestern University (PI: Beidas), our team is adapting and testing the successful pediatric program, S.A.F.E. Firearm, for adult primary care and women’s health visits. This program has the potential to reach more families using feasible implementation strategies designed to fit in the busy PC setting for promoting safe storage of firearms. Findings will develop better evidence for universal delivery of firearm safe storage programs to adult populations; where most of the current evidence resides with pediatric populations or high-risk adults.

• Funder: National Institute for Mental Health
• Study End Date: 10/31/2029


• Standardizing Care for Firearm Injuries: A Roadmap for Treatment and Recovery

Dr. Boggs is co-leading this project with Dr. Julie Angerhofer with the aim of developing and disseminating the first comprehensive standard of care framework for firearm injuries to holistically address medical (e.g., wound care, pain), psychological (e.g., trauma recovery), and social needs (e.g., social reintegration, addressing determinants of health).

• Funder: Fund for Safer Futures
• Study End Date: 12/23/2027


• Pragmatic Strategies for Implementing Safety Plans in Clinical Practice Settings (Project 1)

This project will develop a gold standard for delivering safety plans in real-world clinical practice. It addresses a critical question for health care decision makers: how to implement safety planning effectively within system constraints. The project will identify which safety plan components are most effective for patients at different levels of suicide risk.

• Funder: Four Pines Fund
• Study End Date: 02/28/2029


• Evaluation of a Promising Intentional Overdose Prevention Strategy in Primary Care

Building on a prior Young Investigator Award that developed a self-administered overdose prevention intervention called the medication care plan, this linked award brings in expertise from Henry Ford Health to implement the intervention in an EHR-compatible format that can be delivered seamlessly to patients. The project will conduct an efficacy trial of the medication care plan using the Computerized Intervention Authoring System (CIAS) at KPCO.

• Funder: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP)
• Study End Date: 10/31/2028

---