Professor
Department
Department of Systems, Populations and Leadership
Contact
University of Michigan School of Nursing
400 North Ingalls Building
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5482
Milisa Manojlovich is accepting new PhD students.
Interests
Cancer care delivery
Interdisciplinary communication
Visual-based methodologies
Dr. Manojlovich studies how communication can be used to improve healthcare delivery for cancer patients. Communication is commonly defined as information exchange, borrowing heavily from aviation which focuses on sender-receiver characterizations and represents a transactional view of communication. Dr. Manojlovich promotes a broader view of communication, one focused on developing shared understanding between communicators and the transformational nature of communication that results when two people – with different perspectives – come to understand one another and learn something new. She uses innovative visual-based methods (both video and photo) to improve care delivery by understanding the patient perspective to guide the development of education materials that patients will comprehend and use. Patient education is a modifiable aspect of cancer care delivery that could contribute to better treatment outcomes and improved quality of life. Her research is agnostic to cancer type or population because most cancer patients enter the healthcare system at some point for cancer care and how that care is delivered depends on communication.
Dr. Manojlovich is expanding the focus of communication to include how education is provided to, and received by, oncology patients in two areas. First, she seeks to improve patient adherence to oral anti-cancer agents (OAAs) to treat their cancer. OAAs cause a wide range of worrisome toxic reactions, leading to non-adherence. Innovative methods based on the transformational power of communication are needed because of the recognition that improved adherence will ultimately reduce morbidity and mortality from cancer. In fact, improving adherence may have a far greater impact on clinical outcomes than advances in new drug treatments. Second, Dr. Manojlovich is exploring what patients who will undergo hematopoietic stem and cellular therapy (bone marrow transplant) to treat leukemia understand about the education they receive related to the procedure itself and also post-transplant care, and management of side effects and toxicities. Understanding the patient perspective prior to changing the education will contribute to the patient-centered nature of the education and improve patient outcomes. She is currently principal or co-investigator on studies, listed below.
Current Research Grants and Programs
Ensuring Safe and Effective Delivery of Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy for Veterans (Co-PIs Harrod & Krein). VHA. 1I01HX003691-01. Role: co-I
Comparing inotrope practice variation in Cardiac Survey. (PI Mathis). 1R01HL167790-01. Role: co-I
VIGIL - Vectors of intelligent guidance in long-reach rural healthcare. (PI Corso) ARPA-H. Role: co-I
A first step towards personalizing hematopoietic stem and cellular therapy (HSCT) education: The current state of patient understanding. Rogel Cancer Center. Role: PI
Optimizing Early Recovery After Sepsis and Pneumonia (OPERAS). 1R01NR022600-01 (PI Taylor). Role: co-I
Teaching
Dr. Manojlovich’s teaching philosophy is a blend of constructivism and humanism. She uses the principles of adult education to provide structure within which learning can occur. She invites her students to engage in learning along with her and facilitates the exploratory process by creating an environment where students feel safe to express their thoughts and ideas. Dr. Manojlovich uses creative teaching strategies to enhance classroom experiences and includes components of cooperative learning in every class session. She teaches at both undergraduate and graduate levels, in clinical and didactic courses. As a faculty member she believes that, to facilitate the School’s teaching mission, her primary responsibility is to support and advocate for students.
Affiliations/Service
Co-Director, National Clinician Scholars Program at Michigan
Senior Editor, BMJ Quality & Safety
Notable Awards/Honors
Midwest Nursing Research Society (MNRS) Dissertation Grant, 2003
New Investigator Award, Interdisciplinary Research Group on Nursing Issues, AcademyHealth, 2008
Rackham Graduate School, University of Michigan, Spring/Summer Research Grants Program, 2012
Award for Excellence in Nursing Research: Sigma Theta Tau International – Rho Chapter, 2015
Recognized "Top-Cited Scientist", Science-Wide Author Databases for Standardized Citation Indicators, Sept. 2022
Ruth M. Colket Visiting Professor, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Feb. 22-23, 2022
Education
Ph.D., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
MS, Rush University, Chicago, IL
ADN, Indiana University, Gary, IN
BEd, University of Windsor, Windsor Ontario, Canada
BA, Queen’s University, Kingston Ontario, Canada
Publications Highlights
Manojlovich, M., Rizvi-Toner, A., DasGupta, R., Farris, K., Friese, C. R., Kostoff, D., Mackler, E., Millisor, V., & Titler, M. G. (2023). Video reflexive ethnography as an intervention to improve oral anti-cancer agent patient education: A pilot study. PEC Innovation, 2 100148. doi: 10.1016/j.pecinn.2023.100148.
Manojlovich, M., Blok, A.C., Wright, N., Azhari, E., Farris, K.B., Friese, C.R., Mackler, E., Titler, M., & Byrnes, M. (2023). Photo elicitation, an approach to better understanding the patient experience with OAAs: Pilot study and future implications. Supportive Care in Cancer, 31(652). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-023-08128-0.
Guetterman, T. & Manojlovich, M. (2024). Grand rounds in methodology: Designing for integration in mixed methods research. BMJ Quality & Safety, 33, 470-478. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2023-016112.
Bunni, D., Walters, G., Hwang, M., Gahn, K., Mason, H., Manojlovich, M., Gong, Y., & Jiang, Y. (2024) Oncology patients’ willingness to report their medication safety concerns from home: A qualitative study. Supportive Care in Cancer, 32(6), 352. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-024-08565-5.
Clark, R. S., Topper, P.S., Klaiman, T., Jacobson, R., Ngom, N., Kasahun, N., De La Cruz, K., Tibbit, C., Hamm, R.F., & Manojlovich, M. (2025). Nurse-patient communication during postpartum discharge teaching: A protocol for a video reflexive ethnography mixed methods study. JMIR Research Protocols, 14, e72139. doi: 10.2196/72139. PMC12579284.
Lee, S.E., Mathis, M., & Manojlovich, M. (2026). Titrating without a safety net: ICU nurses need evidence-based guidance for vasoactive medication titration. American Journal of Nursing, 126(1), 11. DOI-10.1097/AJN.0000000000000222.
Rizvi-Toner, A., Coe, A.B., Friese, C.R., Manojlovich, M., Wallner, L.P., & Farris, K.B. (2026). Patient symptoms, confidence, and adherence during the first 8 weeks of targeted oral anticancer agent treatment. Supportive Care in Cancer, 34(3), 196. doi: 10.1007/s00520-026-10421-7. PMID: 41686295.
Manojlovich, M., Cassady, C., Parker, S., Davis, E., Ahr, C., Ryamukuru, D., Wang, A., Pasupathy, K., Singh, H., & Mahajan, P. (2026). Using “own-point-of-view” video and stimulated recall to reveal clinician thought processes: A methodology paper. Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, 27(4), 1073-1081. https://doi.org/10.5811/westjem.54032.