Kathleen Potempa, BA, MS, Ph.D., RN


Professor
Dean Emerita
Department of Systems, Populations and Leadership
Room 4170 NURS1

University of Michigan School of Nursing 
400 North Ingalls Building
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5482

Fax: (734) 764-7186

Interests

  • Population Health
  • Global research capacity building
  • Gerontology research and practice

Dr. Potempa’s research program has focused on fatigue, exercise, and cardiovascular fitness in physically impaired populations, for which she has received funding from the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the Fogarty International Center at the NIH, the U.S. Health Resource and Services Administration, the U.S. Administration on Aging, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and several pharmaceutical companies for phase IV efficacy studies. She is currently funded by NIH/Fogarty to train post-doctoral fellows in non-communicable disease research in Thailand and by the Center for Medicare/Medicaid Services for studies in independent aging.

She has received over $13M in federal research funding as principal investigator, has over 140 scientific publications, and has numerous national and international scientific presentations. Dr. Potempa has served on national and international expert panels and committees on research, including NIH review panels and served as a member of the National Advisory Council for Nursing Research at the NIH from 2009-2012, an appointment made by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. She is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.

Current Research Grants and Programs

  • HHS, NIH/Fogarty International Center D43 Building Non-Communicable Eye Disease Research Capacity in India. Role: Investigator; PI: Ehrlich, J., Department of Ophthalmology, Michigan Medicine.
  • Center for Medicare/Medicaid Services/MDHHS (Med-Match Award 1/1/2020 – 9/30/2025). Healthy Lifetime: Building Resilience to Age in Place. Role: Principal Investigator.
  • HHS, NIH/Fogarty International Center 5 D43 TW009883-10 (Funded 06/01/2019-05/31/2024). D43 Competitive Renewal: Expansion of NCD Research Capacity in Thailand with Outreach to Indonesia. Role: Principal Investigator.

Teaching

Dr. Potempa currently is offering a virtual health coaching program to nurses who care for older adults in any health setting. The program has six modules that are provided over a flexible period, and prepares clinicians to improve the health and independence of older adults with or without chronic health problems. Dr. Potempa is also a research mentor for graduate students and post-doctoral fellows and teaches advanced post-doctoral research courses.   

Affiliations / Service

  • Invited member, the Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research, Chair, Research Award Committee, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020-2021
  • Invited member, The Wall Street Journal Expert Panel – Health Care: Reports to the public on matters of health and health care, 2013-2021
  • Board of Directors, National Clinical Scholars Program 2018-current

Notable Awards / Honors

  • Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, 1994
  • Elected to the National Academy of Medicine, 2014
  • Awarded Doctor of Nursing Science, honoris causa, from Mahidol University, 2015
  • Awarded Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, from State University of New York, 2010

Education

  • Ph.D., Rush University, Chicago, IL, 1986
  • MS, Rush University, Chicago, IL, 1978
  • BA, University of Detroit, Detroit, MI 1974

Publication Highlights

  • Adamczyk, M.A., Butterworth, S., Dawson, C., Potempa, S., Flaherty-Robb, M., Calarco, M., Furspan, P., & Potempa, K. (2024). Assuring the quality of patient experience and outcomes in all-virtual nurse telehealth programs:  A case report illustration. Medical Research Archives, (online) 12(5). https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v12i5.5418.

  • Irwan, A. M., Potempa, K., Abikusno, N., & Syahrul, S. (2024). Health coaching intervention to improve self-care management of hypertension among older people in Indonesia: A randomized controlled study protocol.  Journal of Multidisciplinary Health Care, 17, 2799-2808. doi: 10.2147/JMDH.S461166. PMID: 38881756; PMCID: PMC11178085.

  • Choi, K., Brush, B., Chapman, S., Kelly-Costa, D., Feder, S., Gutierrez, J., Heilemann, M., Manojlovich. M., Noonan, D., Park, L., Potempa, K., & Sochalski, J. (2023). Preparing nurse scientists for health services and policy research: Five-year outcomes of interprofessional postdoctoral training in the National Clinician Scholars Program.  Nursing Outlook, 71(4), 102074. doi: 10.1016/j.outlook.2023.102024. PMID: 37487421.

  • Dodge, H., Hu, K., Wu, C-Y., Pruitt, P., Asgari, M., Kaye, J., Hampstead, B., Struble, L., Potempa, K., Lichtenberg, P.l., Croff, R., Albin, R., & Silbert, L. and the I-CONECT team. (2023). Internet-based conversational engagement randomized controlled clinical trial (I-CONECT) among socially isolated adults 75+ years old with normal cognition or MCI: Topline results. The Gerontologist, 64(4), gnad147. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnad147. PMID: 37935416

  • Butterworth, S., Potempa, S., Laughlin, C., Flaherty-Robb, M., Calarco, M., Harden, K., Schmidt, P., & Potempa, K. (2023). Case studies: Person-centered health coaching in people with negative social determinants of health. American Journal of Preventive Medicine: Focus, 2(3), 100109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.focus.2023.100109. PMID 37790661. PMCID PMC10546576.

  • Potempa, K., Butterworth, S., Flaherty-Robb, M., Calarco, M., Marriott, D., Ghosh, B., Gabarda, A., Windsor, J., Potempa, S., Laughlin, C., Harden, K., Schmidt, P., Ellis, A., & Furspan, P. (2022). The impact of nurse health coaching strategies on cognitive-behavioral outcomes in older adults. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(1), 416. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20010416. PMID: 36612737. PMCID: PMC9819046.

  • Potempa, K., Calarco, M., Flaherty-Robb, M., Butterworth, S., Isaman, D., Potempa, S., Laughlin, C., Schmidt, P., Struble, L., Harden, K., Ghosh, C., Furspan, P., & Ellis, A. (2023). A randomized trial of a theory-driven model of health coaching for older adults: Short-term and sustained outcomes.  BMC Primary Care, 24(1), 205. doi: 10.1186/s12875-023-02162-x PMID: 37798658. PMCID: PMC10552322.

  • Struble, L., Potempa, K., Hampstead, B. H., Lichtenburg, P., Croff, R., Ellis, A., & Dodge, H. (2023). Including socially isolated black, older old adults (aged 80 and above) with and without mild cognitive impairment in a clinical trial: Recruitment strategies and perspectives.  Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, 16, 3663-3673. https://doi.org/10.2147/JMDH.S427946. PMID: 38046050.  PMCID: PMC10693244.

  • Irwan, A. M., Potempa, K., Abikusno, N., & Syahrul, S.  (2022). Self-care management for hypertension in Southeast Asia: A scoping review. Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, 15, 2015-2032. https://doi.org/10.2147/JMDH.S367638. PMID: 36110577. PMCID: PMC9470121.

  • Flaherty-Robb, M., Calarco, M., Butterworth, S., Struble, S., Harden, K., Franklin, M., Potempa, S., Laughlin, C., Schmidt, P., Policichio, J., Yakusheva, O., Isaman, D., Gallagher, N.A., Furspan, P. & Potempa, K.  (2022). Healthy Lifetime (HL): An internet-based behavioral health coaching protocol for older adults. Frontiers in Digital Health, 4, 795827. doi: 10.3389/fdgth.2022.795827. PMID: 35529316. PMCID: PMC9072965.

  • Yu, K., Wild, K., Potempa, K., Hampstead, B., Lichtenberg, P. Struble, L., Pruitt, P., Alfaro, E.L., Lindsley, J., MacDonald, M., Kaye, J., Silbert, L. & Dodge, H. H. (2021). The internet-based conversational engagement clinical trial (I-CONECT) in socially isolated adults 75+ years old: Randomized controlled trial protocol and COVID-19 related study modifications. Frontiers Digital Health 3, 714813. doi: 10.3389/fdgth.2021.714813. PMID: 34713183.

  • Potempa, K. & Hurn, P.D. (2021). Commentary in response to the 2021 Article “An eye toward the future: Pressing questions for our discipline in today's academic and research climate.” Nursing Outlook, 69(4), 521-522. doi: 10.1016/j.outlook.2021.03.009. PMID:33858686.

  • Potempa, K., Rajataramya, B., Singhadong, N., Furspan, P., Kahle, E., & Stephenson, R. (2022). Thailand’s challenges of achieving health equity in the era of non-communicable disease.  Pacific Rim International Journal of Nursing Research, 26(2), 187-189. https://he02.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/PRIJNR/article/view/256503. PMCID:1789030. NIHMSID: NIHMS1789030PMID: 35432661.

  • Tanglakmankhong, K., Hampstead, B., Ploutz-Snyder, R., & Potempa, K. (2021).  Does the abbreviated mental test accurately predict cognitive impairment in older Thai adults living in the community?  A retrospective study. Pacific Rim International Journal of Nursing Research, 25(1), 23-33. PMCID: PMC9565848; NIHMSID: NIHMS1789042 PMID 36246051.

  • Tanglakmankhong, K., Hampstead, B., Ploutz-Snyder, R., & Potempa, K. (2022). Cognitive screening assessment in Thai older adults: A prospective study of reliability and validity of the Abbreviated Mental Test.  Journal of Health Research, 36(1), 99-109.  https://doi.org/10.1108/JHR-02-2020-0049. PMCID: PMC9518824; NIHMS1789040; PMID:36177345.

  • Potempa, K., Rajataramya, B., Barton, D., Singha-Dong, N., Stephenson, R., Smith, E., Davis, M., Dinov, I., Hampstead, B. M., Aiken, J. E., Saslow, L., Furspan, P., Sarakshetrin, A., & Pupjain, S. (2019). Impact of using a broad-based multi-institutional approach to build capacity for non-communicable disease research in Thailand. Health Research Policy and Systems, 17(1), 62-68.  doi 10.1186/s12961-019-0464-8. PMID: 31200726; PMCID: PMC6570856.

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