Gemmae Maya Fix PhD
Associate Professor, General Internal Medicine
801 Massachusetts Ave | (617) 414-7399Gemmae.Fix@va.gov
gmfix@bu.edu
Sections
General Internal Medicine
Biography
Gemmae M. Fix, PhD is an applied medical anthropologist with postdoctoral training in health services research. She is also an Investigator at the Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research (CHOIR), a VA Health Services Research and Development Center of Innovation, based at the Boston and Bedford VA Medical Centers. Dr. Fix’s research uses ethnographic, qualitative methods to advance the delivery of patient-centered care, particularly for marginalized or populations stigmatized for their behaviors, such as people living with HIV or patients who are at risk for lung cancer. She has led AHRQ, VA and DoD funded studies examining patients’ experiences of care, patient-centered HIV care, and the use of co-design methods to engage patients in the research process.
Additionally, Dr. Fix is interested in the professional development of social scientists. She has written extensively about the careers of anthropologists, including a guest edited volume of Practicing Anthropology, which profiled the work of anthropologists working in a variety of health-related settings. She led the formation of the Medical Anthropologists and Social Scientists in Health (MASSH) interest group which brings together anthropologists and allied social scientists working in applied health settings (hospitals, health departments, companies, community-based organizations, and universities) to promote professional development, research collaboration, and educational opportunities. Further, she has developed and taught qualitative methods courses for health professionals, and is an Associate Editor for Journal for General Internal Medicine where she adjudicates manuscripts, with a focus on studies that use qualitative methods. Dr. Fix is a Fellow of the Academy of Communication in Healthcare as well as the Society for Applied Anthropology. She was elected to the Board of the Society for Applied Anthropology, and currently serves as Secretary. In these roles, she advocates for the use of social science approaches to address healthcare research questions and the professional development of applied anthropologists.
Education
Anthropology, PhD, State University of New York at Buffalo
Anthropology, MA, State University of New York at Buffalo
Social Anthropology, BA, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Publications
Kaitz J, Vimalananda VG, Charns MP, Fix GM. Multidisciplinary providers' perceptions of care delivery for sleep disorders: A qualitative case study. Sleep Health. 2024 Mar 21. PMID: 38519364.
Published on 2/13/2024Jackson GL, Fix GM, White BS, Cutrona SL, Reardon CM, Damschroder LJ, Burns M, DeLaughter K, Opra Widerquist MA, Arasim M, Lindquist J, Gifford AL, King HA, Kaitz J, Jasuja GK, Hogan TP, Lopez JCF, Henderson B, Fitzgerald BA, Goetschius A, Hagan D, McCoy C, Seelig A, Nevedal A. Diffusion of excellence: evaluating a system to identify, replicate, and spread promising innovative practices across the Veterans health administration. Front Health Serv. 2023; 3:1223277. PMID: 38420338.
Published on 2/12/2024Faro EZ, Taber P, Seaman AT, Rubinstein EB, Fix GM, Healy H, Reisinger HS. Implicit and explicit: a scoping review exploring the contribution of anthropological practice in implementation science. Implement Sci. 2024 Feb 12; 19(1):12. PMID: 38347574.
Published on 2/6/2024Zogas A, Sitter KE, Barker AM, Fix GM, Khanna A, Herbst AN, Vimalananda VG. Strategies for engaging patients in co-design of an intervention. Patient Educ Couns. 2024 Jun; 123:108191. PMID: 38367306.
Published on 1/28/2024Cogan AM, Haltom TM, Shimada SL, Davila JA, McGinn BP, Fix GM. Understanding patients' experiences during transitions from one electronic health record to another: A scoping review. PEC Innov. 2024 Dec; 4:100258. PMID: 38327990.
Published on 12/13/2023Wolfe HL, Fix GM, Hughto JMW, Hughes LD, Operario D, Hadland SE, Siegel J, Drainoni ML. Understanding how primary care providers report discussing substance use with transgender and gender diverse patients. Patient Educ Couns. 2024 Mar; 120:108101. PMID: 38103396.
Published on 11/22/2023Herbst AN, McCullough MB, Wiener RS, Barker AM, Maguire EM, Fix GM. Proactively tailoring implementation: the case of shared decision-making for lung cancer screening across the VA New England Healthcare Network. BMC Health Serv Res. 2023 Nov 22; 23(1):1282. PMID: 37993840.
Published on 10/5/2023Cordasco KM, Gable AR, Ganz DA, Brunner JW, Smith AJ, Hertz B, Post EP, Fix GM. Cerner Millennium's Care Pathways for Specialty Care Referrals: Provider and Nurse Experiences, Perceptions, and Recommendations for Improvements. J Gen Intern Med. 2023 Oct; 38(Suppl 4):1007-1014. PMID: 37798582.
Published on 8/14/2023Fix GM, Haltom TM, Cogan AM, Shimada SL, Davila JA. Understanding Patients' Preferences and Experiences During an Electronic Health Record Transition. J Gen Intern Med. 2023 Aug 14. PMID: 37580637.
Published on 7/24/2023Murray GF, Lakin JR, Paasche-Orlow MK, Tulsky JA, Volandes A, Davis AD, Zupanc SN, Carney MT, Burns E, Martins-Welch D, LaVine N, Itty JE, Fix GM. Structural Barriers to Well-grounded Advance Care Planning for the Seriously Ill: a Qualitative Study of Clinicians' and Administrators' Experiences During a Pragmatic Trial. J Gen Intern Med. 2023 Dec; 38(16):3558-3565. PMID: 37488368.