Ruth Wetta-Hall, RN, PhD, MPH, MSN

Assistant Professor

Research Interests
Complete Biosketch

BSN, 1978, Wichita State University
MSN, 1992, Wichita State University
MPH, 1997, University of Kansas
PhD, 2004, Wichita State University

Phone:   316-293-2627
Fax:        316-293-2695
E-mail:    rwettaha@kumc.edu

Research Interests

• Health status and quality of life measurement
• Systems analysis and improvement
• Clinical practice improvement

Biosketch

Ruth Wetta-Hall, Assistant Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, is a registered nurse holding master degrees in nursing administration and public health, and a Ph.D. in Community Psychology. She teaches public health administration, performance improvement and program evaluation in the KUSM-W, MPH program. As the Director of Research and Evaluation Associates in Community and Clinical Health (REACH) Center , Ruth and her research team support the design and implementation of studies that serve clinical and community-based organizations. Ruth has 15 years of clinical experience in emergency and intensive care nursing, and more than five years of experience in quality improvement and Outcomes Research.

Transitioning to the community setting in 1997, Ruth has served as the Coordinator of the Community Health Improvement Project (CHIP), and as a member of Project Access Operations Council and the Sedgwick County Board of Health. Her most recent research includes health policy analysis, trauma services research, health resource consumption, health status and satisfaction in uninsured populations, health disparities, emergency preparedness training for health professionals and health improvement/prevention programs. Additional research interests include outcomes and effectiveness research, health status/quality of life measurement, systems analysis and improvement, community health assessment and improvement.

Ruth was a member of the 2002 class of Leadership Kansas, the Kansas Health Foundation Community Leadership Initiative, and the Kansas Public Health Leadership Institute. She was recently appointed to the membership committee of the American Burn Association. Ruth currently serves on the UKSM-W institutional review board (IRB), and also serves on the board of two community organizations, the Fire and Burn Safety Alliance of South Central Kansas, Inc. and Abstinence Education Consultants.