Courtney H. Van Houtven, PhD
Courtney H. Van Houtven, PhD
Durham VAMC
Durham, NC
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Courtney Harold Van Houtven received her B.S., University of California at Davis, her M.Sc. from the University of Minnesota, and her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Van Houtven completed an Agency for Health Care Policy and Research post-doctoral fellowship at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She joined the Center for Excellence in Health Services Research and Development in Primary Care at the Durham Veteran's Administration in 2003. She is also an Assistant Research Professor in General Internal Medicine at Duke University Medical Center.
Dr. Van Houtven's aging and economics research interests encompass how family caregiving affects health care utilization, expenditures, and health outcomes of care recipients and caregivers. Currently she is examining informal care and Medicare expenditures using a small grant from the National Institute on Aging (RO3-AG21485); examining how caregiving of dementia patients in the VA affects caregiver drug utilization with Elizabeth C. Clipp (PI); and, examining the economic burden of caregiving for a nationwide cohort of lung and colorectal cancer patients. As an MREP recipient (2006-2009), Dr. Van Houtven is developing a tailored caregiver training program for family members and friends assisting frail veterans.
Dr. Van Houtven's mentors are Morris Weinberger, PhD, Eugene Oddone, MD, MHSc, and Elizabeth C. Clipp, PhD, RN. Dr. Weinberger received the 2003 Under Secretary Award for Outstanding Achievement in Health Services Research from the Department of Veterans Affairs. His research interests include designing and evaluating interventions to improve the quality and outcomes of care for patients with chronic disease. Dr. Oddone received the 2005 Under Secretary Award for Outstanding Achievement in Health Services Research. His primary research interests are in racial disparities and evaluating the effectiveness and delivery of primary care. Dr. Clipp is a Distinguished Professor and Associate Dean of Nursing at Duke University School of Nursing and Director of the NIH/NINR-funded Nursing Research Exploratory Center which supports nurse-initiated studies focused on the theme of "Trajectories of Aging and Care (TRAC Center).