Jacob W. Dembosky

Senior Policy Analyst

Pittsburgh Office

Education

B.A. in political science, Penn State University; M.P.M. in public policy and public management, University of Maryland; Ph.D. in administration and leadership studies (nonprofit and public sectors), Indiana University of Pennsylvania

One Page Bio

Overview

Jacob Dembosky is a senior policy analyst at the RAND Corporation. Dembosky has worked on a number of research projects in the areas of health care and education, including projects on patients' experiences of health care, patient safety, mental and behavioral health, and interventions to improve the quality of K-12 public education. Dembosky received a Ph.D. in administration and leadership studies (nonprofit and public sectors) from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and an M.P.M. in public policy and public management from the University of Maryland.

Research Focus

Recent Projects

Consumer evaluations of Medicare
Disparities in patient experience by race and ethnicity

Publications

Journal Article
Income-related Disparities in Medicare Advantage Behavioral Health Care Quality
Low income is associated with lower performance on behavioral health measures, but associations differ across racial groups. Improving care integration and addressing barriers to care may improve equity across income levels.
Jan 24, 2023
Journal Article
Patient Experience for Hispanic Older Adults Varies by Language Preference
Regardless of language preference, Hispanic people with Medicare experience disparities in patient care relative to non-Hispanic White English-preferring counterparts.
Dec 1, 2022
Journal Article
Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Disparities in Health Care in Medicare Advantage: April 2021
The analysis revealed patterns in which Black and Hispanic beneficiaries had worse results than White beneficiaries on numerous clinical care measures.
Sep 29, 2021
Journal Article
Educational Attainment and Perceived Need for Urgent Care
This article presents analyses of perceived need for urgent care among seniors.
Oct 1, 2020
Journal Article
Gender Differences in Patient Experience Across Medicare Advantage Plans
We measured gender differences for six patient experience measures and how gender gaps differ across Medicare plans.
2020
Journal Article
Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Disparities in Health Care in Medicare Advantage: April 2020
This report describes the quality of health care received in 2018 by Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans nationwide. This 2020 report is the fifth in a series of reports that are updated annually.
2020
Journal Article
Indirect Estimation of Race/Ethnicity for Survey Respondents Who Do Not Report Race/Ethnicity
It may be worthwhile to impute race/ethnicity when this information is unavailable in survey data sets due to item non-response.
Sep 17, 2019
Journal Article
Imputation of Race/Ethnicity to Enable Measurement of HEDIS Performance by Race/Ethnicity
We compared performance for several alternative models predicting self-reported race/ethnicity in cross-sectional observational data to assess accuracy of estimates.
2019
Journal Article
Establishing Limits for Supplemental Items on a Standardized National Survey
Response rates for the Medicare Advantage Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (MA CAHPS) survey were 2.5 percentage points lower when 12 questions had been added to the survey, compared with no additional questions.
Oct 20, 2016
Journal Article
Do Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Quality and Patient Experience Within Medicare Plans Generalize Across Measures and Racial/Ethnic Groups?
Health plan structural changes might reduce disparities across multiple measures.
Mar 17, 2015
Journal Article
Do Experiences with Medicare Managed Care Vary According to the Proportion of Same-Race/Ethnicity/language Individuals Enrolled in One's Contract?
The authors examine whether care experiences and immunization for racial/ethnic/language minority Medicare beneficiaries vary with the proportion of same-group beneficiaries in Medicare Advantage (MA) contracts.
Mar 17, 2015
Journal Article
Does Naming the Focal Plan in a CAHPS Survey of Health Care Quality Affect Response Rates and Beneficiary Evaluations?
The use of a generic survey did not appear to affect either unit or item response rates, and did not appear to affect the ways in which beneficiaries evaluate various aspects of their care experiences.
2013
Journal Article
Experiences of Care Among Medicare Beneficiaries with ESRD: Medicare Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Survey Results
Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) have special health needs; little is known about their care experiences.
2013
Journal Article
Are There Differences in the Medicare Experiences of Beneficiaries in Puerto Rico Compared with Those in the U.S. Mainland?
The authors compare the experiences of elderly Medicare beneficiaries in Puerto Rico with their English-preferring and Spanish-preferring Medicare counterparts in the U.S. mainland.
Mar 1, 2012
Draft
Assessment of Pay-for-Performance Options for Medicare Physician Services: Final Report
Reviews pay-for-performance programs and proposes steps that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services could take to prepare for building and supporting a national pay-for-performance program for physician services.
Aug 20, 2010
Research Brief
Building Cohesive Leadership Systems to Improve School Leadership
Documents efforts to build cohesive systems of state and district policies to improve school leadership.
Dec 22, 2009
Report
Assessing Patient Safety Practices and Outcomes in the U.S. Health Care System
Presents the results of a two-year study that analyzes the extent to which patient safety practices are being adopted by U.S. health care providers, and assesses trends in patient safety outcomes.
Aug 24, 2009
Draft
The Group Matters: A Review of the Effects of Group Interaction on Processes and Outcomes in Analytic Teams
Explores the implications of using groups to perform intelligence analysis.
Jun 5, 2009
Journal Article
Using Health Information Technology-Related Performance Measures and Tools to Improve Chronic Care
The RAND Corporation conducted an assessment of an American Medical Association's collaborative initiative to explore opportunities for improving the quality of outpatient chronic care.
2009
Report
Improving School Leadership: The Promise of Cohesive Leadership Systems
Creating more-cohesive policies and initiatives to improve instructional leadership in schools appears to be a promising approach to developing school principals who are engaged in improving instruction.
Dec 31, 2008
Report
Assessment of the AHRQ Patient Safety Initiative: Final Report -- Evaluation Report IV
Evaluates progress of the patient safety initiative led by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), focusing on how the current experiences of AHRQ and its funded projects can be used to strengthen subsequent program activities.
Jun 16, 2008
Report
Partners in Pittsburgh Public Schools' Excellence for All Initiative: Findings from the First Year of Implementation
Provides feedback on the first year of implementation of the Pittsburgh Public School District's Excellence for All initiative, which is aimed at improving student achievement in kindergarten through high school.
Oct 25, 2007
Report
Assessment of the AHRQ Patient Safety Initiative: Focus on Implementation and Dissemination Evaluation Report III (2004-2005)
Evaluates progress of the patient safety initiative led by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), focusing on assessment of health information technology projects and dissemination of improved patient safety practices.
Oct 7, 2007
Report
Justice, Treatment, and Cost: An Evaluation of the Fiscal Impact of Allegheny County Mental Health Court
Presents findings from a fiscal impact study of the Allegheny County Mental Health Court. At one-year follow-up, decreased jail costs approximately offset increased treatment costs. By the end of two years, MHC may result in net savings to taxpayers.
Feb 22, 2007
Draft
State Efforts to Improve Practice and Policy for Individuals with Co-Occurring Mental and Addictive Disorders
Assesses efforts in 23 states to improve the quality of and access to services for people with co-occurring mental and addictive disorders.
Feb 7, 2006
Draft
Data Driven Decisionmaking in Southwestern Pennsylvania School Districts
This report investigates the preparedness of Southwestern Pennsylvania school districts to meet the challenges of using data to improve instruction, evaluate the effectiveness of schools, teachers and programs, and create reports.
Jan 10, 2006
Draft
State Activities to Improve Service Delivery Systems for Individuals with Co-Occurring Mental and Addictive Disorders
State Activities to Improve Service Delivery Systems for Individuals with Co-Occurring Mental and Addictive Disorders
May 23, 2005
Report
Improving Maternal and Child Health Care: A Blueprint for Community Action in the Pittsburgh Region
Recommendations for improving the maternal and child health care system in the Pittsburgh region.
Mar 15, 2005
Report
Crash Courses: Hard Lessons from Educational Interventions
Crash Courses: Hard Lessons from Educational Interventions
2003
Periodical
RAND Review: Vol. 27, No. 1, Spring 2003
Examines the debate regarding the safety and efficacy of ephedra; also covers contrasting lessons from different educational interventions, a "systems approach" to counterterrorism, domestic abuse, public health, and genetic manipulation.
2003
Report
A "Noble Bet" in Early Care and Education: Lessons from One Community's Experience
In the aftermath of ECI's scale-down, RAND was commissioned by the Heinz Endowments to study why ECI fell short of its objectives and to learn from its mistakes.
2002
Report
A "Noble Bet" in Early Care and Education: Lessons from One Community's Experience: Executive Summary
This report summarizes ECI's organizational history, analyzes and explains its critical weaknesses, and articulates lessons to inform the design and implementation of future large-scale reform initiatives.
2002