Rachel Grob

My understanding that good health matters a lot for human well-being began with a childhood injury, and has been deepening ever since. My work at the Center for Patient Partnerships is about improving health by listening to people’s experiences with health and health care.  We do this by synthesizing what we hear from many different sources, and then using this powerful learning as a source for making concrete changes that benefit consumers, families and communities.

Because qualitative research methods are such useful tools for understanding peoples’ experiences and priorities, I have become a public spokesperson for their value. I also speak and write about the importance of systematically including the most diverse perspectives possible in research, public discourse, and at tables where decisions get made.

Besides directing national initiatives here at the CPP, I have roles at the university in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health and the Health Innovation Program.    I also chair a national Health Experiences Research Network  here in the United States, and act as Vice Chair for the global health experiences organization DIPEx International.  My academic bio is available on the DFMCH web site. 

In addition to devoting time to the career I love, I spend time with my spectacular family (human and animal), doing yoga, being outside, and writing and organizing for a more just society.