HomeAbout TransforMEDTransforMED TeamElizabeth E. Stewart, PhD

Qualitative Research Analyst

Elizabeth E. Stewart, PhD

Elizabeth E. Stewart, PhD, serves as the qualitative research analyst for the TransforMED Evaluation Team. Since the Evaluation Team is stationed in San Antonio, Elizabeth provides the firsthand view of the NDP implementation process from her work station at the KC TransforMED headquarters. Elizabeth collects, organizes, codes, and synthesizes the vast amounts of qualitative data (interviews, field notes, contact logs, etc) generated by both the facilitators and herself. She also makes independent site visits to both the self-directed and facilitated practice sites for targeted data collection. Elizabeth works closely with the Evaluation Team to develop emerging hypotheses about practice change and then searches for confirming (or disconfirming) evidence through the data. The qualitative data will help to complement and explain the statistical analyses based upon the NDP quantitative data (performed in San Antonio). The ultimate goal for all on the Evaluation Team, including Elizabeth, is to disseminate NDP findings through final reports and publications.

As the qualitative analyst, Elizabeth’s primary job is to seek information, observe, and report. In this way, Elizabeth has come full circle from her first career as a newspaper and TV journalist. Her second career lay in health and fitness, and she worked a variety of jobs including personal trainer, cardiac rehab, college instructor, and project coordinator for research studies sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. She feels her current job with the NDP is a challenging opportunity to blend all her past skills in journalism, research, and health education. Like everyone involved with the NDP, she is passionate about the importance of primary care infrastructure in the U.S. and excited about the chance to be part of the solution.

Elizabeth holds a BA in journalism (University of Tulsa), and an MS in exercise science and PhD in Health and Human Performance (Oklahoma State University). She completed additional research training through a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Kansas, where she became intrigued by the potential of qualitative research as a way of filling in the gaps of knowledge. She is a member of the North American Primary Care Research Group, the American College of Sports Medicine, the National Strength and Conditioning Association, and the North American Society for the Study of Obesity.