The Science of Making Informed Decisions: with Research Scientist Gracelyn Cruden

Dr. Gracelyn Cruden is a Research Scientist at Chestnut Health Systems’ Lighthouse Institute-Oregon Group. Her research leverages systems science, decision science, and implementation science to develop tools, processes, and partnerships to implement evidence-informed programs and policies. We discussed: 

• What is “decision science”? How is it applied, and how does it help get groups to a consensus?   
• The precise definition of evidence.  
• Why decision-making needs to go beyond "the ‘best available data” and integrate expertise, judgement, values, and preferences. 
• The need to balance quantitative with qualitative data in selecting the right combination of methods/approaches/treatments.   
• The Data2Action Oregon program - another great example of their work combining science and lived experience, and coordinating multiple “stakeholders” to facilitate effective outreach to improve lives and communities. 

Gracelyn provides a fascinating glimpse into how her work integrates all these elements -  decision and implementation science - to deliver real-world solutions whose impact is more than the sum of their parts.