Morgan Shields, PhD

Morgan Shields researches the quality and accountability of behavioral health care. Her work seeks to identify strategies to improve patient-centered, equitable care. She is particularly focused on identifying policies (e.g., payment, regulations) to motivate and support quality improvement in vulnerable settings. Shields is one of few people studying the quality of inpatient psychiatry, which has led to measurable impact at state and national levels. The Deputy Under Secretary for Health and Organizational Excellence at the Veterans Health Administration responded to Shields’ research with an internal investigation into the quality of care at their inpatient facilities, the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health revised its critical incident monitoring system in response to Shields’ work, and her work has contributed to federal actions to improve the systematic collection of patient experience data from inpatient psychiatric facilities in the country. Shields directs the IDEAL (Inclusive, Dignified, Equitable and Effective, Accountable, and Loving) Lab, which identifies strategies for providing patient-centered care, is assistant director of the Center for Mental Health Services Research, and director of the “Love in Action” Master’s Research Fellowship at WashU’s Brown School.