Morgan M. Millar

Morgan M. Millar, PhD

Languages spoken: English

Academic Information

Departments Primary - Internal Medicine

Divisions: Epidemiology

Research Interests

  • Survey Methodology
  • Research Recruitment Methods
  • Social Disparities in Cancer
  • Health Disparities

Morgan M. Millar, PhD is an assistant professor of Epidemiology, Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Utah. She is Director of the Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute's Survey Design and Measurement Core and Director of Evaluation and Quality Assessment for Utah Cancer Registry. She is also a member of the Huntsman Cancer Institute's Cancer Control and Population Sciences Program. She conducts research on survey methodology and cancer health disparities including assessing needs of cancer survivors. She teaches Survey Methods in the Master of Science in Clinical Investigation program.

Dr. Millar received an MA and PhD in sociology from Washington State University. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Social and Economic Sciences Research Center focusing on survey methodology.

Research Statement

My research includes two areas of focus: survey methodology and cancer health disparities. As a survey methodologist, I conduct experimental research to identify methods of improving response and data quality for web and mixed-mode surveys. I am a team scientist who collaborates with investigators to ensure sound methodology in survey study design, questionnaire development and assessment, and survey recruitment and retention. As a cancer researcher, I conduct research to identify and assess cancer health disparities, including understanding the experiences and unmet needs of cancer survivors.

Education History

Postdoctoral Training Washington State University
 Postdoctoral Training
Doctoral Training Washington State University
 PhD
Graduate Training Washington State University
 MA
Undergraduate Westminster College
 BS

Selected Publications

Journal Article

  1. Headrick A, Wawrzynski S, Moore J, Winder M, Masih JR, De Leon Jauregui M, Flaherty B, Moresco B, Millar MM, Codden RR, Moore D, Delgado-Corcoran C (2025). Increasing Pediatric Palliative Care Consultation for Patients with Heart Disease and Prolonged Cardiac Intensive Care Stay. Pediatr Qual Saf, 10(2), e796. (Read full article)
  2. Shoemaker H, Li H, Zhang Y, Mayer J, Rubin M, Haroldsen C, Millar MM, Gesteland PH, Pavia AT, Keegan LT, Cole JM, Dorsan E, Doane M, Stratford K, Samore M (2025). Association between social activities and risk of COVID-19 in a cohort of healthcare personnel. Antimicrob Steward Healthc Epidemiol, 5(1), e29. (Read full article)
  3. Hansen C, Capizzi AN, Gavern N, Codden RR, Millar MM (2025). Return to sports after pediatric traumatic brain injury: An expert panel survey. PM R. (Read full article)
  4. Gawron AJ, Bailey T, Codden R, Dominitz J, Gupta S, Helfrich C, Kahi C, Krop L, Malvar C, McKee G, Millar M, Mog A, Nguyen-Vu T, Patterson O, Presson AP, Saini S, Whooley M, Yao Y, Zickmund S, Kaltenbach T (2024). Improving colonoscopy quality in the national VA healthcare system. Contemp Clin Trials, 149, 107784. (Read full article)
  5. McCarty RD, Trabert B, Kriebel D, Millar MM, Birmann BM, Grieshober L, Barnard ME, Collin LJ, Lawson-Michod KA, Gibson B, Sawatzki J, Carter M, Yoder V, Gilreath JA, Shami PJ, Doherty JA (2024). Tattoos and Risk of Hematologic Cancer: A Population-Based Case-Control Study in Utah. Cancer Med, 13(20), e70260. (Read full article)
  6. Zenger B, Spertus JA, Torre M, Lyons A, Bunch TJ, Hess R, Zhang Y, Piccini JP, Millar MM, Lobban T, Steinberg BA (2024). Discordant Treatment Goals for Patients With Atrial Fibrillation and Clinical Trials Metrics. JACC Clin Electrophysiol. (Read full article)
  7. Millar MM, Edwards SL, Codden RR, Ofori-Atta BS, Herget KA, Carter ME, Kirchhoff AC, Coletta AM, Sweeney C (2024). Physical Activity Among Utah Cancer Survivors: Analysis From a Population-Based Statewide Survey. J Phys Act Health, 21(8), 807-816. (Read full article)
  8. Millar MM, Mayer J, Crook J, Stratford KM, Huber T, Samore MH (2024). Factors associated with testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 and evaluation of a recruitment protocol among healthcare personnel in a COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness study. Antimicrob Steward Healthc Epidemiol, 4(1), e47. (Read full article)
  9. Ose DJ, Gardner E, Millar M, Curtin A, Wu J, Zhang M, Schaefer C, Wang J, Leiser J, Stoesser K, Kiraly B (2024). A cross-sectional and population-based study from primary care on post-COVID-19 conditions in non-hospitalized patients. Commun Med (Lond), 4(1), 24. (Read full article)
  10. Kaddas HK, Millar MM, Herget KA, Carter ME, Ofori-Atta BS, Edwards SL, Codden RR, Sweeney C, Kirchhoff AC (2024). Material financial hardship and insurance-related experiences among Utah's rural and urban cancer survivors. . J Cancer Surviv. (Read full article)
  11. Codden RR, Sweeney C, Ofori-Atta BS, Herget KA, Wigren K, Edwards S, Carter ME, McCarty RD, Hashibe M, Doherty JA, Millar MM (2023). Accuracy of patient race and ethnicity data in a central cancer registry. Cancer Causes Control, 35(4), 685-694. (Read full article)
  12. Panushka KA, Kozlowski Z, Dalessandro C, Sanders JN, Millar MM, Gawron LM (2024). "It's Not a Top Priority": A Qualitative Analysis of Provider Views on Barriers to Reproductive Healthcare Provision for Homeless Women in the United States. Soc Work Public Health, 38(5-8), 428-436. (Read full article)
  13. Huang LC, Bleicher J, Torre M, Johnson JE, Presson A, Millar MM, Gordon AJ, Brooke BS, Kaphingst KA, Harris AHS (2023). Evaluating a health system-wide opioid disposal intervention distributing home-disposal bags. Health Serv Res, 58(6), 1256-1265. (Read full article)
  14. Warner EL, Millar MM, Orleans B, Edwards SL, Carter ME, Vaca Lopez PL, Sweeney C, Kirchhoff AC (2022). Cancer survivors' financial hardship and their caregivers' employment: results from a statewide survey. . J Cancer Surviv, 7(3), 738-747. (Read full article)
  15. Cortez MM, Martindale C, Brennan KC, Kean J, Millar MM, Knudson A, Katz BJ, Digre KB, Presson AP, Zhang C (2023). Validation of the Utah Photophobia Symptom Impact Scale (version 2) as a headache-specific photophobia assessment tool. Headache, 63(5), 672-682. (Read full article)
  16. Millar MM, Edwards SL, Herget KA, Orleans B, Ofori-Atta BS, Kirchhoff AC, Carter ME, Nagata M, Sweeney C (2022). Adherence to Guideline-Recommended cancer screening among Utah cancer survivors. Cancer Med, 12(3), 3543-54. (Read full article)
  17. DiDomizio PG, Millar MM, Olson L, Murphy N, Moore D (2022). Palliative Care Needs Assessment for Pediatric Complex Care Providers. J Pain Symptom Manage, 65(2), 73-80. (Read full article)
  18. Millar MM, Herget KA, Ofori-Atta B, Codden RR, Edwards SL, Carter ME, Belnap B, Kirchhoff AC, Sweeney C (2023). Cancer survivorship experiences in Utah: an evaluation assessing indicators of survivors' quality of life, health behaviors, and access to health services. Cancer Causes Control, 34(4), 337-347. (Read full article)
  19. Gawron LM, Young J, Yang S, Galyean P, Callegari LS, Gero A, Simmons RG, Millar MM, Zickmund SL (2024). Women's Health Provider Perspectives on Reproductive Services Provision in the Veterans Health Administration. South Med J, 116(2), 181-187. (Read full article)
  20. Millar MM, Taft T, Weir CR (2022). Clinical trial recruitment in primary care: exploratory factor analysis of a questionnaire to measure barriers and facilitators to primary care providers' involvement. BMC Prim Care, 23(1), 311. (Read full article)
  21. Collins MM, Ou Z, Millar MM, Kittleson MM, May LJ, Ploutz MS, Molina KM, Hayes KG, Lal AK (2022). Attitudes & practices surrounding pregnancy post heart transplant among pediatric providers. J Heart Lung Transplant, 41(11), 1611-1616. (Read full article)
  22. Etheridge T, Kennedy B, Millar MM, Brintz BJ, Wu C, Pettey J (2022). Cognitive enhancing supplements and medications in United States Resident Physicians. BMC Med Educ, 22(1), 744. (Read full article)
  23. Kozlowski Z, Sanders JN, Panushka K, Myers K, Millar MM, Gawron LM (2022). “It’s a Vicious Cycle”: A Mixed Methods Study of the Role of Family Planning in Housing Insecurity for Women. J Health Care Poor Underserved, 33(1), 104-119. (Read full article)
  24. Lawson-Michod KA, Carter M, Yoder V, McCarty RD, Bateman C, Millar MM, Doherty JA (2023). Improving Precision of Do Not Contact Codes: Results of a Manual Review to Inform Coding and Case Contact Procedures. J Registry Manag, 49(4), 126-131. (Read full article)
  25. Millar MM, Olson LM, VanBuren JM, Richards R, Pollack MM, Holubkov R, Berg RA, Carcillo JA, McQuillen PS, Meert KL, Mourani PM, Burd RS (2021). Incentive delivery timing and follow-up survey completion in a prospective cohort study of injured children: a randomized experiment comparing prepaid and postpaid incentives. BMC Med Res Methodol, 21(1), 233. (Read full article)
  26. Brown LL, Talker R, Stoddard GJ, Clayton J, Millar MM, Jo Y, Bardsley T, Stipelman CH (2021). Breastfeeding Attitudes and Practices in a Rural Utah Navajo Community. Matern Child Health J, 26, 397-406. (Read full article)
  27. Shete S, Deng Y, Shannon J, Faseru B, Middleton D, Iachan R, Bernardo B, Balkrishnan R, Kim SJ, Huang B, Millar MM, Fuemmler B, Jensen JD, Mendoza JA, Hu J, Lazovich D, Robertson L, Demark-Wahnefried W, Paskett ED, Rural Workgroup of the Population Health Assessment in Cancer Center Catchment Areas Initiative (2021). Differences in Breast and Colorectal Cancer Screening Adherence Among Women Residing in Urban and Rural Communities in the United States. JAMA Netw Open, 4(10), e2128000. (Read full article)
  28. Millar MM, Hewes HA, Genovesi AL, Ely M, Green B, Schmuhl P, Polzin K, Santana CR, Minkler M, Olson LM (2021). The Effect of the Familiarity of a Survey Sender on Response Outcomes in a Large-Scale Survey of Emergency Medical Services Agencies. Eval Health Prof, 44(3), 260-267. (Read full article)
  29. Bress AP, Cohen JB, Anstey DE, Conroy MB, Ferdinand KC, Fontil V, Margolis KL, Muntner P, Millar MM, Okuyemi KS, Rakotz MK, Reynolds K, Safford MM, Shimbo D, Stuligross J, Green BB, Mohanty AF (2021). Inequities in Hypertension Control in the United States Exposed and Exacerbated by COVID-19 and the Role of Home Blood Pressure and Virtual Health Care During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic. J Am Heart Assoc, 10(11), e020997. (Read full article)
  30. Jacobs AC, Malhotra NR, Purnell SM, Lee YJ, Wolf L, Millar MM, Cartwright PC, Smith BK (2020). Quality improvement education in surgical specialty training: A comparison of Vascular Surgery resident and Urology Resident experiences and attitudes. Am J Surg, 221(5), 993-999. (Read full article)
  31. Gawron LM, Simonsen S, Millar MM, Lewis-Caporal J, Patel S, Simmons RG (2021). Pregnancy Risk Screening and Counseling for Women Veterans: Piloting the One Key Question in the Veterans Healthcare Administration. South Med J, 114(3), 150-155. (Read full article)
  32. Malhotra NR, Smith JD, Jacobs AC, Johnson CE, Khan US, Ellison HB, Brintz BJ, Millar MM, Cloud WG, Nahmias J, Hendershot KM, Smith BK (2020). High value care education in general surgery residency programs: A multi-institutional needs assessment. Am J Surg, 221(2), 291-297. (Read full article)
  33. Malhotra NR, Lee YJ, Millar MM, Cartwright PC, Smith BK (2020). Experiences With Quality Improvement in Training: A National Survey of Urology Residents. Urology, 145, 83-89. (Read full article)
  34. Hummel K, Presson AP, Millar MM, Larsen G, Kadish H, Olson LM (2020). An Assessment of Clinical and System Drivers of Family Satisfaction in the PICU. Pediatr Crit Care Med, 21(10), e888-e897. (Read full article)
  35. Gallicchio L, Elena JW, Fagan S, Carter M, Hamilton AS, Hastert TA, Hunter LL, Li J, Lynch CF, Milam J, Millar MM, Modjeski D, Paddock LE, Reed AR, Moses LB, Stroup AM, Sweeney C, Trapido EJ, West MM, Wu XC, Helzlsouer KJ (2020). Utilizing SEER Cancer Registries for Population-Based Cancer Survivor Epidemiologic Studies: A Feasibility Study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev, 29(9), 1699-1709. (Read full article)
  36. Chow CJ, Millar MM, Lpez AM (2020). Gender Discrimination Among Academic Physicians. Womens Health Rep (New Rochelle), 1(1), 203-211. (Read full article)
  37. Hummel K, Millar M, Olson L (2020). Q-Tip: Using a Structured Quality Improvement Process to Generate High-Quality Family Satisfaction Data. Am J Med Qual, 35(3), 282. (Read full article)
  38. Kohring JM, Harrast JJ, Stotts AK, Zhang C, Millar MM, Presson AP, Saltzman CL (2019). Resident Independence Performing Common Orthopaedic Procedures at the End of Training: Perspective of the Graduated Resident. J Bone Joint Surg Am, 102(1), e2. (Read full article)
  39. Purnell SM, Wolf L, Millar MM, Smith BK (2019). A National Survey of Integrated Vascular Surgery Residents' Experiences With and Attitudes About Quality Improvement During Residency. J Surg Educ, 77(1), 158-165. (Read full article)
  40. Millar MM, Elena JW, Gallicchio L, Edwards SL, Carter ME, Herget KA, Sweeney C (2019). The feasibility of web surveys for obtaining patient-reported outcomes from cancer survivors: a randomized experiment comparing survey modes and brochure enclosures. BMC Med Res Methodol, 19(1), 208. (Read full article)
  41. Taylor MA, Allen CM, Presson AP, Millar MM, Zurbuchen R, Matsen CB (2019). Exploring Surgeon Variability in Recommendations for Contralateral Prophylactic Mastectomy: What Matters Most? Ann Surg Oncol, 26(10), 3224-3231. (Read full article)
  42. Stotts AK, Kohring JM, Presson AP, Millar MM, Harrast JJ, Van Heest AE, Zhang C, Saltzman CL (2019). Perceptions of the Recommended Resident Experience with Common Orthopaedic Procedures: A Survey of Program Directors and Early Practice Surgeons. J Bone Joint Surg Am, 101(113), e63. (Read full article)
  43. Millar MM, Kinney AY, Camp NJ, Cannon-Albright LA, Hashibe M, Penson DF, Kirchhoff AC, Neklason DW, Gilsenan AW, Dieck GS, Stroup AM, Edwards SL, Bateman C, Carter ME, Sweeney C (2018). Predictors of Response Outcomes for Research Recruitment Through a Central Cancer Registry: Evidence From 17 Recruitment Efforts for Population-Based Studies. Am J Epidemiol, 188(5), 928-939. (Read full article)
  44. Millar MM, Schmuhl P, Page K, Genovesi AL, Ely M, Hemingway C, Olson LM (2018). Improving Response to an Establishment Survey through the Use of Web-Push Data Collection Methods. Math Popul Stud, 25(3), 168-179.
  45. Hashibe M, Kirchhoff AC, Kepka D, Kim J, Millar M, Sweeney C, Herget K, Monroe M, Henry NL, Lopez AM, Mooney K (2018). Disparities in cancer survival and incidence by metropolitan versus rural residence in Utah. Cancer Med, 7(4), 1490-1497. (Read full article)
  46. Gawron AJ, Lawrence P, Millar MM, Dominitz JA, Gupta S, Whooley M, Kaltenbach T (2019). A Nationwide Survey and Needs Assessment of Colonoscopy Quality Assurance Programs in the VA. Fed Pract, 35(3), 26-32. (Read full article)
  47. Smyth JD, Olson K, Millar MM (2014). Identifying predictors of survey mode preference. Soc Sci Res, 48, 135-44. (Read full article)
  48. Millar MM (2013). Interdisciplinary Research and the Early Career: The Effect of Interdisciplinary Dissertation Research on Career Placement and Publication Productivity of Doctoral Graduates in the Sciences. Res Policy, 42, 1152-64.
  49. Millar MM, Dillman DA (2012). Encouraging Survey Response via Smartphones: Effects on Respondents’ Use of Mobile Devices and Survey Response Rates. 5(3).
  50. Millar MM, Dillman DA (2012). Do Mail and Internet Surveys Produce Different Item Nonresponse Rates? An Experiment Using Random Mode Assignment. 5(2).
  51. Millar MM, Dillman DA (2011). Improving Response to Web and Mixed-Mode Surveys. Public Opin Q, 75, 249-69.

Book Chapter

  1. Dillman DA, Hao F, Millar MM (2017). Improving Effectiveness of Online Data Collection by Mixing Survey Modes. In Fielding NG, Lee RM, Blank G. (Eds.), The Sage Handbook of Online Research Methods (2nd Ed., pp. 220-237). Los Angeles: Sage Publications.

Report

  1. Millar MM, Herget K, Sweeney C (2020). Cancer in Utah: Incidence and mortality statistics through 2017. Salt Lake City, UT: Utah Cancer Registry.
  2. Sweeney C, Herget KA, Otto VY, McFadden S, Millar MM (2016). Cancer in Utah: An Overview of Incidence and Mortality 2004-2013. Salt Lake City, UT: Utah Cancer Registry.