Julia E. Szymczak

Julia E. Szymczak, PhD

Languages spoken: English

Academic Information

Departments Primary - Internal Medicine

Divisions: Epidemiology

Julia "Julie" Szymczak, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Division of Epidemiology at the University of Utah School of Medicine, where she Co-Directs the Utah Quality Advancement Laboratory (UQuAL). Dr. Szymczak is a medical sociologist who leads research that integrates social science theory and methods into efforts to transform healthcare delivery so it is reliably safe and high quality. Her work over the past nine years has focused on reducing the harm to patients and populations from antibiotic resistant bacteria with the following objectives: 1) characterize the social determinants of antibiotic use across clinical contexts, 2) generate evidence about what works to improve how antibiotics are prescribed, and 3) advance the use of implementation science in antibiotic stewardship research. A hallmark of Dr. Szymczak's work is an interest in the influence of organizational context on efforts to modify healthcare delivery. To center this interest, her work on antibiotics has spanned both human and veterinary medicine and taken place across varied clinical contexts including pediatrics, primary care, internal medicine, surgery, emergency medicine, and critical care.

Dr. Szymczak is currently a multiple Principal Investigator of three R01s funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to test the effectiveness of a tailored implementation strategy to improve antibiotic prescribing at the time of hospital discharge (1R01HS029482), develop a patient-directed nudge to improve outpatient antibiotic prescribing (1R01HS029328), and test the effectiveness of an antibiotic allergy delabeling intervention for patients with cancer (1R01HS029879). She was recently awarded a $12 million contract from the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to determine whether safety net antibiotic prescribing, compared to immediate prescribing, results in decreased antibiotic use and similar clinical improvement in children with pneumonia who are well enough to managed in the outpatient setting. Dr. Szymczak believes strongly in collaborating with clinician-scientists in a co-leadership model to ensure a rigorous interdisciplinary perspective informs the generation of evidence on changing healthcare delivery. In addition to work she leads, Dr. Szymczak contributes to the success of studies funded by the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. She has a particular interest in mentoring trainees and junior faculty in the use of social science theory and methods to understand implementation dynamics in healthcare.

Dr. Szymczak holds leadership positions in national and international organizations, including as a Voting Member of the Department of Health and Human Service's Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (PACCARB), as an Elected Councilor of the Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) Board of Trustees, and as an Associate Editor at BMJ Quality and Safety. She lectures widely and is an engaging public speaker who is committed to translating the findings of her research so it is useful to clinicians, public health practitioners, and policy makers.

Education History

Undergraduate Brandeis University
 BA
Graduate Training University of Pennsylvania
 MA
Graduate Training University of Pennsylvania
 PhD
Postdoctoral Fellowship Center for Pediatric Clinical Effectiveness, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
 Postdoctoral Fellow

Selected Publications

Journal Article

  1. Vaughn VM, Giesler DL, Mashrah D, Brancaccio A, Sandison K, Spivak ES, Szymczak JE, Wu C, Horowitz JK, Bashaw L, Hersh A (2022). Pharmacist gender and physician acceptance of antibiotic stewardship recommendations: An analysis of the reducing overuse of antibiotics at discharge home intervention. Infection control and hospital epidemiology, 44(4), 1-8.
  2. Ding L, Szymczak JE, Evans E, Canepa E, Martin AE, Contractor F, Aplenc R, Joseph G, Winestone L (2022). Factors that contribute to disparities in time to acute leukemia diagnosis in young people: an in depth qualitative interview study. BMC cancer, 22(1), 531.
  3. Livorsi DJ, Drainoni ML, Reisinger HS, Nanda N, McGregor JC, Barlam TF, Morris AM, Szymczak J (2022). Leveraging implementation science to advance antibiotic stewardship practice and research. Infection control and hospital epidemiology, 43(2), 139-146.
  4. Woods-Hill CZ, Xie A, Lin J, Wolfe HA, Plattner AS, Malone S, Chiotos K, Szymczak J (2022). Numbers and narratives: how qualitative methods can strengthen the science of paediatric antimicrobial stewardship. JAC-antimicrobial resistance, 4(1), dlab195.
  5. Nampoothiri V, Bonaconsa C, Surendran S, Mbamalu O, Nambatya W, Ahabwe Babigumira P, Ahmad R, Castro-Sanchez E, Broom A, Szymczak J, Zingg W, Gilchrist M, Holmes A, Mendelson M, Singh S, McLeod M, Charani (2021). What does antimicrobial stewardship look like where you are? Global narratives from participants in a massive open online course. JAC-antimicrobial resistance, 4(1), dlab186.
  6. Saine ME, Szymczak JE, Moore TM, Bamford LP, Barg FK, Forde KA, Schnittker J, Holmes JH, Mitra N, Lo Re V 3r (2021). The impact of disease-related knowledge on perceptions of stigma among patients with Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection. PloS one, 16(10), e0258143.
  7. Li LX, Szymczak JE, Keller S (2021). Antibiotic stewardship in direct-to-consumer telemedicine: translating interventions into the virtual realm. The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy, 77(1), 13-15.
  8. Schmidt H, Spieker AJ, Luo T, Szymczak JE, Grande (2021). Variability in Primary Care Physician Attitudes Toward Medicaid Work Requirement Exemption Requests Made by Patients With Depression. JAMA health forum, 2(10), e212932.
  9. Getz KD, Szymczak JE, Li Y, Madding R, Huang YV, Aftandilian C, Arnold SD, Bona KO, Caywood E, Collier AB, Gramatges MM, Henry M, Lotterman C, Maloney K, Mian A, Mody R, Morgan E, Raetz EA, Rubnitz J, Verma A, Winick N, Wilkes JJ, Yu JC, Fisher BT, Aplenc (2021). Medical Outcomes, Quality of Life, and Family Perceptions for Outpatient vs Inpatient Neutropenia Management After Chemotherapy for Pediatric Acute Myeloid Leukemia. JAMA network open, 4(10), e2128385.
  10. Dutcher L, Degnan K, Adu-Gyamfi AB, Lautenbach E, Cressman L, David MZ, Cluzet V, Szymczak JE, Pegues DA, Bilker W, Tolomeo P, Hamilton K (2022). Improving Outpatient Antibiotic Prescribing for Respiratory Tract Infections in Primary Care: A Stepped-Wedge Cluster Randomized Trial. Clinical infectious diseases, 74(6), 947-956.
  11. Farr BD, Otto CM, Szymczak J (2021). Expert Perspectives on the Performance of Explosive Detection Canines: Operational Requirements. Animals, 11(7), 1976.
  12. Wang R, Degnan KO, Luther VP, Szymczak JE, Goren EN, Logan A, Shnekendorf R, Hamilton K (2021). Development of a Multifaceted Antimicrobial Stewardship Curriculum for Undergraduate Medical Education: The Antibiotic Stewardship, Safety, Utilization, Resistance, and Evaluation (ASSURE) Elective. Open forum infectious diseases, 8(6), ofab231.
  13. Walter JK, Hill DL, Schall TE, Szymczak JE, Parikh S, DiDomenico C, Carroll KW, Nye RT, Feudtner (2021). An Interprofessional Team-Based Intervention to Address Barriers to Initiating Palliative Care in Pediatric Oncology: A Multiple-Method Evaluation of Feasibility, Acceptability, and Impact. Journal of pain and symptom management, 62(6), 1135-1144.
  14. Szymczak J (2021). Mandates are not magic bullets: Leveraging context, meaning and relationships to increase meaningful use of prescription monitoring programs. Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety, 30(7), 979-981.
  15. Lavigne SH, Louis S, Rankin SC, Zaoutis TE, Szymczak J (2021). How companion animal veterinarians in the United States perceive financial constraints on antibiotic decision-making. The Veterinary record, 188(12), e62.
  16. Szymczak JE, Keller SC, Linder J (2021). "I Never Get Better Without an Antibiotic": Antibiotic Appeals and How to Respond. Mayo Clinic proceedings, 96(3), 543-546.
  17. Triantafillou V, Kopsidas I, Kyriakousi A, Zaoutis TE, Szymczak J (2020). Influence of national culture and context on healthcare workers' perceptions of infection prevention in Greek neonatal intensive care units. The Journal of hospital infection, 104(4), 552-559.
  18. Szymczak JE, Muller BM, Shakamuri NS, Hamilton KW, Gerber JS, Laguio-Vila M, Dumyati GK, Fridkin SK, Guh AY, Reddy SC, Lautenbach E, CDC Prevention Epicenters Program (2020). Prescriber perceptions of fluoroquinolones, extended-spectrum cephalosporins, and Clostridioides difficile infection. Infection control and hospital epidemiology, 41(8), 914-920.
  19. Saine ME, Szymczak JE, Moore TM, Bamford LP, Barg FK, Schnittker J, Holmes JH, Mitra N, Lo Re V 3r (2020). Determinants of stigma among patients with hepatitis C virus infection. Journal of viral hepatitis, 27(11), 1179-1189.
  20. Saine ME, Moore TM, Szymczak JE, Bamford LP, Barg FK, Mitra N, Schnittker J, Holmes JH, Lo Re V 3r (2020). Validation of a modified Berger HIV stigma scale for use among patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. PloS one, 15(2), e0228471.
  21. Redding LE, Muller BM, Szymczak J (2020). Small and Large Animal Veterinarian Perceptions of Antimicrobial Use Metrics for Hospital-Based Stewardship in the United States. Frontiers in veterinary science, 7, 582.
  22. Maliha G, Nepps ME, Tamma PD, Dodds Ashley E, Szymczak JE, Kolesar E, Hamilton K (2020). Legal implications of antibiotic stewardship programs. Infection control and hospital epidemiology, 41(7), 757-764.
  23. Kohut MR, Keller SC, Linder JA, Tamma PD, Cosgrove SE, Speck K, Ahn R, Dullabh P, Miller MA, Szymczak J (2020). The inconvincible patient: how clinicians perceive demand for antibiotics in the outpatient setting. Family practice, 37(2), 276-282.
  24. Kim C, Szymczak JE, Schnellinger EM, Herman DJ, Kennedy LA, Talati NJ, Hamilton K (2021). Survey to determine the relative importance of clinical factors used to make empiric antibiotic decisions. Infection control and hospital epidemiology, 42(1), 93-95.
  25. Hill DL, Walter JK, Szymczak JE, DiDomenico C, Parikh S, Feudtner (2020). Seven Types of Uncertainty When Clinicians Care for Pediatric Patients With Advanced Cancer. Journal of pain and symptom management, 59(1), 86-94.
  26. Cowden C, Mwananyanda L, Hamer DH, Coffin SE, Kapasa ML, Machona S, Szymczak J (2020). Healthcare worker perceptions of the implementation context surrounding an infection prevention intervention in a Zambian neonatal intensive care unit. BMC pediatrics, 20(1), 432.
  27. Clapp JT, Diraviam SP, Lane-Fall MB, Szymczak JE, Muralidharan M, Chung JJ, Gutsche JT, Curley MAQ, Berns JS, Fleisher L (2020). Nephrology in the Academic Intensive Care Unit: A Qualitative Study of Interdisciplinary Collaboration. American journal of kidney diseases, 75(1), 61-71.
  28. Szymczak JE, Kitt E, Hayes M, Chiotos K, Coffin SE, Schriver ER, Patton AM, Metjian TA, Gerber J (2019). Threatened efficiency not autonomy: Prescriber perceptions of an established pediatric antimicrobial stewardship program. Infection control and hospital epidemiology, 40(5), 522-527.
  29. Szymczak J (2019). Are Surgeons Different? The Case for Bespoke Antimicrobial Stewardship. Clinical infectious diseases, 69(1), 21-23.
  30. Morris AM, Calderwood MS, Fridkin SK, Livorsi DJ, McGregor JC, Mody L, Moehring RW, Pakyz AL, Stenehjem E, Szymczak JE, Tamma P (2019). Research needs in antibiotic stewardship. Infection control and hospital epidemiology, 40(12), 1334-1343.
  31. Gerber JS, Ross RK, Szymczak JE, Xiao R, Localio AR, Grundmeier RW, Rettig SL, Teszner E, Canning DA, Coffin S (2019). Infections after pediatric ambulatory surgery: Incidence and risk factors. Infection control and hospital epidemiology, 40(2), 150-157.
  32. Szymczak JE, Schall T, Hill DL, Walter JK, Parikh S, DiDomenico C, Feudtner (2018). Pediatric Oncology Providers' Perceptions of a Palliative Care Service: The Influence of Emotional Esteem and Emotional Labor. Journal of pain and symptom management, 55(5), 1260-1268.
  33. Szymczak JE, Lee G, Klieger SB, Woods C, Creech CB, Gilsdorf JR, Dennehy P, Zaoutis (2018). Multifaceted but Invisible: Perceptions of the Value of a Pediatric Cognitive Specialty. Hospital pediatrics, 8(7), 385-393.
  34. Szymczak JE, Klieger SB, Miller M, Fiks AG, Gerber J (2018). What Parents Think About the Risks and Benefits of Antibiotics for Their Child's Acute Respiratory Tract Infection. Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, 7(4), 303-309.
  35. Szymczak JE, Getz KD, Madding R, Fisher B, Raetz E, Hijiya N, Gramatges MM, Henry M, Mian A, Arnold SD, Aftandilian C, Collier AB, Aplenc (2018). Identifying patient- and family-centered outcomes relevant to inpatient versus at-home management of neutropenia in children with acute myeloid leukemia. Pediatric blood & cancer, 65(4),
  36. Keller SC, Tamma PD, Cosgrove SE, Miller MA, Sateia H, Szymczak J, Gurses AP, Linder J (2018). Ambulatory Antibiotic Stewardship through a Human Factors Engineering Approach: A Systematic Review. Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 31(3), 417-430.
  37. Hill DL, Walter JK, Casas JA, DiDomenico C, Szymczak JE, Feudtner (2018). The codesign of an interdisciplinary team-based intervention regarding initiating palliative care in pediatric oncology. Supportive care in cancer, 26(9), 3249-3256.
  38. Gaw CE, Hamilton KW, Gerber JS, Szymczak J (2018). Physician Perceptions Regarding Antimicrobial Use in End-of-Life Care. Infection control and hospital epidemiology, 39(4), 383-390.
  39. Elango S, Szymczak JE, Bennett IM, Beidas RS, Werner R (2018). Changing Antibiotic Prescribing in a Primary Care Network: The Role of Readiness to Change and Group Dynamics in Success. American journal of medical quality, 33(2), 154-161.
  40. Gerber JS, Ross RK, Bryan M, Localio AR, Szymczak JE, Wasserman R, Barkman D, Odeniyi F, Conaboy K, Bell L, Zaoutis TE, Fiks A (2017). Association of Broad- vs Narrow-Spectrum Antibiotics With Treatment Failure, Adverse Events, and Quality of Life in Children With Acute Respiratory Tract Infections. JAMA, 318(23), 2325-2336.
  41. Szymczak J (2016). Infections and interaction rituals in the organisation: clinician accounts of speaking up or remaining silent in the face of threats to patient safety. Sociology of health & illness, 38(2), 325-39.
  42. Szymczak JE, Smathers S, Hoegg C, Klieger S, Coffin SE, Sammons J (2015). Reasons Why Physicians and Advanced Practice Clinicians Work While Sick: A Mixed-Methods Analysis. JAMA pediatrics, 169(9), 815-21.
  43. Szymczak JE, Feemster KA, Zaoutis TE, Gerber J (2014). Pediatrician perceptions of an outpatient antimicrobial stewardship intervention. Infection control and hospital epidemiology, 35 Suppl 3, S69-78.
  44. Szymczak J (2014). Seeing risk and allocating responsibility: talk of culture and its consequences on the work of patient safety. Social science & medicine (1982), 120, 252-9.
  45. Szymczak JE, Bosk C (2012). Training for efficiency: work, time, and systems-based practice in medical residency. Journal of health and social behavior, 53(3), 344-58.
  46. Szymczak JE, Brooks JV, Volpp KG, Bosk C (2010). To leave or to lie? Are concerns about a shift-work mentality and eroding professionalism as a result of duty-hour rules justified?. The Milbank quarterly, 88(3), 350-81.
  47. Farr BD, Otto CM, Szymczak J (2021). Expert Perspectives on the Performance of Explosive Detection Canines: Performance Degrading Factors. Animals, 11(7), 1978.
  48. Glassman LW, Szymczak J (2022). The influence of social class and institutional relationships on the experiences of vaccine-hesitant mothers: a qualitative study. BMC public health, 22(1), 2309.
  49. Szymczak JE, Fiks AG, Craig S, Mendez DD, Ray K (2023). Access to What for Whom? How Care Delivery Innovations Impact Health Equity. Journal of general internal medicine, 38(5), 1282-1287.
  50. Hamm RF, Wang E, Szymczak JE, Levine L (2023). Implementation of a calculator to predict cesarean during labor induction: a qualitative evaluation of the patient perspective. American journal of obstetrics & gynecology MFM, 5(6), 100968.
  51. Szymczak JE, Getz KD, Madding R, Shuster S, Aftandilian C, Arnold SD, Collier AB, Gramatges MM, Henry M, Hijiya N, Mian A, Raetz E, Fisher BT, Aplenc (2023). Child and family perceptions of satisfaction with neutropenia management in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia. Pediatric blood & cancer, 70(8), e30420.
  52. Vaughn VM, Gupta A, Petty LA, Malani AN, Osterholzer D, Patel PK, Younas M, Bernstein SJ, Burdick S, Ratz D, Szymczak JE, McLaughlin E, Czilok T, Basu T, Horowitz JK, Flanders SA, Gandhi T (2023). A Statewide Quality Initiative to Reduce Unnecessary Antibiotic Treatment of Asymptomatic Bacteriuria. JAMA internal medicine, 183(9), 933-941.
  53. Hamm RF, Levine LD, Szymczak JE, Parry S, Srinivas SK, Beidas R (2023). An innovative sequential mixed-methods approach to evaluating clinician acceptability during implementation of a standardized labor induction protocol. BMC medical research methodology, 23(1), 195.
  54. Serletti L, Dutcher L, Degnan KO, Szymczak JE, Cluzet V, David MZ, Cressman L, Glassman LW, Hamilton KW, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Prevention Epicenters Progra (2023). Analysis of seasonal variation of antibiotic prescribing for respiratory tract diagnoses in primary care practices. Antimicrobial stewardship & healthcare epidemiology, 3(1), e147.
  55. Vaughn VM, Krein SL, Hersh A, Buckel WR, White AT, Horowitz J, Patel PK, Gandhi TN, Petty LA, Spivak ES, Bernstein SJ, Malani AM, Johnson LB, Neetz RA, Flanders SA, Galyean P, Kimball E, Bloomquist K, Zickmund T, Zickmund SL, Szymczak J (2023). Excellence in Antibiotic Stewardship: A mixed methods study comparing High, Medium, and Low Performing Hospitals. Clinical infectious diseases, 78(6), 1412-1424.
  56. Szymczak JE, Petty LA, Gandhi TN, Neetz RA, Hersh A, Presson AP, Lindenauer PK, Bernstein SJ, Muller BM, White AT, Horowitz JK, Flanders SA, Smith JD, Vaughn V (2024). Protocol for a parallel cluster randomized trial of a participatory tailored approach to reduce overuse of antibiotics at hospital discharge: the ROAD home trial. Implementation science, 19(1), 23.
  57. Murray JL, Leung DT, Hanson OR, Ahmed SM, Pavia AT, Khan AI, Szymczak JE, Vaughn VM, Patel PK, Biswas D, Watt M (2024). Drivers of inappropriate use of antimicrobials in South Asia: A systematic review of qualitative literature. PLOS global public health, 4(4), e0002507.
  58. Fanaroff AC, Patel MS, Chokshi N, Coratti S, Farraday D, Norton L, Rareshide C, Zhu J, Klaiman T, Szymczak JE, Russell LB, Small DS, Volpp KG (2024). Effect of Gamification, Financial Incentives, or Both to Increase Physical Activity Among Patients at High Risk of Cardiovascular Events: The BE ACTIVE Randomized Controlled Trial. Circulation, 21(149), 1639-1649..
  59. McCoy MS, Ward M, Neergaard R, Joffe S, Szymczak J (2024). Managing institutional conflicts: Stakeholder accounts of communication between conflict of interest and technology transfer offices. PloS one, 19(8), e0304519.
  60. Fortunato MP, Girard A, Coratti S, Farraday D, Norton L, Rareshide C, Zhu J, Chokshi N, Szymczak JE, Klaiman T, Russell LB, Small DS, Patel MS, Volpp KGM, Fanaroff A (2024). Investigating racial and gender disparities in virtual randomized clinical trial enrollment: Insights from the BE ACTIVE study. American heart journal, 276, 120-124.
  61. Kern-Goldberger AS, Bracy D, Szymczak JE, Gonzalez D, Rothberg MB, Gerber JS, Bonafide C (2024). Drivers of Inpatient Subspecialty Consultation Among Pediatric Hospitalists: A Qualitative Study. Hospital pediatrics, 14(9), 782-789.
  62. Fanaroff AC, Patel MS, Chokshi N, Coratti S, Farraday D, Norton L, Rareshide C, Zhu J, Szymczak JE, Russell LB, Small DS, Volpp KG (2023). A randomized controlled trial of gamification, financial incentives, or both to increase physical activity among patients with elevated risk for cardiovascular disease: rationale and design of the be active study. American heart journal, 260, 82-89.
  63. Thorpe A, Lee RA, Fagerlin A, Vaughn VM, Szymczak J (2025). Characteristics and Antibiotic Preferences of US Adults Reporting Frequent Use vs No Use of Antibiotics. JAMA network open, 8(3), e251429.
  64. Anesi GL, Glassman LW, Dress E, Delgado MK, Barreda FX, Escobar GJ, Liu VX, Halpern SD, Szymczak J (2025). An Explanatory Mixed-Methods Study of Intensive Care Unit Net Benefit: Triage and Trajectory for Sepsis and Acute Respiratory Failure. Annals of the American Thoracic Society, 22(4), 570-580.
  65. Chiotos K, Dutcher L, Grundmeier RW, Meyahnwi D, Lautenbach E, Neuhauser MM, Hicks LA, Hamilton KW, Li Y, Szymczak JE, Muller BM, Congdon M, Kane E, Hart J, Utidjian L, Cressman L, Jaskowiak-Barr A, Gerber J (2025). Impact of Clinician Feedback Reports on Antibiotic Use in Children Hospitalized With Community-acquired Pneumonia. Clinical infectious diseases, 80(2), 263-270.
  66. Weissman GE, Silvestri JA, Lapite F, Mullen IS, Bishop NS, Kmiec T, Summer A, Sims MW, Ahya VN, Kangovi S, Klaiman TA, Szymczak JE, Hart J (2024). A Qualitative Study Identifying the Potential Risk Mechanisms Leading to Hospitalization for Patients With Chronic Lung Disease. CHEST pulmonary, 2(3),
  67. Szymczak JE, Hayes AA, Labellarte P, Zighelboim J, Toor A, Becker AB, Gerber JS, Kuppermann N, Florin T (2024). Parent and Clinician Views on Not Using Antibiotics for Mild Community-Acquired Pneumonia. Pediatrics, 153(2),
  68. Schnellinger EM, Cantu E, Kimmel SE, Szymczak J (2023). A Conceptual Model for Sources of Differential Selection in Lung Transplant Allocation. Annals of the American Thoracic Society, 20(2), 226-235.
  69. Anesi GL, Dress E, Chowdhury M, Wang W, Small DS, Delgado MK, Bayes B, Szymczak JE, Glassman LW, Barreda FX, Weiner JZ, Escobar GJ, Halpern SD, Liu V (2023). Among-Hospital Variation in Intensive Care Unit Admission Practices and Associated Outcomes for Patients with Acute Respiratory Failure. Annals of the American Thoracic Society, 20(3), 406-413.
  70. Jones A, Mangadu A, Dallas S, Hanson O, Arn K, Gesteland P, Szymczak JE, Pavia AT, Leung DT, Watt M (2025). Parent and Clinician Perspectives on Diagnostic Testing for Children With Diarrhea: A Qualitative Study. JAMA network open, 8(9), e2531000.
  71. Crouch SJ, Allen KS, Thornton D, Hartsell J, Weybright EH, Szymczak JE, Shoaf K (2025). Assessing Public Health Capacity for Infectious Disease Modeling: A Qualitative Study of State and Local Agencies. International journal of environmental research and public health, 22(8),
  72. Incze MA, Szymczak JE, Done E, Stolebarger L, England N, Marshall E, Raju S, Gray M, Saunders M, Ciarkowski CE, Willey JC, Bristol AA, Amaton U, Vaughn V (2025). Building a Network for Community-Engaged Research Related to Substance Use Disorder Care Transitions: A Commentary With Protocol. Substance use & addiction journal, 47(1), 29767342251358099.
  73. Dunn GE, White AT, Giesler DL, Mashrah D, Brancaccio A, Szymczak JE, Horowitz JK, Neetz RA, Vaughn V (2025). Influence of Access to Care on Decision-making About Antibiotic Duration at Discharge. Open forum infectious diseases, 12(7), ofaf346.
  74. Russell LB, Volpp KGM, Patel MS, Chokshi NP, Coratti S, Farraday D, Norton L, Rareshide C, Zhu J, Klaiman T, Szymczak JE, Small DS, Fanaroff A (2025). Cost-Effectiveness of Gamification, Financial Incentives, or Both to Increase Physical Activity Among Patients With Elevated Risk for Cardiovascular Disease. Circulation. Cardiovascular quality and outcomes, 18(7), e011839.
  75. Ryu E, Farraday D, Fanaroff AC, Coratti S, Chokshi NP, Zhu J, Szymczak JE, Russell LB, Norton L, Small D, Volpp KG, Klaiman (2025). What motivates participants: a qualitative analysis of gamification and financial incentives to increase physical activity. BMC public health, 25(1), 1804.
  76. D'Alonzo BA, Schneider ALC, Erz A, Master CL, Barnett IJ, Hamilton RH, Wiebe DJ, Szymczak J (2025). A Qualitative Study of Collegiate Student-Athlete Experiences of Recovery After Concussion. The Journal of head trauma rehabilitation,
  77. Vaughn VM, Horowitz J, Gandhi T, Neetz RA, Petty L, Hersh A, Lindenauer P, Bernstein SJ, Flanders SA, Harrison JD, Smith JD, White AT, Szymczak J (2025). Developing an approach to enhance recruitment for a cluster-randomised implementation trial: leveraging deliberative participation and credible messengers. BMJ open, 15(9), e094925.
  78. Szymczak JE, Vaughn VM, Hersh A (2026). Improving Discharge Antibiotic Use via Prospective Audit and Feedback-The Importance of Contextual Variation. JAMA network open, 9(1), e2549620.
  79. Szymczak JE, Glassman LW, Muller BM, Lautenbach E, Hamilton KW, Dutcher L, CDC Prevention Epicenters Progra (2025). The influence of social relationships on clinician interpretation of performance data in an outpatient antibiotic stewardship intervention. Antimicrobial resistance and infection control, 15(1), 12.
  80. Thorpe A, Lee RA, Szymczak JE, Farrell MC, Howard K, Muller BM, White AT, Fagerlin A, Vaughn V (2025). Impact of an Educational Leaflet About Asymptomatic Bacteriuria and Urinary Tract Infection on Antibiotic Preferences Among US Adults ¿65 Years: An Online Randomized Controlled Survey Experiment. Open forum infectious diseases, 12(12), ofaf690.
  81. Willer RJ, Brighton HM, Frolova Gregory P, Hamline MY, Lee J, Szymczak JE, Wheeler M, McDaniel L (2025). Parent and Clinician Perceptions of Suctioning in Hospitalized Children With Bronchiolitis. Hospital pediatrics, 15(11), 951-959.
  82. Chiotos K, Dutcher L, Grundmeier R, Meyahnwi D, Lautenbach E, Neuhauser M, Hicks L, Hamilton K, Szymczak JE, Muller B, Cressman L, Jaskowiak-Barr A, Gerber (2025). Validation of an electronic algorithm to identify appropriate antibiotic use for community-acquired pneumonia in hospitalized children. Infection control and hospital epidemiology, 1-7.
  83. Chiotos K, Dutcher L, Grundmeier RW, Szymczak JE, Lautenbach E, Neuhauser MM, Hicks LA, Hamilton KW, Li Y, Muller BM, Meyahnwi D, Congdon M, Kane E, Hart J, Utidjian L, Cressman L, Jaskowiak-Barr A, Gerber J (2025). Off-target Impact of Clinician Feedback Reports on Antibiotic Use in Children With Medical Complexity Hospitalized With Community-Acquired Pneumonia. Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, 14(10),

Editorial

  1. Szymczak J, Trautner (2022). Support to scale antibiotic stewardship in long-term care homes: how much is enough?. BMJ quality & safety, 31(2), 79-82.
  2. Vaughn VM, Szymczak JE, Newton DW, Fakih M (2019). Addressing the Overuse of Cultures to Optimize Patient Care. Annals of internal medicine, 171(7_Suppl), S73-S74.
  3. Szymczak J (2018). Beyond barriers and facilitators: the central role of practical knowledge and informal networks in implementing infection prevention interventions. BMJ quality & safety, 27(10), 763-765.
  4. Szymczak JE, Linder J (2023). "Cultural" Variation in Antibiotic Prescribing: Have Regional Differences Had Their Day?. Open forum infectious diseases, 10(2), ofad025.
  5. Rhee C, Patel P, Szymczak (2024). Is hospital-onset bacteraemia and fungaemia an actionable quality measure?. BMJ quality & safety, 33(8), 479-482.
  6. Szymczak (2024). What's in a name? On the rhetorical harm of 'never events'. BMJ quality & safety, 33(9), 559-562.
  7. Weber DJ, Nori P, Ananthanarayanan R, Estelle C, Jacob JT, Kwon JH, Maragakis LL, Murthy R, Nyquist AC, Passaretti C, Saiman L, Shenoy ES, Szymczak JE, Talbot T (2025). Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America supports environmental stewardship and sustainability while protecting patients and healthcare personnel position statement of the SHEA Board. Antimicrobial stewardship & healthcare epidemiology, 6(1), e10.

Letter

  1. Szymczak J (2021). Structural Factors, Power, and the Physician Sex Pay Gap. JAMA pediatrics, 175(8), 868.
  2. Thampi N, Szymczak JE, Leis J (2020). Applying behavioral frameworks to antimicrobial stewardship. Infection control and hospital epidemiology, 41(5), 628-630.
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