About

Jerry C. Johnson, M.D., is a Professor and Chief of Medicine (Geriatrics) in the Department of Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. His research expertise includes minority health and health equity, palliative care, and faculty development. His clinical expertise focuses on geriatrics, and he is actively engaged in community health education, minority health education, and community engagement initiatives. Dr. Johnson's work emphasizes improving health outcomes among minority populations and advancing community-based service learning in geriatrics. His contributions include research on health disparities, community outreach, and the impact of faith beliefs on end-of-life care perceptions among African American church members.

Research topics

• Gerontology
• Medicine
• Nursing
• Medical emergency
• Pathology
• Psychiatry

Selected publications

• Engaging Community Reviewers: The Geriatric Emergency Care Applied Research (2.0)—Advancing Dementia Care Network Approach

  Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2025-05-16

  articleOpen access

  A core tenant of the Geriatric Emergency care Applied Research Network 2.0-Advancing Dementia Care (GEAR 2.0-ADC) is the inclusion of community members during all stages of clinical research. As such, we deliberately integrated and supported patient and public involvement in the evaluation and selection of GEAR 2.0-ADC Pilot Research Grants by developing and adapting traditional grant application review structures, with input from community members, to create the GEAR 2.0-ADC Community Review Committee approach. Community members, including persons living with dementia, effectively participated in all three rounds of research grant application review and selection, complementing the traditional scientific review process. The structure and flexibility of the GEAR 2.0-ADC Community Review Committee approach serve as a model for patient and public grant application review involvement with strong potential for applications across grant reviews in other medical specialties.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Optimal Emergency Department Care Practices for Persons Living With Dementia: A Scoping Review

  Journal of the American Medical Directors Association · 2022 · 53 citations

  • Medicine
  • Gerontology
  • Medical emergency
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Emergency Department Care Transitions for Patients With Cognitive Impairment: A Scoping Review

  Journal of the American Medical Directors Association · 2022 · 66 citations

  • Medicine
  • Medical emergency
  • Gerontology

  OBJECTIVES: We aimed to describe emergency department (ED) care transition interventions delivered to older adults with cognitive impairment, identify relevant patient-centered outcomes, and determine priority research areas for future investigation. DESIGN: Systematic scoping review. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: ED patients with cognitive impairment and/or their care partners. METHODS: Informed by the clinical questions, we conducted systematic electronic searches of medical research databases for relevant publications following published guidelines. The results were presented to a stakeholder group representing ED-based and non-ED-based clinicians, individuals living with cognitive impairment, care partners, and advocacy organizations. After discussion, they voted on potential research areas to prioritize for future investigations. RESULTS: From 3848 publications identified, 78 eligible studies underwent full text review, and 10 articles were abstracted. Common ED-to-community care transition interventions for older adults with cognitive impairment included interdisciplinary geriatric assessments, home visits from medical personnel, and telephone follow-ups. Intervention effects were mixed, with improvements observed in 30-day ED revisit rates but most largely ineffective at promoting connections to outpatient care or improving secondary outcomes such as physical function. Outcomes identified as important to adults with cognitive impairment and their care partners included care coordination between providers and inclusion of care partners in care management within the ED setting. The highest priority research area for future investigation identified by stakeholders was identifying strategies to tailor ED-to-community care transitions for adults living with cognitive impairment complicated by other vulnerabilities such as social isolation or economic disadvantage. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: This scoping review identified key gaps in ED-to-community care transition interventions delivered to older adults with cognitive impairment. Combined with a stakeholder assessment and prioritization, it identified relevant patient-centered outcomes and clarifies priority areas for future investigation to improve ED care for individuals with impaired cognition, an area of critical need given the current population trends.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Detecting Cognitive Impairment and Dementia in the Emergency Department: A Scoping Review

  Journal of the American Medical Directors Association · 2022-08-01 · 55 citations

  reviewOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Emergency Department Communication in Persons Living With Dementia and Care Partners: A Scoping Review

  Journal of the American Medical Directors Association · 2022 · 45 citations

  • Medicine
  • Medical emergency
  • Gerontology
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Evaluation of the LIGHT Curriculum: An African American Church-Based Curriculum for Training Lay Health Workers to Support Advance Care Planning, End-of-Life Decision Making, and Care

  Journal of Palliative Medicine · 2021-09-13 · 6 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Background: Lay health workers (LHWs) engaging African Americans in conversations about advance care planning (ACP) often have felt unprepared for the challenges of communicating with patients as they approach the end of life. We developed a church-based training curriculum, LIGHT (Listening, Identifying, Guiding, Helping, Translating), in response to this need. Objectives: To evaluate the LIGHT Curriculum by assessing its impact on knowledge, beliefs and attitudes, and self-efficacy of the learners; describing their assessment of the classroom component of the training; and describing their visit activities, and perceptions derived during client visits. Design : prospective, descriptive, pre- and post-training evaluation. Settings/Subjects: Thirty-seven LHWs (Comfort Care Supporters [CCSs]) from three African American Churches (United States). Measurements: knowledge, beliefs and attitudes, assessment of classroom training, self-efficacy, visit activities, and perceptions. Results: Pre-to-post knowledge scores (range 0–26) increased by a mean of 5.23, p < 0.0001. Agreement with favorable beliefs about palliative and hospice care (HC) did not change significantly post-training. Disagreement with unfavorable beliefs about hospice increased, most notably, the belief that hospice means a place where people go to die (43% to 87%, p = 0.003) and HC means giving up (77% to 93%, p = 0.03). Post-training, 94% of the CCSs felt prepared to function in their roles. The CCSs who visited clients demonstrated the ability to engage clients and families in conversations about issues important to ACP, end-of-life decision making and care, and the ability to identify relevant benefits and challenges of their roles. Conclusions: LHWs, trained using the LIGHT Curriculum, can acquire the knowledge and self-efficacy necessary to support African American clients with ACP, end-of-life decision making, and end-of-life care.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Faith Beliefs of African American Church Leaders Are Aligned With the Principles of Palliative and Hospice Care: A Community-Based Assessment and Intervention

  American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine® · 2020-08-07 · 5 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  BACKGROUND: African American (AA) church leaders often advise AAs with serious and life-limiting illnesses (LLIs). OBJECTIVES: 1) determine beliefs of AA church leaders about palliative care and hospice care (PCHC), 2) assess association of participants' attitude about encouraging a loved one to learn about PCHC with whether PC or HC is consistent with faith beliefs and can reduce suffering and bring comfort, and 3) evaluate an interactive, educational intervention. DESIGN: prospective, one group, pre and post assessment of beliefs and attitudes Settings/Subjects: 100 church leaders from 3 AA Churches and one AA Church Consortium. RESULTS: At baseline, participants held more receptive beliefs about HC than about PC. Those who reported knowing the meaning of PC believed PC is consistent with their faith (81% vs 28%, phi=.53) and can reduce suffering and bring comfort (86% vs 38%, phi =.50). Participants who believed PC was consistent with their faith were more likely to encourage a loved one with a LLI to learn about PCHC than did participants who did not (100% vs 77%, phi =.39, p < 0.001). Post intervention, more participants: 1) perceived that they knew the meaning of PC (48% vs 96%), 2) viewed PC as consistent with their faith (58% vs. 94%), and 3) viewed PC as a means to reduce suffering and bring comfort (67% vs 93%) with a p < 0.0001 for each item. The post intervention results for HC were variable. CONCLUSIONS: Faith beliefs of AA Church leaders may be aligned with the principles of PCHC.

  PublisherDOI

• LIGHT: A Church-Based Curriculum for Training African American Lay Health Workers to Support Advance Care Planning and End-of-Life Decision-Making

  Health Equity · 2020-12-01 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Purpose: African Americans with life-limiting illnesses experience significant health inequities. Lay health workers (LHWs) may help overcome existing challenges of communicating with African Americans about advance care planning (ACP) and end-of-life decision-making. Church-based LHWs have some advantages over other LHWs but no curriculum exists to fully prepare them. This article describes the development, content, format, and implementation of a curriculum designed to meet this need. Methods: We created a church-based curriculum to train African American, LHWs as communications-facilitators who can support persons with life-limiting illnesses, not only with ACP but also with issues that arise as illnesses progress. Learners are church members whom we call comfort care supporters. The curriculum organizes the LHW interactions with clients by the mnemonic LIGHT: Listening, Identifying, Guiding, Helping, and Translating. Results: The final curriculum consists of three parts: (1) a 26-h classroom component delivered in nine modules organized around eight themes: meaning and prognosis of a life-limiting illness, spirituality and the meaning of death, understanding the dying process, major decisions and choices, goals of care, end-of-life services, and resources, intrafamily communication, and role and activities of the LHW; (2) a visit component; and (3) experiential, case-based discussions during monthly meetings. Conclusions: LHWs may improve quality of care and thus reduce health inequities at the end-of-life. Preparing LHWs for conversations about ACP is necessary but insufficient. This curriculum also prepares LHWs to attend to the spiritual needs of clients and to support clients with their other needs as their illness progresses.

  PublisherDOI

• Lessons Learned from the Medical University of South Carolina Transdisciplinary Collaborative Center (TCC) in Precision Medicine and Minority Men’s Health

  American Journal of Men s Health · 2020-11-01 · 10 citations

  articleOpen access

  The Transdisciplinary Collaborative Center (TCC) in Precision Medicine for Minority Men's Health was established at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in 2015 to address disparities in the translation of precision medicine approaches among racial minority groups. This regional consortium focuses on three primary areas: (1) the development of a consortium of regional and national partners, (2) conducting transdisciplinary research examining synergistic effects of biological, social, physiological, and clinical determinants of chronic disease risks and outcomes, and (3) dissemination and implementation of precision medicine approaches, with an emphasis on reducing disparities in health care and outcomes among minority men. Given consistent calls to better translate precision medicine approaches and the focus of this consortium on addressing disparities among minority men, we provide an overview of our experience in developing the MUSC TCC, including barriers and facilitators to conducting translational research on minority men's health issues in the context of precision medicine. Lessons learned and areas for improvement include providing enough time to create consistent partnerships and community engagement to improve recruitment and retention, identifying unique ways to engage diverse partners from across the region and nation, and better approaches to dissemination and communication for large partnerships focusing on precision medicine.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Abstract C097: Navigation needs among African Americans

  Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention · 2020-06-01

  article

  Abstract Abstract Introduction: Patient navigation is emerging as a strategy for addressing barriers to cancer screening among African Americans; however, navigation should address the specific needs and barriers to obtaining screening. The purpose of this study was to identify navigation needs for cancer screening in a community-based sample of African American men and women. Methods: Participants were enrolled in an observational study of community-based navigation for cancer control. Eligibility criteria were African American men and women aged 50-75 years who resided in the Philadelphia, PA metropolitan area, and had no personal history or symptoms of prostate, breast and colon cancer. The main outcome variable was navigation needs for cancer screening. The exposure variables that were assessed were socioeconomic characteristics, sociocultural factors such perceived risk of developing cancer and future temporal orientation and perceptions of social integration, and history of family members with cancer. Chi square tests and analysis of variance were utilized to assess the associations between potential factors and identified barriers. Results: A total of 268 participants were enrolled in the study and of these, 161 (60%) identified navigation needs for cancer screening: cost/lack of insurance (66, 25%), ignorance/lack of knowledge (73, 27%) and provider issues (22, 8%). The main barrier identified by participants that were younger (&amp;lt;56 years) was cost/lack of insurance (51%) while the main barrier identified by older participants (&amp;gt;56 years) was ignorance/lack of knowledge (47%), [p: 0.04]. Most participants (63%) who had a higher perception of developing breast or prostate cancer identified ignorance/lack of knowledge as barrier to screening while most participants (51%) who had a higher perception of developing colon cancer had cost/lack of insurance as barrier to colon cancer screening, [p: 0.01]. Conclusions: Findings from this study suggest that navigation for cancer screening may need to address lack of knowledge and cost/lack of health insurance. Navigation programs for cancer screening may need to address different needs depending on the age and perceived risk of participants. Citation Format: Oluwole A Babatunde, Melanie Jefferson, Jerry C Johnson, Chanita Hughes-Halbert. Navigation needs among African Americans [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2019 Sep 20-23; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl_2):Abstract nr C097.

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant R01CA132656

  NIH · $3.1M · 2014

• NIH Grant R21AG044677

  NIH · $435k · 2018

• NIH Grant R24MD001594

  NIH · $5.7M · 2018

Frequent coauthors

• Chanita Hughes Halbert

  University of Southern California

  29 shared

• Karen M. Goldstein

  Durham VA Health Care System

  28 shared

• Rachel Miller

  26 shared

• Shimrit Keddem

  University of Pennsylvania

  25 shared

• Samuel M. Katz

  Oak Ridge Associated Universities

  25 shared

• Karen B. Hirschman

  25 shared

• Zachary Smith

  Tufts University

  25 shared

• Christina R. Whitehouse

  25 shared

Labs

• Jerry C. Johnson LaboratoryPI

Education

• MD, Medicine

  Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine

  1974