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Andrea F. Kalvesmaki, PhD (she/her/hers)

Co-I VA Elizabeth Dole Center of Excellence for Veteran and Caregiver Research
VA Salt Lake City Health Care System
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

Dr. Kalvesmaki is a a Research Health Science Specialist within the VA Salt Lake City Healthcare System serving as a Co-I for the VA Elizabeth Dole Center of Excellence for Veteran and Caregiver Research. She is also a Research Associate within the Division of Epidemiology at the University of Utah School of Medicine. Dr. Kalvesmaki’s research aims to identify the hidden nature of disabilities and caregiving. She helps identify under- and un-recognized caregivers such as youth and children, especially for disabilities that are “invisible” such as traumatic brain injury (TBI), mental health conditions, or other less-visible conditions. Dr. Kalvesmaki leads family- and community-centered research, bringing under-represented groups to the “research table” to address complex health issues. Her work with community research partners examines how caregiving affects well-being and health outcomes for persons with disabilities, their caregivers, and families, to help develop solutions in health care policy, programs, and other systems of support. She has more than fifteen years’ experience in research and evaluation in health, education, and policy, with an emphasis in primary data collection methods such as ethnographic observation, interviews, focus groups, surveys, and community participatory measure development. She has a strong background in child, youth, and family research, much of which has been driven by her lived experience as a youth caregiver for a sibling with TBI. She is a member of the Caregiving Youth Research Collaborative and has been funded by the Utah Family Caregiving Collaborative to establish the “Identifying Youth Caregivers (I+YOUCare) Community Advisory Board” in Utah.

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