The papers of Avedis Donabedian document his career as professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and in the medical research field from 1946 to 1997. The papers are divided into three series: Correspondence, Research and Professional Activities, and Biographical.
Avedis Donabedian was born January 7, 1919, in Beirut, Lebanon. He attended American University of Beirut, where he earned a BA in 1940 and an MD in 1944, both with the title "with distinction." Donabedian began his medical career as physician and acting superintendent of English Mission Hospital in Jerusalem from 1945 to 1947. In April 1947, he began a post-graduate course in pediatrics and child health at the University of London. In 1948, he returned to his alma mater and began his teaching and research career as an instructor in physiology and clinical assistant in the departments of dermatology and venereology, a position he held until 1950. During this time, Donabedian also kept up his medical practice as university physician at the American University of Beirut.
In 1953, Donabedian immigrated to the United States to attend the Harvard School of Public Health. In 1955, he graduated magna cum laude with a Master's degree in Public Health (M.P.H.). Upon his graduation from Harvard University, he began research on what was to become his career specialty of medical care evaluation as a medical associate at the United Community Services of Metropolitan Boston from 1955 to 1957. In 1957 he was asked to return to the Harvard School of Public Health as a visiting lecturer in Medical Care for the 1957-1958 school year.
After Harvard, Donabedian secured a position at New York Medical College, where he was named Assistant Professor of Preventative Medicine, Consultant to the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Research Consultant on a study of rehabilitation in nursing home patients.
In 1961 Donabedian came to the University of Michigan School of Public Health, as an Associate Professor of Public Health Economics. He was promoted to full professor of Public Health Economics in July 1964. In 1966 he was appointed Professor of Medical Care Organization. During his long and distinguished career at the University of Michigan, Donabedian focused on the area of quality assessment and monitoring of health services. This research helped establish the epidemiology of patient needs and the design of program benefits for the public and private sectors. In recognition of his achievements in the field of public health, he was honored as the Nathan Sinai Distinguished Professor of Public Health in 1979. Donabedian published eight books and wrote numerous articles in the field of health service. He was most widely known for developing the "Donabedian paradigm," an idea that was the basis for the concept and design of the statistical model used for hospital rankings. His work has been translated into several languages, and is known internationally.
In 1989, Donabedian retired from the University of Michigan and was awarded emeritus status. In retirement he frequently lectured at international conferences on public health and service. He stayed active in the field by serving on various editorial boards for medical journals. For relaxation he wrote poetry and studied Arabic.
Donabedian's pioneering contributions to the development of systematic frameworks for understanding health service established him as one of the preeminent scholars in the field. In 1999 he was awarded one of public health's highest honors, the Sedgwick Memorial Medal for Distinguished Service in Public Health, awarded by the American Public Health Association.
Donabedian's many other honors have included the George Welch Medal of the American Medical Association (1976) and the Dean Conley Award (1969) by the American College of Hospital Administrators. He was among the original members inaugurated in the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, honorary member of the National Academy of Mexico, and the Royal College of General Practitioners of the United Kingdom. Foundations in his name have been established in Italy, Spain, and Argentina.
Avedis Donabedian died November 9, 2000, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. His wife Dorothy died in 2003. He was survived by his sons Haig, Beij, and Armen.
