HSR&D Research Briefs disseminates news and information to the HSR&D investigator community. In this issue:
- Spotlight: Collaborative Research to Enhance and Advance Transformation and Excellence (CREATE).
- Research News, Dissemination, & Notices: Research news, recently disseminated publications, announcements, and solicitations for papers, training, and research opportunities.
- Awards & Honors: Links to recent recipients of national awards, honors, or significant career achievements.
- Publications, Citations, and Search Tools: Search tools for HSR&D publications, citations for HSR&D researchers, and more.
- Newly Funded: Links to newly funded research projects.
VA's Health Services Research and Development Service (HSR&D) has developed an innovative funding initiative, "Collaborative Research to Enhance and Advance Transformation and Excellence (CREATE)." The CREATE initiative encourages HSR&D investigators to collaborate with VA partners in conducting research on high-priority issues that affect the health and healthcare of Veterans.
A CREATE's interrelated research projects are designed to demonstrate that collaboration and coordination of efforts will produce deliverables and new knowledge that offer a distinct advantage over pursuing individual projects separately. Funded CREATEs include:
- Evidence-Based Therapies for PTSD (EB4PTSD). Directed by Nina Sayer, Ph.D., the overall goal of the EBT4PTSD CREATE is to improve Veterans' access to and engagement in evidence-based PTSD treatments.
- Improving Quality and Safety through Better Communication and Coordination in Patient-Aligned Care Teams (PACTs). Directed by Laura A. Petersen, M.D., M.P.H., this CREATE seeks to study the development and implementation of point-of-care interventions in PACT that improve healthcare quality and safety.
- Transforming the Spectrum of Long-Term Care for America's Veterans. Directed by Vincent Mor, Ph.D., the goal of this CREATE is to conduct research that will provide the tools, evidence, and evaluation information necessary for Geriatric and Extended Care policymakers and staff in VHA to transform the spectrum of LTC services.
- Enhancing Patient-Aligned Care Team (PACT) Delivered Pain Management. Directed by Robert Kerns, Ph.D., the goals of this CREATE are to enhance Veterans' access to empirically-validated and guideline-concordant pain care; leverage health information technology to promote better pain care for Veterans; and build sustainable improvements in pain care that are applicable beyond the life of the program.
- Promoting Value and Access in VA's New Uniform Package of Services for Substance Use Disorders. Directed by Keith Humphreys, Ph.D., this program seeks to increase value and accessibility across the continuum of substance use disorder care through: the validation and refinement of quality metrics; the evaluation and dissemination of low-cost, high-impact service innovations; and the promotion of patient and provider knowledge about evidence-based treatment for substance use disorders.
- Accelerating Implementation of VA Comprehensive Women's Health Care. Directed by Elizabeth Yano, Ph.D., M.S.P.H., this CREATE initiative will conduct research to examine the essential factors that facilitate (or slow) the pace, effectiveness, and outcomes of delivery of comprehensive care for women Veterans within the VA healthcare system.
top
Research News
HSR&D Central Office Staffing Changes
- Karen Lohmann Siegel, P.T., M.A. has been named as Capacity Building Program Manager, and will oversee HSRD research centers—including the launching of the new Centers of Innovation (COINs)—and the HSRD Career Development Program. Before joining HSR&D, Ms. Siegel served over 27 years as a commissioned officer in the US Public Health Service.
- Rita Lysik, Administrative Officer for HSR&D, has retired after more than 40 years of extraordinary service to VA. Her many contributions and service to science, healthcare, and Veterans will be greatly missed. All requests previously directed to Rita Lysik should now be sent to Courtney Lyndrup (Courtney.lyndrup@va.gov) and Carmen Corsetti (Carmen.corsetti@va.gov).
Announcements, Notices, and Solicitations
- NIHCM Seeks Outstanding Published Research for $10,000 Award — The NIHCM Foundation is now accepting applications for its 19th Annual Health Care Research Award. The deadline for entries is February 15, 2013.
- Training Opportunities
- Applications are now being accepted for the 2013 National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)-sponsored five-day Training Institute for Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health (TIDIRH). The application deadline is February 22, 2013.
- Applications are now being accepted for the Implementation Research Institute's two-year training program in mental health and implementation. The application deadline is February 4, 2013 for the June 2013 cohort.
- Call for Submissions: A Special Supplement to the Journal of General Internal Medicine. Topic: Patient-Aligned Care Teams in the Department of Veterans Affairs: Advancing Implementation of Patient-Centered Medical Homes. The submission deadline is April 1, 2013.
HSR&D Website Updates: Career Development Award Section
Check out the updated HSR&D Career Development Award (CDA) program web page that includes a complete list of current CDA recipients, more easily-located resources, recently funded projects, and more.
New Journals Announced
Two new journals are now accepting submissions:
- Health Care: The Journal of Delivery Science and Innovation will provide a vehicle for communicating important advances in the study of cutting edge research on innovation in healthcare delivery, including improvements in systems, processes, management, payment, and applied information technology. More information, including submission guidelines and order information, is available on the Elsevier website.
- eGEMs, is a new open access, peer-reviewed journal that publishes innovative methods and research on using electronic clinical data (e.g. electronic health records) to improve patient and community outcomes. Submissions are now being accepted. To learn more about submission criteria and deadlines, visit the eGEMs website.
Upcoming Meetings
Recent Dissemination
New Video Series: HSR&D Investigators Discuss Their Work
To assist in more widely disseminating VA's health services research, HSR&D produces a video series featuring investigators discussing their work. The latest videos include investigators discussing research on peer support, health equity, pain management, and more. Videos are linked from various sections of the HSR&D website, but all can be accessed here.
FORUM
The Fall issue of FORUM addresses quality measurement in VA, and includes a commentary on quality measurement and electronic health records.
Decreases in VA Hospital Length-of-Stay and Readmission Rates over 14 Years
In an article featured in the December 2012 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, VA HSR&D investigators discussed findings that show decreases in VA hospital length-of-stay and readmission rates over 14 years. Improving hospital efficiency by reducing the length of a patient's stay should benefit both patients and hospitals. Learn more...
New ESP Reports Published
HSR&D's Evidence-Based Synthesis Program (ESP) was established to provide timely and accurate syntheses of targeted healthcare topics of particular importance to VA managers and policymakers, and to disseminate these reports throughout VA. The latest reports are available online:
The following reports are available from the VA Intranet only. Links cannot be accessed from public browsers:
top
Learn more about HSR&D investigators who have been honored for their research and professional efforts:
top
Looking for published research? The search tools for articles, presentations, citations, and HSR&D internal publications include the following:
- For citations from journals, meetings, conferences, and reports that were credited to HSR&D researchers, use the HSR&D citations search feature.
- For HSR&D-produced publications and evidence synthesis reports, use the HSR&D publications search feature.
Publication Notification
Please let us know as soon as you have an article accepted for publication. This applies to all publications based on an HSR&D-funded or managed project, and for publications authored/co-authored by an HSR&D-supported investigator, regardless of funding source.
To submit your notification, please use the VA Intranet-based PubTracker system. Instructions for accessing PubTracker are available on the Publication Notification Requirement page of the For Researchers section on the HSR&D website.
top
Find links to studies for which funding began within the last three months.
top
If you have feedback about Research Briefs online, or suggestions for topics of interest about which you'd like to read, please send us an email to: HSRDWeb.Boston@va.gov.
|