Announcements

AHRQ awards new grants

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has awarded new research, conference, and training grants, including approximately $12 million in total projected funding over the next 5 years to fund 10 new research projects on key topics. These topics include pediatric and women's health, cost-effectiveness analysis, ethics in intensive care units, and smoking cessation. These projects are described below, followed by a listing of other research grants, small project grants, conference grants, and a National Research Service Award fellowship.

Readers are reminded that findings usually are not available until a project ends or is nearing completion. The newly funded projects are:

Improving the evidence for unstable angina guidelines
Principal investigator: David A. Katz, M.D.
Organization: University of Wisconsin, Madison, WS
Total projected funding: $87,917
Project period: 9/1/00-8/31/02
This project will assess the impact of AHRQ's unstable angina guideline on the outcomes of emergency room patients with chest pain.

Risk-adjustment of 1-year health status outcomes in coronary artery disease
Principal investigator: John A. Spertus, M.D., M.P.H.
Organization: Saint Luke's Foundation, Kansas City, MO
Total projected funding: $1,294,396
Funding period: 9/1/00-8/31/04
This observational study will follow over 3,000 patients with acute coronary syndromes to identify their long-term outcomes, including physical and mental functioning, amount of angina, and quality of life for 1 year after hospital admission. This information will permit improved assessment of quality of care and facilitate patient decisionmaking by improving the understanding of anticipated outcomes.

Impact of early discharge following bypass surgery
Principal investigator: Patricia A. Cowper, Ph.D.
Organization: Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
Total projected funding: $694,334
Project period: 9/11/00-8/31/02
The objective of this study is to determine the impact of decreases in lengths of stay following coronary artery bypass graft surgery on clinical outcomes. Also, researchers will identify patient and hospital factors that are associated with good outcomes following early discharge.

Measurement of women's satisfaction with primary care
Principal investigator: Carol S. Weisman, Ph.D.
Organization: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Total projected funding: $551,588
Project period: 7/1/00-12/31/01
The goal of this project is to measure women's satisfaction with their primary health care. Researchers from three of the Department of Health and Human Services-designated National Centers of Excellence in Women's Health will develop a patient satisfaction instrument specific to women that can be used as a stand-alone tool or as a supplement to standard patient satisfaction instruments.

Statistical inference for cost-effectiveness analysis
Principal investigator: Joseph Gardiner, Ph.D.
Organization: Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Total projected funding: $793,419
Project period: 7/1/00-6/30/03
The goal of this study is to develop statistical techniques to fill methodological gaps in current cost-effectiveness analysis models. The specific aims of the project are to develop new statistical approaches for estimates of cost-effectiveness parameters, conduct computer-simulated studies to assess the performance of the proposed methods, and apply the proposed methods to actual data sets.

Care management by a nurse practitioner/hospitalist team
Principal investigator: Marie J. Cowan, Ph.D.
Organization: University of California, Los Angeles, CA
Total projected funding: $2,229,554
Project period: 7/1/00-6/30/03
The researchers will test an intensive intervention using hospitalists collaborating with nurse practitioners who also engage in postdischarge followup with patients in a general medical unit of an academic medical center. This project is cofunded by AHRQ and the National Institute of Nursing Research.

Impact of ethics consultation in the intensive care unit
Principal investigator: Lawrence J. Schneiderman, M.D.
Organization: University of California, San Diego, CA
Total projected funding: $1,775,383
Project period 9/1/00-8/31/03
This multicenter, randomized controlled trial will examine the impact of ethics consultation for patients in intensive care units who have been identified as having "value-based treatment conflicts."

Smoking control in maternal and child health clinics: Dissemination strategies
Principal investigator: Clara Manfredi, Ph.D.
Organization: University of Illinois, Chicago, IL
Total projected funding: $1,841,176
Project period: 9/1/00-8/31/03
This study will evaluate two strategies to disseminate the "It's Time" smoking cessation program and the AHRQ smoking cessation guideline to maternal and child health public health clinics. Two Illinois public health and human services agencies will serve as influential intermediaries for the dissemination.

Pediatric evidence-based medicine: Getting evidence used at the point of care
Principal investigator: Robert L. Davis, M.D., M.P.H.
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Total Projected Funding: $1,007,940
Project Period: 9/1/00-8/31/03
This project will evaluate the use of evidence at the point of pediatric care. The goal is to increase the application of evidence-based medicine, change physician behavior, and expedite the translation of research into clinical practice. The study will include a series of randomized controlled trials implemented at three sites, including academic pediatric and family medicine health care centers and a rural pediatric clinic.

Home screening for chlamydia surveillance
Principal investigator: Roberta B. Ness, M.D.
Organization: University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
Total projected funding: $1,696,066
Project period: 7/25/00-6/30/05
The purpose of this randomized trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of home screening for two STDs—chlamydia and gonorrhea—relative to office-based screening among women with a prior diagnosis of chlamydia.

Other newly funded projects include the following:

Research Projects

Access and quality of care for vulnerable black populations
Project director: Robert Mayberry, Ph.D.
Organization: Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA
Project number: AHRQ grant HS10875
Project period: 9/15/00 to 8/31/05
First year funding: $425,645

Characterizing medical error: A primary care study
Project director: Steven H. Woolf, M.D.
Organization: Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
Project number: AHRQ grant HS11117
Project period: 9/15/00 to 8/31/02
First year funding: $177,912

Clinical prediction rule for pelvic fracture hemorrhage
Project director: Christopher Blackmore, M.D., Ph.D.
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Project number: AHRQ grant HS11291
Project period: 9/15/00 to 8/31/05
First year funding: $125,577

Computer-based guidelines to prevent sudden cardiac death
Project director: Gillian Sanders, Ph.D.
Organization: Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Project number: AHRQ grant HS10623
Project period: 9/30/00 to 8/31/03
First year funding: $325,367

Consequences of drug cost-sharing in the elderly
Project director: Sebastian Schneeweiss, M.D.
Organization: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA
Project number: AHRQ grant HS10881
Project period: 9/30/00 to 2/28/03
First year funding: $454,687

Cost and benefits of intervening: Battered women
Project director: Laura McCloskey, Ph.D.
Organization: Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA
Project number: AHRQ grant HS11088
Project period: 9/30/00 to 8/31/05
First year funding: $292,208

Developing an asthma management model for Head Start
Project director: Perla A. Vargas, Ph.D.
Organization: Arkansas Children's Hospital, Little Rock, AR
Project number: AHRQ grant HS11062
Project period: 9/26/00 to 8/31/03
First year funding: $426,245

Developing and validating quality measures for children
Project director: Mark R. Chassin, M.D.
Organization: Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY
Project number: AHRQ grant HS10302
Project period: 9/30/00 to 8/31/04
First year funding: $252,322

Effect of Navajo interpreters on diabetes outcomes
Project director: Melvina McCabe, M.D.
Organization: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
Project number: AHRQ grant HS10637
Project period: 9/30/00 to 9/29/05
First year funding: $483,565

Efficacy/reliability of telemedicine in routine pediatric practice
Project director: Kenneth McConnochie, M.D.
Organization: University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
Project number: AHRQ grant HS10753
Project period: 9/30/00 to 9/29/01
First year funding: $295,125

Empiric risk stratification rule for heart failure
Project director: Donald M. Yealy, M.D.
Organization: University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
Project number: AHRQ grant HS10888
Project period: 9/30/00 to 9/29/02
First year funding: $185,263

Health care markets and vulnerable populations
Project director: Jose J. Escarce, M.D., Ph.D.
Organization: RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA
Project number: AHRQ grant HS10770
Project period: 7/01/00 to 6/30/05
First year funding: $452,282

Health disparities in minority adult Americans
Project director: Edmund M. Ricci, Ph.D.
Organization: University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
Project number: AHRQ grant HS10864
Project period: 9/25/00 to 8/31/05
First year funding: $334,644

Helping elders include quality in health plan choice
Project director: Lauren Harris-Kojetin, Ph.D.
Organization: Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, NC
Project number: AHRQ grant HS11008
Project period: 9/30/00 to 8/31/03
First year funding: $320,010

Implementing adolescent preventive guidelines
Project director: Charles E. Irwin, M.D.
Organization: University of California, San Francisco, CA
Project number: AHRQ grant HS11095
Project period: 9/30/00 to 8/31/03
First year funding: $544,645

Improving pain management in nursing homes
Project director: Katherine Jones, Ph.D.
Organization: University of Colorado, Denver, CO
Project number: AHRQ grant HS11093
Project period: 9/27/00 to 8/31/03
First year funding: $583,838

Improving dispute resolution in health care
Project director: David M. Studdert, Sc.D.
Organization: Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA
Project number: AHRQ grant HS11285
Project period: 9/30/00 to 8/31/04
First year funding: $80,688

Improving quality with outpatient decision support
Project director: David W. Bates, M.D.
Organization: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA
Project number: AHRQ grant HS11046
Project period: 9/30/00 to 8/31/03
First year funding: $469,996

Improving safety by computerizing outpatient prescribing
Project director: David W. Bates, M.D.
Organization: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA
Project number: AHRQ grant HS11169
Project period: 9/30/00 to 8/31/03
First year funding: $533,379

Improving utilization of ischemic stroke research
Project director: Catherine Borbas, Ph.D.
Organization: Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation, Minneapolis, MN
Project number: AHRQ grant HS11073
Project period: 9/30/00 to 8/31/03
First year funding: $452,738

Information about quality in a randomized evaluation
Project director: Patrick S. Romano, M.D.
Organization: University of California, Davis, CA
Project number: AHRQ grant HS10985
Project period: 9/30/00 to 8/31/03
First year funding: $297,750

Insuring uninsured children
Project director: Glenn Flores, M.D.
Organization: Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA
Project number: AHRQ grant HS11305
Project period: 9/18/00 to 8/31/05
First year funding: $99,819

Internet intervention to increase chlamydia screening
Project director: Jeroan J. Allison, M.D.
Organization: University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL
Project number: AHRQ grant HS11124
Project period: 9/30/00 to 9/29/03
First year funding: $395,530

Managed care and health care markets
Project director: Laurence Baker, M.D., Ph.D.
Organization: Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Project number: AHRQ grant HS10925
Project period: 9/30/00 to 9/29/03
First year funding: $450,000

Medicare managed care: Selection/ competition/quality
Project director: Glenn A. Melnick, Ph.D.
Organization: RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA
Project number: AHRQ grant HS10256
Project period: 9/30/00 to 8/31/03
First year funding: $118,948

Observational studies vs. randomized controlled trials
Project director: Arthur Hartz, M.D., Ph.D.
Organization: University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Project number: AHRQ grant HS10739
Project period: 9/30/00 to 8/31/02
First year funding: $198,063

Outcomes for intimate partner violence
Project director: Michael Rodriguez, M.D.
Organization: University of California, San Francisco, CA
Project number: AHRQ grant HS11104
Project period: 9/30/00 to 9/29/04
First year funding: $248,315

Optimizing antibiotic use in long-term care
Project director: Mark B. Loeb, M.D.
Organization: McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Project number: AHRQ grant HS11113
Project period: 9/30/00 to 8/31/02
First year funding: $103,366

Overcoming racial health disparities
Project director: Timothy S. Carey, M.D.
Organization: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
Project number: AHRQ grant HS10861
Project period: 9/15/00 to 8/31/05
First year funding: $334,644

Patient-centered care and health care costs
Project director: Ronald M. Epstein, M.D.
Organization: University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
Project number: AHRQ grant HS10610
Project period: 9/30/00 to 8/31/03
First year funding: $450,414

RCT of computer screening for domestic violence
Project director: Wendy Levinson, M.D.
Organization: University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Project number: AHRQ grant HS11096
Project period: 9/30/00 to 8/31/03
First year funding: $328,346

Resident assessment of pain management
Project director: Joan M. Teno, M.D.
Organization: Brown University, Providence, RI
Project number: AHRQ grant HS10336
Project period: 9/30/00 to 8/31/02
First year funding: $373,227

Rural emergency departments as access points for teen smoking intervention
Project director: Kimberly A. Horn, Ed.D.
Organization: West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
Project number: AHRQ grant HS10736
Project period: 9/30/00 to 8/31/04
First year funding: $340,069

Teamwork and error in neonatal intensive care
Project director: Eric J. Thomas, M.D.
Organization: University of Texas Medical School, Houston, TX
Project number: AHRQ grant HS11164
Project period: 9/30/00 to 8/31/02
First year funding: $371,132

TIPI systems to reduce errors in emergency cardiac care
Project director: Harry P. Selker, M.D.
Organization: New England Medical Center, Boston, MA
Project number: AHRQ grant HS11200
Project period: 9/01/00 to 8/29/03
First year funding: $466,859

Translating prevention research into practice
Project director: Robert A. Levine, M.D.
Organization: Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN
Project number: AHRQ grant HS11131
Project period: 9/30/00 to 9/29/03
First year funding: $643,021

Translating research: Patient decision support/coaching
Project director: Margaret Holmes-Rovner, Ph.D.
Organization: Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Project number: AHRQ grant HS10531
Project period: 9/30/00 to 11/30/03
First year funding: $615,476

Treatment outcomes for abused women in public clinics
Project director: Janet Y. Groff, M.D., Ph.D.
Organization: University of Texas, Houston, TX
Project number: AHRQ grant HS11079
Project period: 9/30/00 to 8/31/04
First year funding: $473,552

Understanding and eliminating health disparities in blacks
Project director: Barbara Tilley, Ph.D.
Organization: Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC
Project number: AHRQ grant HS10871
Project period: 9/21/00 to 8/31/05
First year funding: $1,600,010

Understanding and reducing native elder health disparities
Project director: Spero M. Manson, Ph.D.
Organization: University of Colorado, Denver, CO
Project number: AHRQ grant HS10854
Project period: 9/30/00 to 9/29/05
First year funding: $1,195,840

Small Grants

Defining risks for chronic disease in spinal cord injury
Project director: Xin Wang, M.S.
Organization: University of Illinois, Chicago, IL
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS11277
Project period: 9/30/00 to 9/29/01
Funding: $32,215

Development and testing of an instrument to assess pain
Project director: Kandyce Richards, B.N., R.N.
Organization: University of Miami School of Nursing, Coral Gables, FL
Grant number: AHRQ Grant HS10788
Project period: 9/30/00 to 9/29/01
Funding: $29,989

Diagnosis of chest pain and care in rural hospitals
Project director: John Westfall, M.D.
Organization: University of Colorado, Denver, CO
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS11003
Project period: 9/30/00 to 9/29/01
Funding: $75,485

Effects of State home Medicare maximization plans
Project director: Wayne Anderson, M.D.
Organization: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS11262
Project period: 9/30/00 to 9/29/01
Funding: $28,910

Efficiency improvements via monitoring in medical groups
Project director: N.M. Molinari, A.B.
Organization: Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS11275
Project period: 9/30/00 to 9/29/01
Funding: $32,400

Employees' responses to report cards about care systems
Project director: Jinnet B. Fowles, Ph.D.
Organization: Institute for Research/Education, Minneapolis, MN
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS10823
Project period: 9/30/00 to 3/31/01
Funding: $61,037

Equating health measures: Testing the practical implications
Project director: Karon F. Cook, Ph.D.
Organization: Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS11040
Project period: 9/30/00 to 9/29/02
Funding: $30,864

Evaluation of a guideline-based decision support system
Project director: David F. Lobach, M.D., Ph.D.
Organization: Duke University, Durham, NC
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS10814
Project period: 9/30/00 to 9/29/01
Funding: $77,000

Evaluating effectiveness of prenatal diabetes education in Pima Indians
Project director: Carolyn M. Smith, M.A.
Organization: University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS10802
Project period: 9/30/00 to 2/28/02
Funding: $29,597

Evaluation of inappropriate psychotropic use in the elderly
Project director: Rajender R. Aparasu, Ph.D.
Organization: South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS10813
Project period: 9/01/00 to 2/28/02
Funding: $66,512

Expectation measurement for persons with hip replacement
Project director: Mary Milidonis, M.M.S.C., P.T.
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS11272
Project period: 9/30/00 to 9/29/01
Funding: $31,980

Factors associated with hospice utilization
Project director: Susan C. Miller, Ph.D.
Organization: Brown University, Providence, RI
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS11004
Project period: 9/30/00 to 9/29/01
Funding: $78,863

Family cares' response to home-tube-fed older adults
Project director: Heidi J. Silver, M.S.
Organization: Florida International University, Miami, FL
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS11276
Project period: 9/15/00 to 9/14/01
Funding: $32,109

For-profit hospital ownership and Medicare spending
Project director: Elaine Silverman, M.D.
Organization: Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Hanover, NH
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS11012
Project period: 9/01/00 to 2/28/02
Funding: $79,500

Improving chronic disease health status and utilization
Project director: Jan L. Wallander, Ph.D.
Organization: University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS10812
Project period: 9/30/00 to 9/29/01
Funding: $71,727

Integration and quality in health networks and systems
Project director: Shannon Mitchell, M.A., M.P.H.
Organization: University of California, Berkeley, CA
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS11271
Project period: 9/30/00 to 9/29/01
Funding: $31,929

Intimate partner violence and pregnancy in primary care
Project director: Meredith Silverstein, M.S.
Organization: University of Colorado, Denver, CO
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS11269
Project period: 9/30/00 to 9/29/01
Funding: $31,398

Lesbians' use of assisted reproductive technologies
Project director: Jacquelyne M. Luce, M.A.
Organization: York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS11266
Project period: 9/30/00 to 9/29/01
Funding: $27,673

Outcomes in spontaneous and iatrogenic multiple pregnancy
Project director: Anne M. Lynch, M.B.
Organization: Kaiser Foundation Research Institute, Oakland, CA
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS10700
Project period: 9/30/00 to 12/31/01
Funding: $62,001

Outcomes of a managed care cost containment strategy
Project director: Mary E. Murray, Ph.D.
Organization: University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS10667
Project period: 9/15/00 to 8/31/02
Funding: $39,217

Patient-defined culturally sensitive health care
Project director: Carolyn M. Tucker, Ph.D.
Organization: University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS10726
Project period: 9/30/00 to 9/29/01
Funding: $71,341

PEAT: Pediatric emergency assessment tool
Project director: Marc Gorelick, M.D.
Organization: Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS11395
Project period: 9/30/00 to 9/29/02
Funding: $38,462

Perinatal health services research
Project director: Douglas Richardson, M.D.
Organization: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS10824
Project period: 9/30/00 to 9/29/01
Funding: $62,411

Prescription patterns and practice for postmenopausal therapy
Project director: Jennifer Miglionico, M.S.
Organization: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS10789
Project period: 9/30/00 to 9/29/01
Funding: $32,158

Respiratory isolation for tuberculosis
Project director: Juan P. Wisnivesky, M.D.
Organization: Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS11393
Project period: 9/30/00 to 9/29/01
Funding: $84,750

Risk selection and Medicare HMOs
Project director: Jason D. Brown, B.A.
Organization: Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS11268
Project period: 9/30/00 to 9/29/01
Funding: $28,054

Spouse involvement in cardiac patients' behavior change
Project director: Tantina B. Hong, M.A.
Organization: Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS11263
Project period: 9/30/00 to 9/29/01
Funding: $31,016

Time to neonatal and postneonatal death in the United States, 1985-1995
Project director: Amanda J. Liddle, M.P.H.
Organization: University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS11259
Project period: 9/30/00 to 9/29/01
Funding: $32,400

Women's expectation of postpartum care in the first week after birth
Project director: Christa Kelleher, B.A.
Organization: Brandeis University, Waltham, MA
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS10790
Project period: 9/30/00 to 2/28/02
Funding: $22,152

Conference Grants

Accelerating change today for America's health
Project director: Henry E. Simmons, M.D.
Organization: National Coalition on Health Care, Washington, DC
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS10754
Project period: 9/30/00 to 8/31/02
Funding: $319,558

Small grant program for conference support
Project director: Charles Bennett, M.D., Ph.D.
Organization: Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS10933
Project period: 9/30/00 to 9/29/01
Funding: $20,000

Small grant program for conference support
Project director: Michael Dale Hagen, M.D.
Organization: University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS10931
Project period: 9/15/00 to 9/14/01
Funding: $20,252

Research to practice conference
Project director: Naomi J. Kuznets, Ph.D.
Organization: AAAHC Institute for Quality Improvement, Wilmette, IL
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS10934
Project period: 9/30/00 to 9/29/01
Funding: $39,929

Techniques for handling bias in health services research
Project director: Kimberly J. Wristers, Ph.D.
Organization: Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
Grant number: AHRQ grant HS10935
Project period: 9/30/00 to 8/31/01
Funding: $19,999

National Research Service Award

Utilization of mental health services by Asian-Pacific Islander Americans
Fellow: Jinah K. Shin, D.N.S.C.
Organization: Columbia University School of Medicine, New York, NY
Grant number: NRSA fellowship F32 HS00149; Kristine M. Gebbie, sponsor
Project period: 1-year fellowship
Funding: $32,416

Return to Contents
Proceed to Next Article