CHWS/RHRC
RHRC at NRHA Rural Health Policy Institute –
Eric Larson and Davis Patterson attended the National Rural Health Association’s annual Rural Health Policy Institute February 2-5, 2015, in Washington, DC. This meeting is an opportunity for NRHA members to meet with federal lawmakers and representatives of CMS, HRSA and the VA to discuss current federal rural health policy issues. This year, considerable attention was devoted to a new wave of rural hospital closures and possible policy responses.
Joint CHWS/RHRC activities –
Several CHWS and RHRC staff attended the Northwest Regional Rural Health Conference March 17-19, 2015 in Spokane, WA. Holly Andrilla and Davis Patterson presented findings from several research studies (listed below).
Sue Skillman and Davis Patterson presented a webinar based on several RHRC and CHWS studies, “Experiences Using the National Provider Identifier (NPI) for Health Workforce Research,” on March 25, 2015. The webinar is part of a series for the Health Workforce Technical Assistance Center based at the Center for Health Workforce Studies at the State University of New York, Albany.
International MSRTP Student
David Veith, a first-year student in the UW School of Medicine, received a Medical Student Research Training Program (MSRTP) award to travel to Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy this coming summer (CTUMP). The MSRTP program is designed to introduce students to research under the guidance of faculty mentors. David will be working with Dr. Tam Thi Pham, Vice Rector and Dean, Faculty of Public Health, CTUMP, conducting qualitative research on barriers to hypertension screening and treatment in Viet Nam. His UW faculty advisor is Annette Fitzpatrick (FM Research Section).
Tobacco Studies
The International Quitline Institute (IQI) team, co-directed by Abigail Halperin (UW) and Ken Wassum (Alere Health), conducted a one-day pre-conference workshop and main session symposium at the World Conference on Tobacco or Health (WCToH) in Abu Dhabi March 17-21st. The workshop, Optimizing Reach and Effectiveness of Tobacco Quitlines, was focused on two crucial aspects of developing and improving effective quit lines: Training counselors to provide evidence-based treatment of tobacco dependence, and creating protocols for providing cessation services, including the intake and registration process, order and content of counseling calls, developing individualized quit plans, and providing education and decision support for approved cessation medications, among others. The symposium, Increasing Reach and Effectiveness of Tobacco Cessation Services Via Quitlines and Provider Training, provided real-world examples from several low and middle-income countries of how quitlines can be integrated into national tobacco control strategies and health care systems to reduce tobacco use prevalence, and how providers and tobacco treatment specialists (TTS) are trained and programs accredited.
Women’s Health
Funding –
The UW Division of Family Planning is finalizing funding for a placebo-controlled study evaluating the treatment of heavy or prolonged bleeding among new Copper IUD users with naproxen sodium. Dr. Emily Godfrey is leading this research and collaborating with colleagues from the UW Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Stroger Hospital of Cook County, IL. This study plans to recruit new Copper IUD users from Northgate, Hall Health and Roosevelt WHCC clinics. Participants will be treated for three consecutive menstrual cycles with naproxen sodium, followed by one month without treatment. Participants will respond to texts with reports of daily bleeding. This study aims to determine if simple treatment with over-the-counter naproxen can improve heavy or prolonged menstrual bleeding reported by new Copper IUD users. For more information about this study, contact Emily Godfrey, godfreye@uw.edu.
WPRN
2015 annual meeting prepares the WWAMI region Practice and Research Network for pragmatic clinical trials –
At the 2015 WWAMI region Practice and Research Network (WPRN) annual meeting on March 4th, Rowena Dolor, MD, MHS, of Duke University Medical Center and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, gave a keynote address on the Opportunities and Challenges of Conducting Pragmatic Trials in Practice Based Research Networks (PBRNs). Pragmatic trials are randomized controlled trials designed to test the effectiveness of interventions in ‘real world’ clinical practice. Dr. Dolor has extensive experience with pragmatic clinical trials and provided guidance for how the WPRN can prepare for successful engagement in this type of research. Her address garnered much enthusiasm and excitement for moving in this direction. For more information about the WPRN please contact Gina Keppel (gakeppel@uw.edu).
Rural Health Conference
Sophie Cain Miller
