Webinar on Improving Communications in Diabetes – Innovative Approaches

Research evidence shows that clinical outcomes for chronic illnesses such as diabetes can be improved with effective communication, which is also vital to closing care gaps for racial/ethnic disparities. AcademyHealth is hosting a webinar to highlight communication interventions and the need for cross cultural communication competency in diabetes care on Tuesday, November 12, 2013, 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. EST. More information on the webinar is available by clicking here and registration is available here.

Objectives for the webinar include recognizing the role of shared decision making in the management of chronic diseases such as diabetes, and looking at how data on outcomes associated with shared decision making can improve care delivery. The webinar is free for AcademyHealth members and $250 for non-members.

An INQRI study published earlier this year in the Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice, and conducted by a research team led by Robin Whittemore and Alana Rosenberg, underscored the difficulties of ensuring adherence to diabetes prevention programs and highlighted the need for culturally relevant programs for public housing residents, including behavioral and psychosocial support.

AcademyHealth: Tuesday

If you are at AcademyHealth today, be sure to check out this INQRI presentation today:
 
Poorer Outcomes in Hospitals with High Concentrations of Black Babies are related to Inferior Nursing Resources 
E.T. Lake, D. Staiger, J. Horbar, M. Kenny, T. Patrick, J. Rogowski
Tuesday, June 25: 11:30 AM

AcademyHealth: Monday Events

If you are at AcademyHealth today, be sure to check out these INQRI presentations today:
 
Patient and Nurse Discharge Readiness Assessments and Return to Hospital 
M. Weiss
Poster Session: B
Monday, June 24: 9:45 AM - 11:15 AM

Scaling Up Qualitative Methods for Translational Research 
S. Tavernier
Poster Session: B
Monday, June 24: 9:45 AM - 11:15 AM

Testing Strategies to Improve Pain Care Quality in U.S. Hospitals 
S. Beck
Poster Session: C
Monday, June 24: 6:45 PM - 8:15 PM

AcademyHealth: Sunday Events

If you are at AcademyHealth today, be sure to check out these INQRI presentations today:
 
Implementation Science and Health System Interventions 
M. Titler, R. Newhouse, B. Mittman, A. Harris
Sunday, June 23: 4:30 PM

Nurse Workforce Characteristics and Quality of Care in Department of Veterans Affairs Community Living Centers 
M. Uchida
Poster Session: A
Sunday, June 23: 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM

AcademyHealth: Saturday Events

If you are at AcademyHealth today, be sure to check out these INQRI presentations today:

Poorer Outcomes in Hospitals with High Concentrations of Black Babies are related to Inferior Nursing Resources 
E.T. Lake, D. Staiger, J. Horbar, M. Kenny, T. Patrick, J. Rogowski
Health Disparities Interest Group Meeting, Saturday, June 22: 2 PM

The Role of Nurse Education for Patient Outcomes and Costs of Hospitalization 
O. Yakusheva
Interdisciplinary Research Group on Nursing Issues Interest Group Meeting, Saturday, June 22: 3:35 PM - 4:50 PM

INQRI at AcademyHealth

This weekend, scholars from across the country will be gathering in Baltimore for the 2013 Annual Research Meeting (ARM). We are pleased to announce that once again, INQRI will be well-represented at the meeting as several of our teams will be presenting on their INQRI-funded projects. We are also thrilled to congratulate Susan Tavernier, a member of Susan Beck's INQRI team, who has been chosen as a recipient of the 2013 Presidential Scholarship for New Health Services Researchers at this year's meeting.

If you are attending ARM this year, be sure to check out these presentations:

Invited Session 

Implementation Science and Health System Interventions 
M. Titler, R. Newhouse, B. Mittman, A. Harris
Sunday, June 23: 4:30 PM

Podium Presentation 

Poorer Outcomes in Hospitals with High Concentrations of Black Babies are related to Inferior Nursing Resources 
E.T. Lake, D. Staiger, J. Horbar, M. Kenny, T. Patrick, J. Rogowski
Tuesday, June 25: 11:30 AM and Health Disparities Interest Group Meeting, Saturday, June 22: 2 PM

The Role of Nurse Education for Patient Outcomes and Costs of Hospitalization 
O. Yakusheva
Interdisciplinary Research Group on Nursing Issues Interest Group Meeting, Saturday, June 22: 3:35 PM - 4:50 PM

Poster Presentations 

Nurse Workforce Characteristics and Quality of Care in Department of Veterans Affairs Community Living Centers 
M. Uchida
Poster Session: A
Sunday, June 23: 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM

Patient and Nurse Discharge Readiness Assessments and Return to Hospital 
M. Weiss
Poster Session: B
Monday, June 24: 9:45 AM - 11:15 AM

Scaling Up Qualitative Methods for Translational Research 
S. Tavernier
Poster Session: B
Monday, June 24: 9:45 AM - 11:15 AM

Testing Strategies to Improve Pain Care Quality in U.S. Hospitals 
S. Beck
Poster Session: C
Monday, June 24: 6:45 PM - 8:15 PM

Reflecting Back: INQRI Special Issue of Medical Care

Anne Sales PhD, RN, Deputy Editor, Medical Care

A few months ago, Medical Care published a special issue, reporting on several of the 40 projects funded through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Interdisciplinary Nursing Quality Research Initiative (INQRI) program. This edition represents a milestone in the ongoing journey of studying and reporting on the relationship between nursing care and outcomes for patients, providers, and systems of care. As the papers in this special issue highlight, there have been consistent improvements in methods and findings, leading to a better understanding of how nursing care contributes and is valued.

As this year’s AcademyHealth meeting draws near, I am reminded of my initial experience with this work. One of the gathering places for the research community where RWJF senior program officer Lori Melichar described the INQRI program in its early days was the Interdisciplinary Research Group on Nursing Issues (IRGNI), a special interest group organized through AcademyHealth. Several of the researchers on the interdisciplinary teams funded through INQRI were members of IRGNI, and used the annual IRGNI meetings at each AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting to develop relationships and build teams. Since its inception, INQRI funded a number of highly leveraged and valuable collaborations, extending and building the community of researchers who engage in nursing health services and intervention research.

The degree to which the INQRI program has fostered a true community of researchers who are likely to continue their collaborations and research foci long after the end of the program was evident during the program’s 2012 national conference. The authors of the papers took the opportunity provided during the event to talk with each other, present their ideas to stakeholders, and use these interactions to develop their ideas.

After several months of working with the authors of each paper, and the individuals who provided valuable feedback through the review process, I think the collection of papers in this special issue achieve the purpose of celebrating the life of an important and valuable funding program, but also provide benchmarks for assessing progress in several areas of interdisciplinary research focusing on nursing care. I think it’s important to contextualize these papers in a wider context than a single funding program, no matter how valuable and important that program has been. The review of nursing research at the beginning and end of the INQRI program provides some evidence of changes over this period. However, it is important to note that similar progress can be seen in other countries and other interdisciplinary areas. The focal area of implementation research, commented on in some papers in this issue, has grown considerably over this period, and nurse researchers have continued in leading roles in this work, as they have in the period before the term “implementation research” came into wide use. INQRI’s special issue of Medical Care highlights much of this work, and introduces some new themes and findings. As implementation research grows and expands into new areas, staying current can be a challenge. I invite readers to take a look at the April special issue of the International Journal of Nursing Studies as well, to get a sense of how nurse researchers in other countries are involved in similar work, and extending our knowledge about how nursing contributes to improved services and systems around the world.

Recently, I noted that the IRGNI group has posted their agenda for the upcoming meeting. I was pleased to find that things have gone full circle, as I realized that INQRI grantee (and contributor to this special edition), Olga Yakusheva is one of the presenters. Clearly, the impact of this work continues.

Call for Abstracts: AcademyHealth Research Meeting

The AcademyHealth 2013 Annual Research Meeting (ARM) call for abstracts is now open. With a significant portion of the conference agenda selected through the call for abstracts process, the ARM is an opportunity for researchers to share important findings with policymakers and providers who can move the research into action.

Abstracts are invited for four categories: call for papers, call for posters, call for research panels, and call for policy roundtables.

AcademyHealth seeks abstracts on 18 themes reflecting a variety of critical areas of study in health services research, as well as proposals for panels that present research or discuss key health policy topics. Abstracts submitted to the call for papers will also be considered for publication in JAMA and HSR.

Submit to the call for abstracts by January 17 to be considered for presentation at the 2013 ARM, June 23-25 in Baltimore. Details on the specific theme topics, submission criteria, and instructions can be found online.

INQRI at AcademyHealth's Annual Research Meeting

With the AcademyHealth annual research meeting kicking off this weekend, we wanted to recognize all of the INQRI scholars who will be participating in this year's event.  If you have the chance, be sure to check out their presentations.

In the meantime, though, join us in congratulating INQRI National Advisory Committee member,
Elizabeth McGlynn from Kaiser Permanente, who will be receiving the Distinguished Investigator Award.

Sunday, June 24

MEET-THE-EXPERTS STUDENT BREAKFAST 8:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m. 
Three INQRI grantees will participate:

• Shoshanna Sofaer 
• Joel Cantor 
• Peter Buerhaus 

"The Science of Quality Improvement: A Focus on Networks" 9:00 a.m.–10:30 a.m.
Featuring INQRI grantee: Jill Marsteller, Johns Hopkins University, "Scale-up and Spread: Lessons from the Keystone ICU Project and Beyond"


"CAHPS, Yelp, and Beyond: Using Patient Input to Measure Quality" 4:30 p.m.–6:00 p.m.
Chaired by INQRI grantee: R. Adams Dudley, Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies at UCSF

Monday, June 25

"Doing Research Differently: The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute's Mission, Priorities and Funding Opportunities" 8:00 a.m.–9:30 a.m.
PCORI Panelists include INQRI grantee Robin Newhouse, University of Maryland School of Nursing

"Nurse Practitioners, Physicians and the Provision of Primary Care in the United States" 8:00 a.m.–9:30 a.m.
Featuring INQRI grantee Peter Buerhaus, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, "National Primary Care Health Workforce Supply and Policy"

Student Papers  9:45am–11:15am
Chaired by INQRI grantee: Robin Newhouse, University of Maryland School of Nursing

"Methodology Committee of the PCORI: 2012 Proposed Standards, Implications and Future Directions" 11:30am–1:00pm
Chaired by INQRI grantee: Robin Newhouse, University of Maryland School of Nursing

"Promises and Pitfalls of Consumer Use of Publicly Available Quality Information" 11:30am–1:00pm
Roundtable Panelists include INQRI grantee: Shoshanna Sofaer, Baruch-CUNY

"Impact of Reform Initiatives: Early Evidence"  3:00pm–4:30pm
Featuring INQRI grantee: Joel Cantor, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, "Did the Affordable Care Act’s Dependent Coverage Provision Expand Health Insurance Coverage for Young Adults?"

"Approaches to Quality Improvement" 5:00pm–6:30pm
Chaired by INQRI grantee: Patricia Stone, Columbia University

Tuesday, June 26 

"Measurement and Evaluation in Improvement Science" 8:00am–9:30am
Featuring INQRI grantee: Robin Newhouse, University of Maryland School of Nursing, "A Phased RCT of Rural Hospitals Testing a Quality Collaborative to Improve Heart Failure Care: Organizational Context Matters"

"The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA): Research Priorities"  9:45am–11:15am
Roundtable Panelists include INQRI grantee: Ira Moscovice, University of Minnesota

"Mixed Methods in Health Services and Policy Research - Expanding the Range of Uses"  11:30am–1:00pm
Chaired by INQRI grantee: Shoshanna Sofaer, Baruch College-CUNY
Roundtable Panelists include INQRI grantees: Robin Newhouse, University of Maryland School of Nursing; Kathleen Stevens, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

"How Provider-Related Factors Impact Care" 11:30am–1:00pm
Featuring INQRI NAC member: Linda Aiken, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, "Impact of Nurse Staffing and Nurse Education on Surgical Mortality in Europe"

INQRI at AcademyHealth

This year, INQRI grantees will be well-represented at AcademyHealth's Annual Research Meeting.  If you are in Seattle, be sure to check out these presentations and events:

Sunday, June 11

5:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.

The AcademyHealth Interdisciplinary Research Group on Nursing Issues (IRGNI) Interest Group will be meeting in the Sheraton Seattle's Willow Room on June 11, prior to the Annual Research Meeting. Join health services researchers, policy professionals, and practitioners during this year’s IRGNI Meeting to hear research presentations and engage in discussion on related topics.  INQRI grantee Patricia Stone will chair this year's meeting which will feature INQRI director Mary Naylor speaking about a new research opportunity and a panel on Comparative Effectiveness Research, featuring INQRI grantees Mary Blegen, Robin Newhouse and Nancy Dunton.

Sunday, June 12

9:00 a.m.–10:30 a.m.

A New Research Agenda on the Future of Nursing in America
Convention Center Room 4C-4

Chaired by Lori Melichar, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Senior Program Officer for the INQRI program.  Panel includes INQRI director Mary Naylor.  In this session, panelists will assess the changes underway and examine the research gaps exposed by a recent IOM report on the Future of Nursing. Two speakers will focus on changes in roles of nurses that are currently underway and two speakers will discuss the need for monitoring and evaluation. The session will conclude with a discussion of new research priorities for the field.

11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

Controversies and Innovations in Quality Measurement Convention Center Room 611

The panel includes INQRI grantee Jack Needleman.

Primary Care and the "Medical Neighborhood"
Convention Center Room 617

This panel includes INQRI director Mary Naylor.
2:30 p.m.–4:00 p.m.

POSTER SESSION A
Convention Center 4 A/B (Level Four)

“Twenty-Four/Seven: Nurse Perspectives of Off-Shift Care” – Pamela de Cordova, a doctoral student from the INQRI team led by Patricia Stone and Ciaran Phibbs.

“Exploring Infection Prevention: Policy Implications from a Qualitative Study” – May Uchida, a doctoral student from the INQRI team led by Patricia Stone and Ciaran Phibbs.

Monday, June 13

9:45 a.m.–11:15 a.m.

POSTER SESSION B
Convention Center 4 A/B (Level Four)

“Development and Validation of a Model for Predicting Present-on-Admission in Estimates of Failure to Rescue” – INQRI grantees Marcelline Harris, Jack Needleman and team.

“Measures of Discharge Preparation in Cardiac Patients” – INQRI grantee Marianne Weiss.

11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m.

Caring for Complex Patients: Understanding Barriers to and Facilitators of Effective Management
Convention Center Room 611

This panel includes INQRI grantee Ciaran Phibbs.

3:00 p.m.–4:30 p.m.

Implementation Context: Measuring and Understanding Differential Performance
Convention Center Room 617

This panel is chaired by INQRI grantee Jill Marsteller.

4:45 p.m.–6:15 p.m.

Transitions Across and Within Long-Term Care Settings
Convention Center Room 609/610

This panel includes INQRI grantee Gerri Lamb.

Tuesday, June 14

8:00 a.m.–9:30 a.m.

Integrating Qualitative and Quantitative Methods
Convention Center Room 605/606

This panel is chaired by INQRI grantee Shoshanna Sofaer.

9:45 a.m.–11:15 a.m.

State and Regional Efforts to Improve Quality and Efficiency
Convention Center Room 607

This panel includes INQRI grantee Patricia Stone.

Free Webinars from AcademyHealth

This fall, AcademyHealth is pleased to offer a special collection of free webinars on open data initiatives, disparities research, and public health systems and services research. Log in, register, and let the learning begin. It’s a free for fall!

This collection of methods and policy webinars is free to all participants, thanks in part to series sponsors the Kaiser Permanente Institute for Health Policy (Data Innovations Series), the Aetna Foundation (Disparities Research Series) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (PHSR). Separate registration is required for each. To learn more, visit www.academyhealth.org/training.

Data Innovations Series

The Role of HSR in Stimulating and Supporting Open Data Initiatives & Innovations, Part II
Thursday, November 4
1:00–2:30 p.m. ET
(View a recording of Part I)
Register

Disparities Research Webinar Series: Policy-Related Topics

The Affordable Care Act (Part II): Section 4302 and Implications for Data Collection
Faculty: David Meyers, M.D., Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; José Escarce, M.D., Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles/RAND
Thursday, November 18, 2010
1:00–2:30 p.m. ET
Register

Upcoming Events:

AcademyHealth's Health Reform Orientation

For three and a half days this October, AcademyHealth will host an orientation that features "an in-depth introduction to the key players, formal and informal policymaking processes, and critical health policy issues."  The orientation will be held October 25-28 in Washington, D.C. and will be organized in small-classroom format to allow a one-to-one ratio of faculty to participants.

Program objectives:

• To learn the fundamentals of health policy development and implementation.
• To gain an understanding of the Washington health policy environment and its players.

 Click here to learn more and register.

AcademyHealth ARM 2010 Materials Now Available

If you missed AcademyHealth's Annual Research Meeting this week (or just want to go back and download all of those INQRI grantee presentations), check out the materials which are now available online:

All session slides are available for download.

Plus, check out the daily summaries, which highlight key events during the conference:

Sunday, June 27
Monday, June 28

INQRI Grantees at AcademyHealth 2010

We are pleased to share with you the schedule of INQRI grantees who will be presenting at the AcademyHealth meeting this year. These sessions provide a wonderful representation of INQRI’s work. If you are attending the Annual Research Meeting, we encourage you to attend these sessions.

Robyn Cheung (University of Pennsylvania) will chair a panel entitled, “The Interdisciplinary Health Workforce – Needs, Work Environments, and Supply.”
Sunday, 4:15 p.m. – 5:45 p.m. – Room 203

R. Adams Dudley (University of California, San Francisco) is a panelist for a session entitled, “Measuring Clinical Performance: The Path Forward.”
Monday, 9:45 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. – Room 210

Robin Newhouse (University of Maryland School of Nursing) will chair a panel entitled, “Hospital-Based Systems Redesign.”
Monday, 9:45 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. – Room 202

Jack Needleman (University of California, Los Angeles) will chair a panel entitled, “Missing Data in Longitudinal Studies: Models and Sensitivity Analyses.”
Monday, 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. – Room 202

Ying Xue (University of Rochester) will chair a panel entitled, “Nursing Process of Care and Job Experiences.” Joining her on the panel will be fellow INQRI grantee Olga Yakusheva (Marquette University).
Monday, 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. – Room 313

Dennis Scanlon (Pennsylvania State University) will chair a panel entitled, “Realistic Evaluation of Complex Programs: Using Mixed Methods to Uncover Lessons for Health Policy and Practice.”
Tuesday, 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. – Room 304

R. Adams Dudley (University of California, San Francisco) will chair a panel entitled, “Incentives for Providers: Long-Term Impact and Unintended Consequences.”
Tuesday, 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. – Room 202

Douglas Wholey (University of Minnesota) is a panelist for a session entitled, “Health Reform and Delivery System Organization.”
Tuesday, 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. – Room 311

National Health Policy Conference - Sponsored by AcademyHealth and Health Affairs

February 8-9, 2010
JW Marriott, Washington, D.C.

The National Health Policy Conference (NHPC), hosted by AcademyHealth and Health Affairs, provides clarity on the critical health care issues and priorities for the upcoming year. Now in its tenth year, the NHPC continues to deliver a program with insider perspectives from health policy leaders to an audience of more than 800 that includes researchers, policy experts, and advocates, who all share your concerns and interests.

Click here to read the agenda.
Click here for information on adjunct meetings.
Click here to register.