Active Projects
Mayo Clinic Health System Practice-Based Research Network members are currently engaged in these projects:
A retrospective study of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage in adults cared for in a community hospital setting
- Principal investigator: Douglas Chyatte, M.D.
- Recent clinical research has shown that specialized treatments for intracerebral hemorrhage once thought to be effective are no more valuable than careful general medical care. The purpose of this research is to determine in a community acute care hospital setting whether knowledge gaps or other barriers exist to consistently delivering care for these patients in line with current guidelines, as well as compare the effectiveness of guideline-consistent care to other types of management.
Perceived self-efficacy and association with glycemic control in prevalent and incident type 2 diabetics
- Principal investigator: Paul V. Targonski, M.D., Ph.D.
- We are conducting a survey-based study of prevalent and incident diabetes patients to evaluate perceived self-efficacy and competence. This study represents a critical first step in defining approaches to care coordination between provider and patient based on patient characteristics and competencies for self-management.
Community-based educational intervention to reduce obesity and enhance healthy nutritional behaviors in the Hispanic population
- Principal investigator: Paul V. Targonski, M.D., Ph.D.
Our aim is to create an effective, evidence-based obesity educational program for Spanish-speaking Hispanics, with technical support from medical providers but administered by community health workers (CHWs). We are working with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to evaluate acceptability and clarity of heart health, healthy nutrition, and weight-control materials for this population.
We hypothesize that a novel adaptation of NHLBI educational materials in a structured community program will lead to six-month weight loss and improved dietary behaviors, health self-efficacy, and awareness of obesity risks.
Prospective study of community health workers in the Somali community
- Principal investigator: Paul V. Targonski, M.D., Ph.D.
Significant disparities exist regarding the burden of chronic conditions for racial and ethnic minorities. Our goal is to identify effective health care approaches that result in equitable and optimal health outcomes around preventive service delivery and chronic disease management for all our nation's populations.
We aim to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of community health worker (CHW) integration into chronic disease and preventive service management of minority populations versus usual care by medical providers in both traditional and care-management settings.
Water birth safety in a rural hospital
- Principal investigator: Rodney A. Erickson, M.D.
- Water birth is an option slowly gaining acceptance in many areas of the country; however, its safety in low-volume rural practice settings has not been documented. This study performs a retrospective maternal and newborn chart review to compare the outcomes of water births to other low-risk deliveries at a rural hospital. Maternal and newborn charts will be used to compare the outcomes, including maternal infections, neonatal infections and neonatal intensive care unit transfers.
Wilderness medicine training evaluation
- Principal investigator: Rodney A. Erickson, M.D.
Wilderness first-aid training includes basic first-aid skills along with moderately advanced lifesaving skills, which may require complex decision making under stress in a remote environment with few resources. There is little evidence-based literature to support the curriculum or process for training lay caregivers.
The study intends to identify injuries and illnesses that alumni of this course have encountered since taking a wilderness first-aid course — taught by the investigator — to assess the course's usefulness in addressing these problems and solicit advice for improving the course curriculum and modes of instruction delivery.
Improving care for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD): Helping practices implement CKD guidelines
- Principal investigator: Rodney A. Erickson, M.D.
- The Mayo Clinic Health System Practice-Based Research Network is partnering with the Wisconsin Research and Education Network in this two-part study to help practices implement current chronic kidney disease (CKD) guidelines developed by the National Kidney Foundation. Wave I involves 32 practices in four states that will receive performance feedback, educational materials, decision-support tools, a practice facilitator and health information technology support. Wave II will expand the number of practices, adding local learning collaborative meetings and site visits.
TRICEP: Translating information about comparative effectiveness into practice
- Principal investigator: Nilay D. Shah, Ph.D.
This project tests the relative merits of a decision aid for diabetes medications we developed (diabetes medication choice cards) versus usual care (algorithms similar to ones advocated by the American Diabetes Association and International Diabetes Federation) in translating comparative effectiveness research (CER) into a real-world clinical setting.
The goal is to evaluate strategies for incorporating evidence into decision making that can be translated to other conditions and populations, as well as other CER areas.
Illness representations and high-level requirements for a peer-to-peer mentoring program of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus
- Principal investigator: Guillermo Pons, M.D.
Our goal is to determine whether illness beliefs and peer requirements have a relationship to age, gender, past health care costs, glycemic control or disease burden in a population of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus whose social, economic and clinical outcomes have been well defined.
A questionnaire will be used to determine effects of illness perception and focus groups will be used to evaluate the peer-to-peer program.
iADAPT: Translation of comparative effectiveness of depression medications into practice
- Principal investigator: Victor M. Montori, M.D.
- Visual decision aids can help clinicians communicate more effectively with patients when making treatment decisions. This study proposes a literacy-sensitive depression treatment decision aid about antidepressant medicines and a randomized study to estimate the effectiveness of this decision aid on patient knowledge, involvement in decision making and decision-making quality, and medication adherence and mental health when compared with usual care.
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