BACKGROUND/RATIONALE:
HSR&D Career Scientist awards are intended to support accomplished VA investigators who make exemplary contributions to the VA health services research enterprise, including exercising leadership and mentoring the next generation of VA HSR&D investigators. As such, it is a privilege to have the opportunity to use the skills and expertise I have acquired as a VA health services researcher to not only continue my own research related to patient safety and management of complex, chronic conditions but also support the work of junior investigators and collaborators across VHA to improve the health and health care of Veterans.

OBJECTIVE(S):
The objectives of this award are to use my clinical, content and methodological expertise to: 1) obtain funding, conduct, publish and disseminate high quality research (with two primary areas of focus, patient safety and management of complex chronic conditions); 2) train/mentor early career investigators (particularly in the use of qualitative and mixed-methods and implementation research); 3) work with colleagues and collaborators across the VA; and 4) serve on VA committees and panels (local and national) to support VA research and care delivery.

METHODS:
My research career and focus builds on my clinical background as a nurse, my multidisciplinary health services research training (with concentrations in health economics, research methods and epidemiology) and the interest and expertise I have acquired in the use of qualitative methods and implementation research. Indeed, applying mixed-methods and implementation research techniques to better understand and ultimately improve care delivery with respect to safety, quality and effectiveness has been and continues to be a consistent theme of my research. This includes research designed to reduce risk of harm related to commonly used devices among hospitalized patients, improving infection prevention practices and reducing disease transmission, and improving health care personnel communication. Likewise, I am actively involved in a number of projects focusing on better management of chronic back pain including large-scale implementation work as part of the Improving Pain-Related Outcomes for Veterans (IMPROVE) QUERI program. My mentorship activities similarly focus largely on providing guidance on qualitative, implementation and mixed-methods research across a variety of clinical domains and involve working with both clinician and non-clinician early investigators. I am currently a member of on various VA work groups and committees, locally and nationally, including serving on the leadership council for the VA Ann Arbor Center for Clinical Management Research (CCMR) and as co-director of the CCMR research core, and the VA Ann Arbor Clinical Research Mentorship Program.

FINDINGS/RESULTS:
Not yet available.

IMPACT:
My continuing focus on developing, evaluating and implementing strategies to ensure the safety of hospitalized Veterans has led to tangible improvements in patient care, such as a reduction in rates of catheter-associated urinary tract infection. Moreover, my work related to improving management of Veterans with complex health conditions, such as chronic musculoskeletal pain, continues to play an important role in improving care delivery and health outcomes for Veterans. Finally, my commitment to ensuring the rigorous application of qualitative and mixed-methods and implementation research approaches both in my own work as well as those for whom I serve as a mentor is important in developing and ensuring the application of high-quality evidence to optimize care delivery and outcomes across the VA health care system.

PUBLICATIONS:
None at this time.

DRA: Health Systems Science
DRE: none
Keywords: Capacity Building
MeSH Terms: none