Thursday, May 26, 2022

Clinical Research Oriented Workshop (CROW) Meeting: May 26, 2022

 

Present:   Justine Dee, Juvena Hitt, Ben Littenberg, Charlie MacLean, Jen Oshita, Adam Sprouse-Blum, Connie van Eeghen (7)

 1.                   Warm Up: Jen had a good experience at a workshop/conference related to Implementation Science, but the speech and hearing professional organization declined to participate, losing out on great tools and infrastructure.

2.                   Jen’s Manuscript “Nationally Representative Prevalence of Communication Disabilities Among Community Dwelling, Older Adults in the US.” Jen has had difficulty getting it published. The current theory is that there is no modeling, it is a basic prevalence and descriptive paper comparing older adults with communication disabilities, to those without.  Last rejected by Disability and Health. She is going to submit to Journal of Communication Disorders this round. May be of interest to an epidemiological journal.  Jen’s two questions for the group are:

a.       Intro: Does the framing of the introduction fit and justify publication of this paper, or does it seem to overstate what I am doing?  Is “just prevalence” too lean a topic? Looks at Communication Disabilities (CDs) as a whole, not as many separate conditions/issues.

                                                   i.      Why care: government entities/insurance cos making policy; provider/organization operationalizing better patient care

                                                 ii.      Elderly population is growing, so this issue will grow too

                                               iii.      Good topic; important too

b.       Discussion: Is the comparison of findings to prior literature helpful? Since the comparisons are uneven, I wonder if it is more distracting than helpful.

                                                   i.      Start this section with the third sentence

                                                 ii.      Our study produced different results from the limited comparators, probably due to different measures

1.       Explain the differences, don’t explain similarities

2.       This is an important part of the Discussion section

3.       We note that patients with CDs also have lower access, social supports… and may need additional supports beyond those that specifically address their CDs

c.       Other

                                                   i.      Main message of the paper is in tables and figures.  The two tables are almost the same; can it be one table?  Main message: what is the size of this population and what are the implications for organizations caring for this population. Accommodations vary by CD subgroup, except that they all require documentation. “We need to know what’s out there in order to respond to it.”

                                                 ii.      A target population of 1m people is also large enough to attract attention and invite investment.

                                               iii.      Figures

1.       Recheck numbers

2.       Consider making circle sizes match the proportion of the values they represent

3.       Why Figure 2?  Removes people that have already been identified with cognitive impairment and thereby likely already receiving services. Should the text and figure focus on those that can be helped at the institutional policy level – not high need individuals? Consider reviewing and addressing only in the results section.  Match to the main message and stay consistent.

                                               iv.      Consider tests of significance between subgroups

3.                   Next week:  TBD

Recorded by: CvE

Wednesday, May 25, 2022

FW: Telehealth Advances in the COVID-19 Era - an NNE-CTR Seminar this Friday, May 27th from 12-1pm

Good morning, everyone,

 

This week’s NNE-CTR Seminar Series is featuring a talk on “Telehealth Advances in the COVID-19 Era”, and it is one you won’t want to miss! Hosted and moderated by Dr. Charlie MacLEan, Associate Dean for Primary Care at the Larner College of Medicine at UVM, he will be joined by Dr. Alexa Craig, Neonatal & Pediatric Neurologist at MaineHealth, Dr. Tracy Jalbuena, Clinical Lead for Telehealth at Maine Health, and Dr. Matthew Siket, Associate Program Direct for the UVM EM Residency Program.

 

Join us as this panel of experts talk about some recent advances in their respective fields, and best practices in training us all to work with telehealth systems.

 

Telehealth Advances in the COVID-19 Era

Friday, May 27th, 12-1pm

Join Zoom Meeting

https://uvmcom.zoom.us/j/99224763994

 

Please feel free to share this announcement and meeting link with your colleagues!

 

Thank you,

 

 

Sheila Clifford-Bova

 

 

University of Vermont

Larner College of Medicine

Biochemistry Department

B420 Given Hall

Burlington, VT  05405

Tuesday, May 24, 2022

Job Posting - UVM Center on Rural Addiction

 

From Gail- 

There are some job openings with the UVM Center on Rural Addiction www.uvmcora.org . I’d like to get the word out in case anyone knows people who might be interested in applying.







Wednesday, May 11, 2022

FW: Science Communication Training for Faculty, Post-Docs, and Graduate Students - June 21 & 22, 2022

 

Please join us for a two day workshop on June 21 - 22 at the University of Vermont - Register now to secure your spot!


Dear Colleagues:

 

As part of a research study on effective science communication, my colleagues and I are offering free science communication training opportunities. Participants will learn how to communicate with audiences about the value and importance of their work as well as science more generally.


*****************************************************************************


*        WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?

We are conducting the study at George Mason University and the University of Vermont.

 

Any faculty member, post-doctoral researcher, or graduate student is welcome to participate.


*        WHAT PARTICIPANTS WILL BE ASKED TO DO

(1) Complete a few short surveys about science communication. Additional information will be sent to participants once they register for the study.


(2) Meet with us virtually to record a short video of you discussing your research or a science topic of your choosing. This recording will be kept confidential. Additional information will be sent to participants once they register for the study.


(3) Participate in one of three types of training to which you will be randomly assigned. Additional information will be sent to participants once they register for the study. Trainings will be in-person, and all university-related COVID protocols will be observed.


BENEFITS PARTICIPANTS WILL RECEIVE

In addition to the personal and societal benefits associated with science communication training, participants will receive financial compensation based on the group to which they are assigned.


*        PLEASE HELP PROMOTE THIS STUDY

Please circulate this message to graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, and faculty colleagues at your institution.

 

Register now to secure your spot!
 

     *        TO REGISTER: https://gmuchss.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_a9NOecNXyaH1Tb7

 

Thank you for reading and considering this invitation. If you have questions about this study, please contact Dr. Chris Clarke at cclark27@gmu.edu

Sincerely,

 

Chris Clarke - Associate Professor, Department of Communication; cclark27@gmu.edu

Katherine Rowan – Professor Emerita, Department of Communication; krowan@gmu.edu

Xiaoquan Zhao – Professor, Department of Communication; xzhao3@gmu.edu

Thalia Goldstein – Associate Professor, Department of Psychology; tgoldste@gmu.edu

 

Department of Communication

George Mason University

Fairfax, VA

[IRBNet number: 1555681-1]

 

For general information, you may also contact:
 
epscor@uvm.edu
 
Christopher Koliba, Ph.D.
Director, Office of Engagement
Associate Director, VT EPSCoR
 
Susanmarie Harrington, Ph.D.
Professor of English
Director of Center for Teaching and Learning and UVM Communicates

 

 


   



Thursday, May 5, 2022

Abigail Crocker promoted to Associate Professor

Congratulations to Abigail Miles Crocker, PhD, CTS alumna and current core faculty member on her promotion to Associate Professor of Mathematics and Statistics!  This is a major milestone and very well-deserved, indeed. Well done, Abby!



Wednesday, May 4, 2022

FW: REDCap Training Opportunities

Dear LCOM Researchers and Research Staff,

 

We are inviting you and your colleagues to participate in REDCap training. REDCap is a free and secure web-based application for building and managing online surveys and databases.

There are two levels of this training, Basics and Advanced, please see the descriptions below.

After each class there will be an opportunity for participants to ask questions or come with their project specific questions.

 

If you or someone you know are interested in learning more about the innovations of using REDCap for research at this institution, we invite you to register for one of the upcoming trainings.

 

These trainings will take place via Zoom. Pre-registration is required. Once you are registered, you will receive a confirmation email with your unique log in for the meeting, please save this information to facilitate logging into the workshop the day of the event.

Please do not share your unique link as it is registered specifically to you.

 

REDCap Basics class will cover the following topics:

REDCap Intro, logging in, creating projects, creating survey/database, online designer, creating fields/field types, action tags, record status dashboard, adding and editing data/records, data exports/reports, data imports, adding users to project/user rights, production mode.

Basics will be an hour of material with 15 minutes for questions at the end.

 

REDCap Basics will be held on the following dates:

  • May 18th, Noon - 1:15pm
  • June 22nd, Noon - 1:15pm
  • August 3rd, Noon - 1:15pm
  • September 7th, Noon - 1:15pm

 

Advanced Class* will cover the following topics:

Data dictionary/XML project upload/copying and downloading projects, codebook, advanced branching logic, piping, action tags, embedding, smart variables, longitudinal setup/events, repeatable instruments, survey queue, advanced survey setup (invitations, survey log, and automated survey invitations), scheduling module, randomization, alerts/notifications, logging, DAGs, data quality, external modules.

Advanced will be 1.5 hours with 15 minutes for questions at the end and will include a data dictionary for the users to upload to save time/practice with that feature.

*(Note - this class is for individuals who have taken the Basics class or who have been using REDCap for an extended length of time. The pace is quick and assumes you have a solid knowledge of the basics)

 

REDCap Advanced will be held on the following dates:

  • June 1st, Noon - 1:30pm
  • July 20th, Noon - 1:30pm
  • August 24th, Noon - 1:30pm
  • September 28th, Noon - 1:30pm

 

Classes will be limited to 15 participants to ensure that the individuals in the class get the most from the trainings.

 

We will record both classes and post the links to the recorded trainings on our REDCap Resources page.

 

Additionally, our REDCap Administrator, Tripp, will start weekly “Office hours” where he will be available via zoom and our researchers/research teams can virtually “stop by” to ask REDCap related questions, general or project specific..

Information about these office hours will also be available on our REDCap Resources page.

No time limit per person, first come first served on the call.

 

Office hours will be held Friday’s, 8-11am , May 6th through September 30th, except 6/17, 6/24, 8/19 and 9/23.

 

Best, Kim & Gordon

 

Kimberly Luebbers, MSHS, RN, BSN, OCN®
Assistant Dean for Clinical Research

Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont 
Director - Office of Clinical Trials Research

Administrative Director – Clinical Research Center

 

Gordon L. Jensen, M.D., Ph.D.

Senior Associate Dean for Research

The Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont

Director of Research, University of Vermont Health Network