Clinical Research Oriented Workshop (CROW) Meeting: Jan 6, 2011

Present: Abby Crocker, Kairn Kelley, Amanda Kennedy, Rodger Kessler, Ben Littenberg, Connie van Eeghen

1. Round Table:

a. New spring schedule has started: Thursdays from 2:30 – 4:00.

2. Rodger’s draft: Effects on mental health treatment initiation of incorporating mental health services into primary care practice. This is a draft following edits based on reviewers’ and fellows’ feedback.

a. Second draft includes new data set from a different practice. The Berlin data show who signed up and came (for behavioral health visit), but not who received a referral. In the Aesculapius data set, all three variables are known: referral, appointment, and visit. Therefore, the two data sets are not equivalent. This is a given; there is no ability to add to the data. Results will be re-organized to present data more clearly.

b. Writing has been reduced and, with the use of a single table, conveys its primary message more simply.

c. Eschew obfuscation (see www.SaveTheWords.org) and consider whether site identification is necessary.

3. Other Topics:

a. Rodger will invite Craig Jones to discuss a proposal with the Vermont Blueprint as part of a future Workshop.

b. Reviewed the CTS student roster; Ben’s four mentored students/fellows are part of this group (that includes all participants here today), the rest are invited to attend as available. It may be practically difficult for others to attend but they will always be included if they appear.

c. Round table review:

i. Connie: Amended her most recent protocol to include the substudy she ran under Chuck Hulce’s, as his study is about to terminate. Needs to finish re-planning her analytical approach and do the work. Needs to plan how to get objective confirmation of how data were coded and interpreted. Needs to plan presentation to first case study group. Wants help to evaluate whether such a thing as an “anecdotal control case” is a viable part of the discussion section.

ii. Abby: Continued with VCHIP last semester but ends on Jan 15; needs a new supervisor with FAHC affiliation -> Ben. Amanda and Abby are working on setting up a work group to study academic detailing, with Charlie and others. Also meeting with policy faculty and legislators for increased understanding and advice. Meeting with OB research people Jan 18; clarification of research boundaries underway.

iii. Kairn: Looking at new source for grant funding/fellowship application. Balancing her academic needs with her resources.

iv. Ben: brief review of model on how to have a policy impact: marketing effort, supported by two stories: 1) problem description that motivates change and 2) specific intervention. FBBE: Features, benefits, barriers, and enablers are elements of the problem description. Both the problem and the intervention require a narrative, a language that all parties have access to, and data that support the narrative.

4. Next Workshop Meeting(s): Thursday, 2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m., at Given Courtyard Level 4

a. January 13: Kairn – Start up fellowship application form (Connie late; no Charlie)

b. January 20: Rodger – Review survey distributions for NCQA

c. January 27: Abby – Present analytical plan

d. Future agenda to consider:

i. Rodger: Mixed methods article; article on Behavior’s Influence on Medical Conditions (unpublished)

ii. Future: Review of different types of journal articles (lit review, case study, original article, letter to editor…), when each is appropriate, tips on planning/writing (Abby)

5. Fellows document – to be reviewed in the future.

a. Past meetings: Scheduled in Wednesdays in 2009 and moved to Mondays from May – August 2009; then to Fridays from Sept 2009 – April 2010. Then switched back to Wednesdays, which started May 5, 2010 and continued until August 25, 2010. We returned to Friday meetings on Sept 3, 2010, which continued to Dec 17, 2010. We moved to Thursday meetings on Jan 6, 2011.

Recorder: Connie van Eeghen