Organizational Profile

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OrganizationalProfile
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CHERP

• CHERPs mission is to reduce disparities and
  promote equity in health and health care among
  vulnerable groups of veterans and other Americans
• Two Sites
• Pittsburgh VA Health System
• Philadelphia VA Medical Center

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CHERP Investigators

• Multidisciplinary group of health services
  researchers with expertise in quantitative and
  qualitative research
• psychometrics, biostatistics, database analysis,
  epidemiology, econometrics, medical anthropology,
  psychology, sociology, technology assessment, and
  policy analysis

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2001-2002 CHERP Gains Momentum

• Core faculty increased from 31 to 36
• 736,341 in core funding from VA HSRD
• 897,000 in core support from local VAMCs, VISN,
  and academic affiliates
• Over 13 million in extramural funding in FY 2002
• 113 presentations at national scientific meetings
• 99 peer-reviewed papers, 2 books, and 14 chapters
  
• 12 pilot projects on health disparities funded

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Current CHERP Research Topics (1 of 2)

• Racial Variation in Utilization of Preventive
  Services within the VHA (Long, Ling)
• Does VHA Site Affect Race Related Clinical
  Outcome Differences among Veterans? (Polsky,
  Volpp)
• Cardiac Procedure Use in Patients with and
  without Alcohol Use Disorders (Conigliaro,
  Oslin)
• An Illustrated Patient Satisfaction Tool for Low
  Literate Veterans (Asch, Shea)
• Challenges of Informed Consent at the End of Life
  (Casarett)
• Health Access and Outcomes and Ethnicity (Ibrahim)

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Current CHERP Research Topics (2 of 2)

• Alcohol Addiction Among HIV /- Aging Veterans
  (Justice)
• Diabetes and Socioeconomic Status (Long)
• Depression and Alcohol Use (Oslin)
• Statistical Approaches to Account for Missing
  Race Data (Stone)
• Standardized Definitions of Race, Ethnicity,
  Culture, and Socioeconomic Status within the VA
  (Stone)
• Conceptual Models of Health Disparities (Switzer,
  Shea)

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Pilot Project Program

• Goal is to promote research that serves mission
• 2002 pilot funds available
• 100,000 from VA Stars and Stripes Healthcare
  Network
• 30,000 from VA HSRD core funds
• 75,000 from VA HSRD Locally Initiated Projects
• 2003 pilot funds available
• 100,000 from VA Stars and Stripes Healthcare
  Network
• 10,000 from VA HSRD core funds

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Funded Pilot Projects (1 of 2)

• Are there racial differences in oral antibiotic
  use in the VA?
• How can end-of-life services be made more
  ethnically appropriate?
• What are the racial and ethnic variations in
  joint replacement utilization within the VA?
• To what extent are there racial differences in
  depression management?
• Do provider-patient communications about prostate
  cancer risk differ depending on race?

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Funded Pilot Projects (2 of 2)

• Adjusting for selection bias
• Improving a symptom assessment scale for patients
  with end-stage renal disease
• Examining the interplay between social
  environment and diabetes management
• Exploring the generalizability of health
  disparities research conducted within the VA

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Collaborative Relationships

• University of Pittsburgh Center for Minority
  Health, EXCEED, EXPORT, and Summit
• University of Pennsylvania Center of Excellence
  for Diversity in Health Education and Training,
  EXPORT
• Other local and national VA Centers of Excellence

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Training Programs

• VA Office of Academic Affairs
• Associated Health Professions Postdoctoral
  Fellowship Program in Health Services Research
• Postdoctoral Fellowship Program in Medical
  Informatics
• General Internal Medicine Fellowship Training
  Programs
• Women's Health Fellowship Training Program

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Training Programs, continued

• University of Pennsylvania
• Summer Undergraduate Minority Research Program
• General Medicine Clinician-Educator Fellowship
• Robert Wood Johnson Health Society Scholars
  Program
• Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program
• University of Pittsburgh
• Clinical Research Training Program