In addition to teaching at the Colorado School of Public Health, our faculty also conduct research and are experts on a variety of topics. Faculty are currently involved in a broad range of research areas including health outcomes, health economics, medicaid/medicare, drug safety and risk management, and vaccine delivery. Check out our faculty experts page to learn more about our research areas.
Research Highlights:
Telehealth Care Management and Tobacco Cessation for Veterans with PTSD
Project Summary: Veterans smoke at a higher rate (30%) than the U.S. adult population (21%), and veterans with PTSD have even higher rates of smoking (53-66%). Evidence has shown that any tobacco dependence treatment strategy must be integrated in the health care system because consistent and effective delivery of tobacco cessation requires coordinated interventions. Persistent tobacco users typically cycle through multiple periods of relapse and remission. Veterans with PTSD (279,256 in 2005) who are treated for smoking cessation may need more comprehensive aid to be successful. Failure to appreciate the chronic nature of tobacco dependence may impede comprehensive and consistent treatment. Care management using telehealth has been shown to improve access to care while reducing costs for veterans with chronic diseases and has the potential to coordinate smoking cessation with care for other chronic diseases. Nurses have successfully managed chronic diseases using telehealth by focusing on increasing self-management, positive behaviors and knowledge.
This study is designed to determine if adding motivational counseling and care management using the PTSD Health Buddy to usual care improves smoking quit rates of veterans with PTSD. Specific Aims are to compare: 1) self-reported quit attempts, progression through the stages of change, and quit rates, 2) patient perception of care coordination, and 3) changes in PTSD symptoms in veteran smokers with PTSD who receive a nurse-driven telephonic motivational counseling intervention triggered by responses to stage-based smoking cessation questions in addition to usual care to those who receive usual care only.
Faculty: Cathy Battaglia
Evaluation of Vaccination Reminder/Recall Systems for Adolescent Patients
Project Summary: Although patient reminder/recall systems have been shown to be effective at improving vaccination coverage levels for infants and younger children, little is known about the effectiveness of such systems for increasing immunization rates in adolescent populations. The process of reminder/recall in adolescents, and vaccination of adolescents overall, presents particular challenges. Adolescents are less likely to routinely access health care compared to younger children and adults. In addition, other obstacles such as lack of health insurance, missed opportunities for vaccination during health care visits, and the scattering of immunization records across multiple providers have posed major challenges in the vaccination of adolescents. Issues of parental consent for vaccination can also be problematic, given that adolescents may present for care without their parents accompanying them. These and other barriers to immunization may reduce the effectiveness of reminder/recall for adolescents.
In the current research study, a study team with extensive experience in immunization delivery research will investigate the ability of pediatricians and family physicians in a number of different practice settings to implement a reminder/recall system for their adolescent patient populations. In addition, we will be able to examine the effectiveness of reminder/recall originating at public school-based health centers, an innovative strategy that has not previously been reported. Randomized controlled trials of reminder/recall for adolescents will be conducted at each type of site. The study team will track important process measures during reminder/recall including the percentage of the eligible population who actually received intervention; percentage with incorrect addresses; percentage with incorrect or disconnected phones; percentage actually up-to-date but incorrectly recalled; missed vaccination opportunities; and invalid doses of vaccines administered. In this way, we will be able to not only determine the degree to which reminder/recall was successful for adolescents, but also identify impediments to success, which will provide a foundation for future efforts. Our study will also investigate the cost of establishing and operating a reminder/recall system for adolescents in each type of clinical setting.
Faculty: Allison Kempe & Judith Glazner