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Current Studies

These studies are currently in the patient recruitment/data collection phase.

Evaluation of AAFP METRIC (Measuring, Evaluating, and Translating Research Into Care) with AAFP PEF (Practice Enhancement Forum) Program

The goal of this study is to determine whether practices that have participated in METRIC or PEF have changed practice systems or processes and improved intermediate outcomes of care. Study physicians will be compensated for time and expenses associated with the study.

The study compares 3 groups:

  1. METRIC
  2. PEF
  3. Control/standard care
Physicians can select either asthma, CAD, or diabetes to focus on in the study.

Physician must be able to provide a list of his/her patients with selected condition that meet eligibility criteria. Participants in METRIC or PEF will complete the programs as required. When completed, practices will be asked to pull and review 30-40 patient charts during a given period of time. Practices will be reimbursed for pulling and reviewing charts. In addition, the participating physician and his/her microteam will complete three brief surveys in addition to those required by METRIC or PEF. Participants in the standard care group will not complete METRIC, PEF, or another related quality improvement project during the study period, but will complete study assessments and chart reviews.
Benefits of participating in this research include:
  • Obtaining Research CME credits (in addition to those given for METRIC/PEF participation)
  • Receiving reports comparing your practice to other practices on readiness to change and other study outcomes
  • The opportunity to generate evidence regarding the effectiveness of 2 Quality Improvements programs that have not yet been evaluated
  • Practice Stipend:
    • $400 for participating in the METRIC group or standard care group
    • $200 for participating in the PEF group
  • Program Stipend:
    • $1500 per practice for PEF-associated costs (PEF only)
    • $25 for METRIC registration cost
  • Data Collection Stipend:
    • For providing list of eligible patients with selected condition
    • For either copying/redacting or complete chart reviews for 30-40 patients with illness associated with METRIC module
Interested in participating? Please take our brief survey.

If you and your practice are interested in participating, want to learn more about the project, or just have questions or comments, please contact one of the following AAFP staff:

Brian Manning, MPH, Project Manager (bmanning@aafp.org)
Angie Lanigan, MPH, Co-project Manager (ameers@aafp.org)
James M. Galliher, PhD, Principal Investigator (jgallihe@aafp.org)

You may also reach the staff at 800-274-2237, extensions 3179, 3173, or 3170.

Site selection will begin in the late summer and early fall of 2008.

Americans in Motion - Healthy Intervention (AIM-HI)

The AIM-HI project will study the effects of brief counseling and novel physiological measures on patients' physical and emotional health. Funded by a grant from the PepsiCo Foundation, AIM-HI will enroll 24 practices into a randomized controlled trial of the interventions. Visit the AIM-HI study Web page, or read an article about AIM-HI in AAFP News Now.

Translating Research into Postpartum Depression Care

This project, a subcontract with Olmsted Medical Center and funded by AHRQ, will examine screening tools and the effectiveness of these tools when screening for post-partum depression in the family physician's office.
Studies
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