Strategies

Recognizing the predominant clinical and teaching duties of our pediatric generalists and specialists, the CAHRDS unit exists to maximize departmental scholarly productivity. This productivity will occur through CAHRDS-initiated projects and other faculty-initiated projects. The following strategies will be broadly applied and customized to meet the needs of the Department and individual faculty members:

1. We will seek opportunities to collaborate with other scientists within the Department, School of Medicine, University, and outside universities to strengthen the scientific expertise available to address important research questions.
2. We will support faculty needs for scholarly activities through individualized plans that may include the following types of support:

Domains of Research and Effort to Be Developed by the Unit

 The CAHRDS Unit will work to establish research activities in the following domains:

1. Comparative effectiveness studies (e.g., What interventions are most effective for which individuals under specific conditions?)
2. Economic/cost analysis studies (e.g., Can we deliver high quality care with less cost or resource use? What is the best option when costs to systems and patients of various types are considered?)
3. Patient-centered outcomes (e.g., What outcomes matter to patients and families, in terms of quality of life and how health providers interact with them? How do we help patients adopt behaviors that prevent disease or adhere to regimens that reduce the progression or impacts of disease?)
4. Medical informatics, including decision support (e.g., How can we provide physicians with ready access to information specific to their patient at the point of care to make effective and cost effective treatment plans?)
5. Implementation/Dissemination research (e.g., How do we implement new recommendations effectively within a particular system of health care?  What types of communication to and education of providers is required to accomplish needed change?)
6. Epidemiological and other studies of risk factors for disease and opportunities for prevention
7. Quality improvement analyses, including patient safety, focusing both on local issues and broad questions for which solutions identified in Louisville will be useful in other centers across the country
8. Medical education research (e.g., How can content and technology be combined to improve physician learning at all levels of training and practice? What are the best proportions of multiple facets of curriculum design for specific content areas, including patient simulation)
9. Outcomes research (e.g., local investigator-initiated, prospective studies that involve direct contact with patients, with or without retrospective components, that seek to answer questions impacting health outcomes.