Current Projects

Biobehavioral Prevention and Control Training Program

The mission of the Biobehavioral Cancer Prevention and Control Training Program is to train public health researchers, health services researchers, and health policy analysts in biobehavioral and outcomes research, communications, and practice outcomes as applied to cancer prevention and control.

The National Cancer Institute

5 year training grant

http://depts.washington.edu/bcpt

Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System -- Phase II: HIV Clinical Outcomes

Using a nationally distributed cohort of HIV-infected individuals in routine clinical care, this project extends PROMIS validation work to those with HIV, an important, understudied patient population that includes large numbers of underserved, African-Americans, minorities, women, and persons with disabilities. In addition to key validation work for domains most useful for clinical care, this proposal addresses technical problems and barriers of routine PRO assessment in clinical care, and advances the use of PRO assessments for clinical care and applied research in clinical settings.

The goal of this project is to improve medical care processes and patient outcomes in clinical practice settings using routine collection of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) administered by computerized adaptive tests (CATs).

• Detailed Aims on the Project Page . . .

Lymphatic Malformation Function Assessment

Lymphatic malformations (LM) are masses of abnormal lymphatic channels that most commonly involve the head and neck, occurring 1/2- 4,000 live births. Development of an evidence base for LM can be aided through standardized questions directed to the patient and/or their caregiver that measure how treatment affects daily functions, such as breathing, speaking and eating. There is no other way to measure the impact these malformations have on function before or after treatment, as the only current measure of treatment success is lesion ablation. This is inadequate, as the majority of LMs cause continued morbidity and are never completely "cured." Getting the patient or caregiver perspective on what is important is a critical adjunct to clinical assessment.

The purpose of this project is the establishment of a standardized patient, parent, and clinician-reported assessment system for use in assessing treatment outcomes and for decision-making regarding treatment.