Project Design

 

Year-One Project Goal:

To organize the first of two cardiovascular disease (CVD) research development conferences (Conference One) of patients/caregivers, medical/healthcare providers, and other stakeholders

Adopting an interdisciplinary, multi-sectoral approach, the project team will convene one conference for each year of the award contract. Cardiovascular disease patients/caregivers and stakeholders will be invited to participate in identifying research priorities and evidenced-based medical care practices and policies/programs that are specific to the Central Appalachian region. These sought-after conference participants will then guide the design, implementation, and dissemination of a Central Appalachian cardiovascular research agenda.

Pre-conference activities will include: 1) an environmental scan to ascertain current state of CVD research and treatment within the study area; and 2) the formulation of a patient and stakeholder engagement plan. A comprehensive list of service providers and facilities concerned with the delivery of CVD-related healthcare services to residents of the 230 counties that comprise the Central Appalachian region will be compiled. To ensure that patients/caregivers, health systems, physicians and other healthcare providers, payers, health departments, advocacy groups, and policymakers will be involved in all aspects of research agenda development process, pre-conference outreach activities will include the creation of a website and of a robust social media presence for both the dissemination of project information and to encourage project participation. Focus group discussions, surveys, and key informant interviews will be conducted to inform the discussion of the CVD research agenda. Meetings with patients/caregivers and key stakeholders will be documented throughout the project period. 

Objectives Conference One:

  1. Understand the outcomes, risk factors, and interventions that Central Appalachian CVD patients/caregivers and stakeholders want prioritized in a CVD research agenda
  2. Identify and interpret unique issues of health services access/utilization among CVD patients in Central Appalachia
  3. Determine research needs and generate hypotheses that support CVD research development for Central Appalachia.

Year-One Projected Deliverable Outputs:

  • Preliminary Report of Quantitative and Qualitative Data
  • Recorded minutes of pre-conference meetings relevant to the development of a CVD research agenda
  • Completed and submitted manuscript for publication
  • Create website/social media accounts for both dissemination of project information and participant outreach

Year-Two Project Goal:

To organize the second of two cardiovascular disease (CVD) research development conferences (Conference Two) of patients/caregivers, medical/healthcare providers, and other stakeholders

The CVD research agenda for Central Appalachia will be finalized. Additionally, statistical analysis of quantitative data and critical analysis of qualitative data (focus group surveys, individual interviews, etc.) will be completed and synthesized to generate reports and to serve as the basis for manuscripts/journal articles.

Share