Academic Health Centers (academic + health_center)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Academic Health Centers: Leading Change in the 21st Century

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 7 2004
Institute of Medicine
First page of article [source]


Special Report: Identifying Interdisciplinary Research Priorities to Prevent and Treat Pediatric Obesity in New York City

CLINICAL AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE, Issue 4 2010
Dympna Gallagher Ed.D.
Abstract It is well recognized that an interdisciplinary approach is essential in the development and implementation of solutions to address the current pediatric obesity epidemic. In two half-day meetings that included workshops and focus groups, faculty from diverse fields identified critically important research challenges, and gaps to childhood obesity prevention. The purpose of this white paper is to describe the iterative, interdisciplinary process that unfolded in an academic health center setting with a specific focus on underrepresented minority groups of Black and Hispanic communities, and to summarize the research challenges and gaps related to pediatric obesity that were identified in the process. Although the research challenges and gaps were developed in the context of an urban setting including high-risk populations (the northern Manhattan communities of Washington Heights, Inwood, and Harlem), many of the issues raised are broadly applicable. The processes by which the group identified research gaps and methodological challenges that impede a better understanding of how to prevent and treat obesity in children has resulted in an increase in research and community outreach collaborations and interdisciplinary pursuit of funding opportunities across units within the academic health center and overall university. Clin Trans Sci 2010; Volume 3: 172,177 [source]


Capturing the power of academic medicine to enhance health and health care of the elderly in the USA

GERIATRICS & GERONTOLOGY INTERNATIONAL, Issue 1 2004
William R Hazzard
As in Japan, the US population is aging progressively, a trend that will challenge the health-care system to provide for the chronic, multiple and complex needs of its elderly citizens. and as in Japan, the US academic health enterprise has only belatedly mounted a response to that challenge. Herein is reviewed a quarter of a century of the author's personal experience in developing new programs in gerontology and geriatric medicine from a base in the Department of Internal Medicine at three US academic health centers (AHC): The University of Washington (as Division Head), Johns Hopkins University (as Vice-Chair), and Wake Forest University (as Chair). Rather than to build a program from a new department of geriatrics, this strategy was chosen to capture the power and resources of the department of internal medicine, the largest university department, to ,gerontologize' the institution, beginning with general internal medicine and all of the medical subspecialties (the approach also chosen to date at all but a handful of US AHC). The keystone of success at each institution has been careful faculty development through fellowship training in clinical geriatrics, education and research. Over the same interval major national progress has occurred, including expanded research and training at the National Institute on Aging and the Department of Veterans Affairs, and accreditation of more than 100 fellowship programs for training and certification of geriatricians. However, less than 1% of US medical graduates elect to pursue such training. Hence such geriatricians will remain concentrated at AHC, and most future geriatric care in the USA will be provided by a broad array of specialists, who will be educated and trained in geriatrics by these academic geriatricians. [source]


The conceptualization and operationalization of race and ethnicity by health services researchers

NURSING INQUIRY, Issue 2 2008
Susan Moscou
Racial and ethnic variables are routinely used in health services research. However, there is a growing debate within nursing and other disciplines about the usefulness of these variables in research. A qualitative study was undertaken (July 2004 , November 2004) to ascertain how researchers conceptualize and operationalize racial and ethnic data. Data were derived from interviews with 33 participants in academic health centers in differing geographic regions. Content analyses extracted manifest and latent meanings to construct categories depicting respondents' understandings of race and ethnicity in research. Race and ethnicity held several meanings but the subtext was often not clear because these terms were not operationalized. Measuring race and ethnicity quantitatively necessitated uniform classifications thus it was often necessary to impose a single racialized identity. Respondents recognized the problems with racial and ethnic variables but the majority still believed these variables were necessary and useful. Several researchers understood that racial and ethnic variables were used in ways that may stigmatize the populations studied. These respondents collected data on variables other than race and ethnicity to ascertain the causes of health differentials. The policy recommendation calls for a shift in thinking about how to use racial and ethnic variables in research. [source]