SEATTLE-Group Health Research Institute is the new name of Group Health Center for Health Studies. Since 1983, it has been doing research to improve health and health care for all. The Institute is the research arm of Group Health Cooperative, and it is changing its name to reflect this relationship more clearly.
"Our connection to Group Health is among our greatest strengths," said Eric B. Larson, MD, MPH, the Institute's executive director. "It lets our researchers conduct independent studies on a large, stable population in everyday clinical and community settings. That's exactly the kind of research our country needs to solve the pressing problems of balancing health care quality, cost, and access."
Among the Institute's main aims is providing scientific evidence for effective, affordable care-which aligns with the federal government's recent call for more "comparative effectiveness research." That means figuring out how well tests, treatments, and preventive actions work in real clinical settings.
"We've been doing comparative effectiveness research since before it had a name," said Group Health psychiatrist Greg Simon, MD, MPH, also a senior investigator at Group Health Research Institute.
Dr. Simon was awarded the Institute's first stimulus grant. He is using it to research treatment for depression that is more effective. The Institute recently heard that other researchers have been awarded $2 million in more grants as part of the federal stimulus funds from ARRA, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009:
- Karen J. Sherman, PhD, MPH, senior investigator, will see how alternative treatment for muscle and bone problems affects health care quality, use, and costs, with a grant of more than $600,000.
- Beverly B. Green, MD, MPH, affiliate investigator, and Carolyn M. Rutter, PhD, senior investigator, will study screening for colon cancer, with grants totaling nearly $700,000.
- Jennifer McClure, PhD, associate investigator, will develop a program to promote the oral health of people quitting smoking, with a grant of more than $400,000.
- Katherine M. Newton, PhD, senior investigator, will explore risk factors for atrial fibrillation, the common irregular heartbeat, with a grant of more than $200,000.
The Institute has applied for several more large stimulus grants and expects word of funding in coming weeks.
Although the institution's name is changing, its operations will stay the same. Nearly all its funding will still come from grants from federal agencies and foundations, such as the Commonwealth Fund and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The Institute will keep conducting non-proprietary, public-interest research and sharing it with the public through medical journals, scientific presentations, the media, and other channels. And it will keep studying ways to improve health care and help Group Health members and others stay healthy and active.
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