Grants Awarded

A 1-year, $124,558 grant from the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF). Major goals: The major goal of this project is to evaluate the utilization and experience of the Samaritan technology platform. Samaritan contracted with CHCF to coordinate care with a team of locally based care coordinators (MedPOINT). This emerging technology supports people experiencing homelessness to receive incentives for adhering to specified medical guidelines, education, and navigation across clinical and community-based services. This mixed-method evaluation will use data from Samaritan, MedPOINT, and safety net health care clinics to determine the return on investment and programmatic improvements. The Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute lead investigator is Melissa Trapp Petty.

Evidence-Based Practice Center Review: Health Benefits of Breastfeeding Among Children (Refinement Stage)

A 2-year, $241,929 grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Major goals: To support the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force by conducting and completing a systematic review on the currently contracted topic. The Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute lead investigator is Nora Henrikson.

Estimating the Prevalence of Medication Side Effects for People Starting Antidepressants

A 1-year, $340,657 grant from Sage Therapeutics Inc. Major goals: Estimate the prevalence of medication side effects for people starting antidepressants. The Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute lead investigator is Robert Penfold.

Health Systems Node of the NIDA Clinical Trials Network — Collaborative Care Interventions for Polysubstance Use in Primary Care Settings (Co-CARE Study)

A 2-year, $99,828 grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Major goals: We plan a 2-phase study in primary care settings, including federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and FQHC-type clinics. While the study design and methodologic issues will be finalized during protocol development, the overall plan is as follows. In phase 1 (approximately 1 year), we will plan, develop, and refine a treatment model, and pilot test its feasibility and acceptability. During this phase, we will consider and integrate intervention components from various NIDA, HEAL (Helping to End Addiction Long-term), and mental health studies, and gather stakeholder input. In phase 2 (approximately 4 years), the team will conduct a randomized controlled efficacy-effectiveness trial with approximately 60 primary care providers (PCPs) and 500 adult primary care patients, utilizing a cluster-randomized design (PCPs being the unit of randomization). The multipronged collaborative care intervention will target patients with current unhealthy opioid and polysubstance use (that is, concurrent opioid and stimulant, sedative, or alcohol use). The Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute lead investigator is Katharine Bradley.

Obesity, Chemotherapy Dosing, and Breast Cancer Outcomes

A 2-year, $218,410 grant from the National Cancer Institute. Major goals: The major goals of this proposal are to characterize patterns of chemotherapy administration post-toxicity, and evaluate how patient-, provider-, and facility-level factors affect chemotherapy administration (and, ultimately, the dose intensity subsequent to toxicity). To address these questions, we will leverage the rich, real-world chemotherapy data of the Optimal Breast Cancer Dosing (OBCD) Study, which has collected detailed data to evaluate whether chemotherapy dose reductions mediate the associations between obesity and adverse breast cancer outcomes. The Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute lead investigator is Erin Bowles.

University of Washington Suicide Care Research Center (UWSCRC) — Core

A 5-year, $25,003 grant from the National Institute of Mental Health. Major goals: This practice-based suicide prevention research center is focused on improving suicide care for adolescents and young adults in outpatient medical settings by enhancing the therapeutic alliance and increasing the self-efficacy of all involved parties (for example, providers, patients, family members). The methods core will provide research infrastructure to the research projects, including common data elements and a data repository harmonized with electronic health records. The Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute lead investigator is Julie Richards.

University of Washington Suicide Care Research Center (UWSCRC) — Project

A 5-year, $77,283 grant from the National Institute of Mental Health. Major goals: The major goals of this project include co-design and pilot testing the Aeschi Model in Collaborative Care to intervene at the short-term risk management, treatment, and follow-up steps on the suicide care pathway for adolescent and young adult patients ages 13 to 30 years old. The Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute lead investigator is Julie Richards.