Grant application outcomes for biomedical researchers who participated in the National Research Mentoring Network's Grant Writing Coaching Programs.

BackgroundA diverse research workforce is essential for catalyzing biomedical advancements, but this workforce goal is hindered by persistent sex and racial/ethnic disparities among investigators receiving research grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In response, the NIH-funded National Research Mentoring Network implemented a Grant Writing Coaching Program (GCP) to provide diverse cohorts of early-career investigators across the United States with intensive coaching throughout the proposal development process. We evaluated the GCP's national reach and short-term impact on participants' proposal submissions and funding outcomes.MethodsThe GCP was delivered as six similar but distinct models. All models began with an in-person group session, followed by a series of coaching sessions over 4 to 12 months. Participants were surveyed at 6-, 12- and 18-months after program completion to assess proposal outcomes (submissions, awards). Self-reported data were verified and supplemented by searches of public repositories of awarded grants when available. Submission and award rates were derived from counts of participants who submitted or were awarded at least one grant proposal in a category (NIH, other federal, non-federal).ResultsFrom June 2015 through March 2019, 545 investigators (67% female, 61% under-represented racial/ethnic minority, URM) from 187 different institutions participated in the GCP. Among them, 324 (59% of participants) submitted at least one grant application and 134 (41% of submitters) received funding. A total of 164 grants were awarded, the majority being from the NIH (93, 56%). Of the 74 R01 (or similar) NIH research proposals submitted by GCP participants, 16 have been funded thus far (56% to URM, 75% to women). This 22% award rate exceeded the 2016-2018 NIH success rates for new R01s.ConclusionInter- and intra-institutional grant writing coaching groups are a feasible and effective approach to supporting the grant acquisition efforts of early-career biomedical investigators, including women and those from URM groups

Grant application outcomes for biomedical researchers who participated in the National Research Mentoring Network’s Grant Writing Coaching Programs

Background: A diverse research workforce is essential for catalyzing biomedical advancements, but this workforce goal is hindered by persistent sex and racial/ethnic disparities among investigators receiving research grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In response, the NIH-funded National Research Mentoring Network implemented a Grant Writing Coaching Program (GCP) to provide diverse cohorts of early-career investigators across the United States with intensive coaching throughout the proposal development process. We evaluated the GCP’s national reach and short-term impact on participants’ proposal submissions and funding outcomes. Methods: The GCP was delivered as six similar but distinct models. All models began with an in-person group session, followed by a series of coaching sessions over 4 to 12 months. Participants were surveyed at 6-, 12- and 18-months after program completion to assess proposal outcomes (submissions, awards). Self-reported data were verified and supplemented by searches of public repositories of awarded grants when available. Submission and award rates were derived from counts of participants who submitted or were awarded at least one grant proposal in a category (NIH, other federal, non-federal). Results: From June 2015 through March 2019, 545 investigators (67% female, 61% under-represented racial/ethnic minority, URM) from 187 different institutions participated in the GCP. Among them, 324 (59% of participants) submitted at least one grant application and 134 (41% of submitters) received funding. A total of 164 grants were awarded, the majority being from the NIH (93, 56%). Of the 74 R01 (or similar) NIH research proposals submitted by GCP participants, 16 have been funded thus far (56% to URM, 75% to women). This 22% award rate exceeded the 2016–2018 NIH success rates for new R01s. Conclusion: Inter- and intra-institutional grant writing coaching groups are a feasible and effective approach to supporting the grant acquisition efforts of early-career biomedical investigators, including women and those from URM groups.</p

Medication Discrepancies upon Hospital to Skilled Nursing Facility Transitions

BACKGROUND: Failure to reconcile medications across transitions in care is an important source of harm to patients. Little is known about medication discrepancies upon admission to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence of, type of medications involved in, and sources of medication discrepancies upon admission to the SNF setting. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS: Patients admitted to SNF for subacute care. MEASUREMENTS: Number of medication discrepancies, defined as unexplained differences among documented medication regimens, including the hospital discharge summary, patient care referral form and SNF admission orders. RESULTS: Of 2,319 medications reviewed on admission, 495 (21.3%) had a medication discrepancy. At least one medication discrepancy was identified in 142 of 199 (71.4%) SNF admissions. The discharge summary and the patient care referral form did not match in 104 of 199 (52.3%) SNF admissions. Disagreement between the discharge summary and the patient care referral form accounted for 62.0% (n = 307) of all medication discrepancies. Cardiovascular agents, opioid analgesics, neuropsychiatric agents, hypoglycemics, antibiotics, and anticoagulants accounted for over 50% of all discrepant medications. CONCLUSIONS: Medication discrepancies occurred in almost three out of four SNF admissions and accounted for one in five medications prescribed on admission. The discharge summary and the patient care referral forms from the discharging institution are often in disagreement. Our study findings underscore the importance of current efforts to improve the quality of inter-institutional communication

Fighting off the big guys: comparing competitive retail services strategies in industrialized and developing world settings

Retail competition, Developing economies, Retail strategy,

Alignment of parent- and child-reported outcomes and histology in eosinophilic esophagitis across multiple CEGIR sites.

BACKGROUND:Patient-reported outcome metrics for eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) have been developed and validated but not used in a multicenter pediatric population or systematically aligned with histology. OBJECTIVE:We sought to understand (1) the potential of caregiver report to predict patient self-reported symptoms and (2) the correlation of patient-reported outcome domains with histology. METHODS:Patients with EoE (n = 310) and their parents participating in the Consortium of Gastrointestinal Eosinophilic Disease Researchers (CEGIR) observational clinical trial were queried for baseline patient symptoms and quality of life (QOL) by using the Pediatric Eosinophilic Esophagitis Symptom Score, version 2 (PEESSv2.0), and the Pediatric QOL EoE module (PedsQL-EoE), and biopsy specimens were analyzed by using the EoE Histology Scoring System. RESULTS:PEESSv2.0 parental and child reports aligned across all domains (r = 0.68-0.73, P &lt; .001). PedsQL-EoE reports correlated between parents and children across ages and multiple domains (r = 0.48-0.79, P &lt; .001). There was a tight correlation between symptoms on PEESSv2.0 and their effects on QOL both on self-report and parental report (P &lt; .001). Self-reported symptoms on PEESSv2.0 (positively) and PedsQL-EoE (inversely) showed a weak correlation with proximal, but not distal, peak eosinophil counts and features and architectural tissue changes on the EoE Histology Scoring System (P &lt; .05). CONCLUSIONS:Parents of children with EoE aged 3 to 18 years accurately reflected their children's disease symptoms and QOL. Self- and parent-reported symptoms correlate with proximal esophageal histology. Our data suggest that parental report in young children can function as an adequate marker for self-reported symptoms and that self-reported symptoms can reflect changes in tissue histology in the proximal esophagus. These findings should be considered during clinical trials for drug development