Thomas Cook, Ph.D. - US grants

This project will investigate muscular fatigue as a causative factor in low back injuries with the long-term objective of better evaluating, treating, and preventing low back disabilities. The aims of this project are: (1) during a continuous, repetitive, fatiguing lifting task, to describe the changes which occur in the instantaneous fatigue state of muscles of the low back and in selected kinematic and kinetic features of lifting; and (2) during this same lifting task, to determine the relationship between fatiguability and the fiber composition of the muscles of the low back. Thirty normal subjects will undergo a screening medical examination, and lift strength testing. Under direction of computer controlled visual and auditory cues, each subject will then work at a repetitive lifting task having load and frequency parameters which are known (from psychophysical studies) to be fatiguing. During repetitive lifting the following variables will be monitored: (1) flexion/extension motion of the lumbar spine; (2) vertical acceleration of the load; and (3) myoelctrical activity from five locations over the paraspinal muscles. The task will continue until predetermined fatigue criteria are reached (or the subject requests to discontinue the experiment). Following testing, fiber composition of the low back muscles will be determined by muscle biopsy. Data analysis will consist of determining the relationships among the variables as stated in the specific aims.

The proposed multidisciplinary graphics design laboratory (MGDL), provides terminal-based, interactive instruction in courses of five academic departments: Industrial, Electrical, Mechanical, Biomedical and Engineering Core. The facility includes ten high-resolution workstations, and twenty-five medium-resolution terminals, networked to a Digital Equipment Corporation, VAX 4000 central computer, with its supporting disc memory and interconnect peripherals. The applications software chosen for the MGDL provides advanced analysis, design, and graphic visualization capability and has the greatest impact on the upper level, design course instruction, and on the special senior research/design program. The MGDL's capabilities are also used to assist high school teachers in upgrading their technical skills and knowledge of modern engineering laboratories and educational methods.

The purpose of the Cognitive/Functional Assessment and Ergonomics Core is to enable gerontological nurse researchers and scientists in other disciplines to examine cognitive and functional status and patterns of disability in both institutionalized (acute and long term care) and community dwelling elderly and to evaluate the outcomes of specific clinical interventions for older adults using a highly sophisticated, state-of-the-art multidimensional approach to functioning. The Core will also provide a training ground in cognitive/functional assessment and bioinstrumentation for faculty and graduate students from the College of Nursing's master's program in gerontological nursing, the Rural Health Geriatric Nurse Practitioner program, doctoral students in aging research, and staff who will be implementing research utilization projects and for data collectors in the currently funded research projects. Participants will learn and practice assessment skills as well as conduct their own research using Core resources, while working with other students and faculty in engineering, physical therapy, leisure studies, and medicine to establish interdisciplinary programs of training and research.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the most common cause of death in the United States. Studies have demonstrated there are predisposing risk factors for CVD morbidity and mortality in the American population. Among these risk factors are obesity and sedentary life style. Overweight and physical inactivity are behavioral and potentially modifiable components that place people at risk for CVD. Behavioral risk factors associated with CVD, specifically overweight and inactivity, begin during childhood and form the backdrop for CVD in adulthood. Nursing has a mandate to promote cardiovascular health, but population-based contextually rich nursing interventions must first be developed. To accomplish this, the candidate will pursue a career development training program consisting of advanced knowledge in nutrition and physical activity (energy balance) as a method to promote primary cardiovascular health in children; will gain knowledge and experience in quantitative research methods appropriate to population-based interventions. The training will be applied to a research study on energy balance in children. The framework for the study is an "ecological" approach that views the school-age child in context of school and family. The purpose of the study is to pilot test the feasibility of conducting a community-based intervention program directed to improving cardiovascular health promoting behaviors of elementary school children. This study will form the basis for an R01 submission.

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant) This two-day workshop (follow-up to previous workshop in September 2000) will be held at the Epona Hotel in Horta-Bagy, Hungary, from September 6 - 8, 2002. It has the following goals: (1) to raise the level of understanding about agriculture and its relationship to rural health, occupational health and the environment in Central Europe, specifically to the Slovak and Czech Republics, Hungary, Poland, and the Ukraine; and (2) to facilitate collaborative research and intervention activities between participating countries and within countries. In order to achieve this goal, the following objectives have been established. A. To bring together key policy makers, leading researchers, educators, NGOs and for the purpose of understanding the occupational and environmental health issues that specifically impact rural populations of Central and Eastern Europe. B. To focus on four key health issues related to rural occupations and environment that were identified September 2000, and evaluate ongoing collaborative research and intervention programs. C. To discuss and plan strategies for effective public health interventions for rural populations, and evaluate the need to upgrade epidemiologic tools. D. To establish a database of research projects and intervention initiatives that can be shared among the participating countries.Invited delegates will be researchers, high-level policy makers from the ministries of health, agriculture and the environment, public health officials, academics, and non-governmental organizations with interests in rural populations and the environment. In addition to Central-Eastern-European delegates, the conference will include selected agricultural health and safety experts from Finland, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands; rural and environmental health professionals from Wales, the World Health Organization and the US; representatives of USEPA, the USAID, and the US National Cancer Institute.Main topics will be Occupational cancer; Allergic diseases (respiratory and skin), Reproductive problems Traumatic injury, Environmental health aspects of pesticides exposure, and special issues related to minority populations.

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The specific aims of this project are to: (1) Encourage ten undergraduate, graduate and health professions students who are from health disparities populations to pursue careers in basic science, biomedical, clinical, and behavioral health research fields; (2) Broaden the training of these students from health disparities populations to encompass international health issues; (3) Assist these students to participate in collaborative research initiatives with U.S. and international faculty; and, (4) Seek innovative approaches to address problems and/or hindrances associated with closing health disparities gaps. Using the combined resources of the University of Iowa's Initiative for Minority Student Development Program (Iowa Biosciences Advantage Program) and the University's Center for International Rural and Environmental Health we will offer a program of 10-week short-term international research training opportunities for qualified eligible students each summer for four years. The Iowa Biosciences Advantage Program will be a feeder program to identify eligible undergraduate students. Eight trainees will be undergraduate students and two will be graduate or professional students and all will be from populations that are underrepresented in the basic sciences, biomedical, clinical or behavioral research career fields. [unreadable] [unreadable] MHIRT trainees will be offered research training opportunities at foreign institutions in Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Romania where we have collaborative relationships that have been developed over the last nine years through a Fogarty International Center training and research grant. These countries in Central/Eastern Europe present excellent opportunities to learn about issues related to health disparities populations. We will use new capabilities in Information and Communications Technology to assist in matching, monitoring, and evaluating trainees' international research training experiences in these countries. In this proposed program, MHIRT training is viewed as part of a comprehensive program of nurturing and developing individuals from health disparities populations to become productive biomedical and behavioral health researchers. [unreadable] [unreadable]

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant) This project continues the University of Iowa's multi-level International Training and Research Program in Occupational and Environmental Health (ITREOH) in an expanded number of developing democracies in Central and Eastern Europe. This program will build upon previous investments in research and training capacity at collaborating institutions in Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia, to further develop a network of centers of excellence in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, and Romania. The proposed program model is based on our previous experience in the region and takes advantage of new developments in information and communications technology. The primary capacity building activity will be (5-month) intermediate-term training of 25 early- and mid-career professionals at the University of Iowa. Cost-effective "short-term-equivalent" distance education training in environmental and occupational health will be provided to several hundred scientists and health professionals from throughout the region using real-time, internet-based web-conferencing technology. The core of this short-term distance training will be two 15-week Global Forums on environmental and occupational health held each year for the five year duration of the project. Centers of excellence will be developed and strengthened by the increased knowledge and skills of returning trainees, by 20-25 small collaborative research projects, by widespread participation in global forums, and by participating in and co-hosting an annual Network Institute meeting. The transition of trainees to positions of responsibility and influence will be facilitated by recognition of their expertise and leadership through organizing and conducting short courses/workshops at the annual ITREOH Network Institute, by support for participation in scientific meetings and conferences, and by publishing and presenting the results of ongoing research. Research results will be translated into public health practice through the above-mentioned short courses/workshops, the Network Institutes, and by the direct influence of the mid-career trainees in positions of responsibility within the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

SES-086512
Thomas Cook
Lori Delale-O?Connor
Northwestern University

School choice is currently a topic of contention in both empirical and theoretical literature. The assumption that families will make informed choices underscores all school choice theory. However, information access and dispersion are barriers to school choice in its myriad forms. Because choice places the onus for information gathering and quality control on the parents and/or students, how families choose is an important aspect of school choice that has implications for the design and outcomes of individual choice systems, as well as larger education reform. This dissertation project examines how families make school choices, focusing in particular on the networks, knowledge, and motivations that affect these decisions. The three main questions that animate this research are: What factors influence parent/student decision making?, How does information and information gathering differ across different subgroups?, and What is the role of ?defaulting? within a choice system? The study is set in the Chicago Public School system, where open enrollment policies allow parents and students to choose the high school they will attend from a variety of options, including remaining in their assigned neighborhood school. To examine how choice occurs in this context, the study employs three methods: survey, in-depth interview and ethnography. The survey consists of demographic information and general questions about information sources, content, and implementation used for making the high school decision. The in-depth interview asks parents to expand on their thoughts and knowledge about the choice process. Finally, ethnography situates school choice in its larger context.

Broader Impacts. This project will contribute greater understanding of both the mechanisms that drive school choice, as well as the success and failure of educational policies surrounding choice. Such insight is important both empirically and theoretically. Because school choice is increasingly part of the educational landscape in the U.S., understanding how it works and, in turn, how to improve it is key to remedying systemic ills. In addition to policy impact, the study contributes to larger social science literatures on choice, decision-making, socio-cultural boundaries and neo-liberalism, all topics of interest in sociology and the social sciences more broadly. Further, this project offers insight into the actual processes underlying choice, rather than merely relying on outcomes as an indication of process. In this way, it allows a nuanced look at the impact of choice policies, including that of default settings.

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The specific aims of this project are to: (1.) Encourage ten undergraduate, graduate and health professions students who are from health disparities populations to pursue careers in basic science, biomedical, clinical, and behavioral health research fields;(2) Broaden the training of these students from health disparities populations to encompass international health issues;(3) Assist these students to participate in collaborative research initiatives with U.S. and international faculty;and, (4) Seek innovative approaches to address problems and/or hindrances associated with closing health disparities gaps. Using the combined resources of the University of Iowa's Initiative for Minority Student Development Program (Iowa Biosciences Advantage program) and the university's Center for International Rural and Environmental Health we will offer a program of 10-12-week short-term international research training opportunities for qualified eligible students each summer for five years. The Iowa Biosciences Advantage program will be a feeder program to identify eligible undergraduate students. Eight trainees will be undergraduate students and two will be graduate or professional students and all will be from populations that are underrepresented in the basic sciences, biomedical, clinical or behavioral research career Fields. MHIRT trainees will be offered research training opportunities at foreign institutions in Poland, Slovakia, Romania, China, and The Gambia, where we have collaborative relationships that have been developed over the last thirteen years through a Fogarty International Center training and research grant. These countries in Central/Eastern Europe present excellent opportunities to learn about issues related to health disparities populations. We will use new capabilities in Information and Communications Technology to assist in matching, monitoring, and evaluating trainees'international research training experiences in these countries. In this proposed program, MHIRT training is viewed as part of a comprehensive program of nurturing and developing individuals from health disparities populations to become productive biomedical and behavioral health researchers. RELEVANCE: Because of significant disparities in disease incidence, disease prevalence, morbidity, mortality, and survival rates in health disparities populations, as compared to the health status of the general population, there is a national need to increase the number of well-trained scientists from health disparities and underrepresented populations in the fields of biomedical, clinical, behavioral, and health services research.

This re-submitted application proposes to train Romanian researchers in the prevention and management of non-communicable chronic diseases (cancer, cerebrovascular diseases, lung disease, obesity, envirnomental and lifestyle factors). Romania is a relatively large country with a population of 22 million in Central/Eastern Europe, the worst afflicted by non-communicable chronic diseases ofthe six WHO regions. Although significant clinical expertise exists in Romania regarding the management of chronic diseases, research expertise is almost totally lacking in regard to population-based studies, prevention strategies, and public health interventions. Over a five-year period, this program will engage early and mid-career scientists and health professionals in intermediate-term training (25), short-term training (15), long-term training (3-4), and in an innovative program of short-term-equivalent distance education activities that will make extensive use of Internet web-conferencing. Additionally, intermediate and long-term trainees will conduct a series of joint workshops in Romania. The primary collaborating institution for this program will be the Center for Health Policy and Public Health at Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, although a number of other affliated institutions in Romania will also be involved. Expertise and mentoring in the various aspects of non-communicable chronic diseases will be provided by a cadre of highly qualified University of lowa faculty members from a number of departments and colleges as well as from several institutions in Romania. The program faculty reflects a broad range of research areas from genetics to epidemiology to clinical research to implementation science. The design of this program is based on experiences conducting previous and current research training programs in the region and on a network of well-established collaborators. Program personnel have first-hand knowledge ofthe social, economic, political, and cultural factors impacting health in Romania and the region They have developed and refined an established model for training future scientists and public health professionals that will be applied to increase understanding of, and, therefore, reduce the occurence and impact of non-communicable chronic diseases. RELEVANCE (See instmctions): The most recent data indicates that non-communicable chronic diseases account for about 90% of all deaths in Romania. Although there are high rates of non-communicable chronic diseases in countries throughout the Central and Eastern European region, Romania provides a unique opportunity to have a large impact on these diseases and to have a spillover effect on neighboring countries in the region.

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Despite the fact that death rates due to injuries in southern and eastern Europe are 60% higher than in western Europe, injury prevention and control programs remain very limited due to lack of epidemiologic evidence and limited resources. Local injury research capacity is needed to provide an improved understanding of the prevalence and risk factors associated with injuries and to implement effective prevention, treatment, and follow-up strategies. The overall purpose of this project by The University of Iowa is to continue to build a collaborative research training program that will strengthen the capacity to conduct clinical, translation and implementation research on human trauma and injury at three emerging centers of excellence in the Central/Eastern European region: the University of Novi Sad in Serbia; the University of Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina; and Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj- Napoca, Romania. The specific aims of this project are: (1) to train a critical mass of scientists, nurses, and health professionals in these three countries in a variety of disciplines necessary to assess, treat, prevent, and ameliorate injury-related morbidity and mortality; (2) to develop and strengthen three institutions as sustainable centers of excellence in injury research, including the development of long- term partnerships with The University of Iowa, with NIH, CDC, and WHO, and with other U.S. and international institutions and organizations; (3) to facilitate the transition of trainees to positions of responsibility, authority, and influence in their home countries and other Central/Eastern European countries, regionally, and internationally; and (4) to translate into public health practice the results of research regarding injury prevention and control. This multi-disciplinary program will continue to focus primarily on medium-term research training, augmented by short-term training, and by distance learning and in-country workshops. The program will also offer selected trainees opportunities for long-term training leading to an advanced degree. The program draws on innovative distance learning technology to provide novel training opportunities and facilitate continuity in collaborations and communications. The success of the program is founded on the The University of Iowa's board expertise in injury prevention and control and its years of experience training researchers from the Central/Eastern European region. The transition of trainees to positions of responsibility and influence and the translation of new findings into public health practice will be facilitated by recognition of trainees' expertise and leadership through published research and scientific presentations. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Despite the fact that death rates due to injuries in southern and eastern Europe are 60% higher than in western Europe, injury prevention and control programs remain very limited due to lack of epidemiologic evidence and limited resources. Local injury research capacity is needed to provide an improved understanding of the prevalence and risk factors associated with injuries and to implement effective prevention, treatment, and follow-up strategies. The proposed program to continue to build a collaborative injury research training program, and to develop emerging centers of excellence in the Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Romania, will not only reduce morbidity and mortality in those countries but will contribute significantly to the broader field of clinical, translation and implementation science and how it can be adapted to different cultures and populations.

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this project is to conduct a needs and opportunities assessment, and other exploratory activities, in order to plan the development of the West Africa Hub for Environmental and Occupational Health. This multidisciplinary Global Environmental and Occupational Health Hub (GEOHealth Hub) will be developed at, and led by, the University of The Gambia in partnership with the University of Iowa. This Hub will be connected to other research and training institutions and agencies within The Gambia (internal spokes) and to institutions located throughout the fifteen-country West Africa sub-region (external spokes). It will be supported by several research and training centers at the University of Iowa and by institutions in several other high- and middle-income countries. With the assistance of the West Africa Health Organization, we will establish collaborative relationships among these various partners to develop a plan for a GEOHealth Hub centered in The Gambia to best meet the needs for research, research training, and curriculum development in the West Africa sub-region. The general focal area of this project will be rural health, which has been the unifying theme of the collaborations between the two primary consortium members for the last eleven years. Specific focal areas will be more clearly delineated by this project, but the most pressing rural health issues in the sub-region appear to be: water quality, workplace safety (especially agricultural work), agricultural health (especially pesticides), toxic waste (especially dumping), and disaster preparedness and response. Methods will include: (1) contacting all relevant academic institutions, NGOs, and government agencies in the 15-country West Africa sub-region to assess their potential for expanded regional collaborations; (2) constructing a data base of environmental and occupational injuries and illnesses, relevant regulations and policies, and published research manuscripts and reports; and (3) convening a sub-regional consensus workshop to organize network partners to address sub-regional needs, refine focal areas which are most in need of research and training, and identify activities for building research capacities in the selected focl areas. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This proposed project is directed at improving health in the West Africa sub-region, which contains 11 of the least developed countries in the world. A GEOHealth Hub in this region would provide unique opportunities to study the effects of climate change, water pollution, air pollution, pesticide exposure, waste management, work practices and similar health risks, and interventions to prevent, control, and eliminate them.

Experimental designs in education that include treatment and control groups that are randomly assigned to different conditions of an intervention are considered the most rigorous choice to be able to evaluate causal claims. However, a randomized controlled trial (RCT) is frequently not feasible in developing evidence around the impact of many STEM practices, programs and policies. Researchers from Northwestern University examine how quasi-experimental designs that include treatment and comparison groups and outcome measures, but that do not include the random assignment to treatment and control conditions, might produce the same quality of findings as experimental designs. The researchers are also examining if pretreatment measures of study outcomes might be replaced with proxy pretests, measures in the same domain as an original pretest but in a different form, to replicate the findings from experimental studies using the original pretest. Many STEM research studies frequently have access in quasi-experimental studies for data from these proxy pretests in archival datasets, such as the state longitudinal data systems.

Researchers in this project have identified a number of RCTs that they use to examine whether changing the nature of the comparison group, from the original randomly assigned group, to one that is statistically adjusted from a larger population will show similar causal estimates as the original RCT. Using a within-study comparison, the researchers determine the differences in the RCT and quasi-experimental findings. They are studying the use of proxy pretreatment tests, such as math achievement data from state longitudinal data systems, to examine the extent to which these measures replicate findings in the original RCTs. They also examine the effect that modeling with a number of pre-intervention covariates has on causal estimates. If the differences between the causal estimates in the RCT and the new quasi-experimental study are low, then the quasi-experimental design is adequate to measure impact.

Large data sets are increasingly available in education, especially with the development of district and local data systems that expand the information gathered about students, teachers and schools. These data sets provide opportunities for research and evaluation studies that can operate with population level data rather than samples of data drawn randomly from the population. The determination of the quality of quasi-experimental evaluation designs that result from this study provides information that can be used by policy makers and researchers to study questions about educational treatments, programs and policies that have been intractable to study. Removing the potential barrier of random assignment, while still maintaining the quality of an RCT, expands the methodological toolkit of evaluators.