PBRN Periodicals

As the warmth of summer envelops us, the latest updates, achievements, and upcoming events within the PBRN Resource Center are shared with great excitement. Our practitioner communities and patients continue to thrive, thanks to the dedication and hard work in bridging the gap between clinical practice and research. Here’s a look at recent activities and what lies ahead.

Please help us welcome Rosemary Williams, CHW to our team. Recently the PBRN Resource Center released a call for a CHW professional to advise board members on how to enhance research studies and education to better respond to the needs of practitioners and patients in South Texas communities. Ms.Williams was selected to join the PBRN Resource Center Board of Directors in April. Ms. Williams is a state-certified community health worker (CHW) and has worked in the community for over 18 years. She is a Senior Program Coordinator for the Trauma Survivor Network program at University Health where she provides support and services for patients and their families during their recovery from a serious injury.

RRNeT is excited to announce the launch of its newest project: Understanding How Telehealth Has Been and Will Be Used in Family Medicine Residencies: An RRNeT Study (PI: Maria Montanez-Villacampa, MD. Co-PIs: Inez Cruz, PhD, and Yun Shi, MD - UT Health San Antonio). This multi-site, cross-sectional study will focus on better understanding the experiences of Texas family physicians (residencies and private clinicians) with telehealth training, measuring comfort with providing telehealth, clarifying which types of visits are most appropriate for telehealth, and identifying facilitators to implementing telehealth in family medicine practices. Study participants will complete a 10-item questionnaire designed to provide a snapshot of family medicine physician perspectives on training and comfortability with telehealth. Funding for this project will be provided by a recently awarded Texas Academy of Family Physicians Foundation Research Grant. Funds will provide statistical support and enable our collaborators to travel for in-person meetings. Enroll in the study here or for more information, contact Kaitlin Waxler - RRNet Coordinator at waxler@uthscsa.edu.

RRNeT had a strong presence at the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) 2024 Spring Conference, held May 4-8 in Los Angeles. Sandra Burge, PhD, a reputable member of RRNeT and former Director of the PBRN Resource Center, received the esteemed Susan McDaniel Distinguished Faculty Award. Congratulations, Dr. Burge, on this well-deserved recognition, which truly reflects your career trajectory and unwavering dedication to practice-based research for health.

David Schneider, MD, from UT Southwestern, presented "Building Scholarship into Your New Learning Networks: A Building Research Capacity" at the conference. His presentation highlighted RRNeT’s research portfolio, infrastructure, and multi-site collaborations with other academic health centers and teaching hospitals in Texas. Congratulations to Dr. Schneider on his outstanding presentation!

If you would like more information about RRNeT please contact rrnet@uthscsa.edu.

Summer Internship Program

STOHN Summer 2024 interns are Mia Torres and Megan Ho, both undergraduate students from UTSA HCaP. The goal of the STOHN internship is to provide workforce development opportunities for local university students while expanding STOHN's research activities. To date, 44 students from 3+ universities have participated in this program. Furthermore, all of them have participated in manuscript development and/or research presentations.

The Frenum Study: Is there an association between the maxillary frenum position and attachment and anterior caries in children aged 6 months - 3 years?

This STOHN study is a collaborative study with Texas A&M University School of Dentistry. Together the investigative team (Dr. Carolyn Kerins - PI and Professor Melanie Taverna, RDH - Site PI) are studying the association between the maxillary frenum position and attachment with anterior caries among children aged 6 months to 3 years. Data collection for this chart review study has been completed with 320 entries from 5 STOHN practitioners. A draft manuscript detailing research findings is underway. STOHN hopes to publish our work within the next few months.

Exploring Dental Practitioners and the South Texas Community Members Attitudes and Behaviors Towards Smokeless Tobacco Use and its Cessation Practices

This multi-level community-engaged research study is being conducted with the El Bari Community Health Center from San Antonio. Texas. The investigative team is comprised of Drs. Moshtagh Farokhi - School of Dentistry, Rahma Mungia - STOHN Director, and Fozia Ali - Family & Community Medicine. This study is utilizing focus groups to better understand the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors surround smokeless tobacco among patients and providers. Findings will be used to produce culturally-tailored educational materials on cessation techniques to reduce smokeless tobacco use. A total of 20 in-depth interviews with patients have been completed thus far. Practitioner focus groups are still in process, with 3 completed and included 20 dentists and dental hygienists. Thanks to El Bari Community Health Center, who were essential for the recruitment of the patient participants. STOHN is actively recruiting dental practitioners interested in joining a focus group.

For additional information about STOHN or its current research projects, please contact Caitlin Sangdahl - STOHN Research Coordinator at sangdahl@uthscsa.edu.

SOARNet was recently awarded a Community Engagement Small Projects Grant from IIMS in collaboration with Vidya Sharma from UTSA. The study, titled Project ECHO Nutrition & Brain Health Training for Primary Care Providers: A Stakeholder-Engaged SOARNet Study, will implement an intervention study to support practitioners serving older adults in South Texas to build their capacity around the relationship of nutrition and brain health. As the population of South Texas ages, the prevalence of dementia and other cognitive disorders is projected to increase rapidly. With this study, SOARNet will develop a timely and responsive resource for practitioners to equip their patients and families with culturally aligned, practical nutrition-based knowledge for better brain health.

SOARNet is still building their partner member network and welcomes providers who serve the older adult population to complete this enrollment form HERE.

For additional information about SOARNet, please contact Caitlin Sangdahl - SOARNet Coordinator at sangdahl@uthscsa.edu.

South Texas Psychiatry PBRN is pleased to introduce Don McGeary, PhD as our current director. Dr. McGeary is a board-certified Clinical Health Psychologist and is the Vice Chair for Research with UT Health San Antonio's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. His research interests include PTSD and chronic pain management among military/veteran populations. We are thrilled to welcome Dr. McGeary to our team and look forward to the advancements his leadership will bring.

Members met on June 4, 2024, to review and prioritize research topics for the upcoming year. Together, the PBRN is collaborating to strategize how to address the needs of a changing team and establish a plan for continued productivity.

Finally, South Texas Psychiatry PBRN is recruiting new members. Benefits of joining include the opportunity to participate in collaborative research projects with a diverse group of researchers and clinicians, professional development across campus and community providers, Continuing Medical Education, and support amongst peers.

Behavioral Health clinicians and researchers interested in membership can fill out this information sheet, or contact Kaitlin Waxler - South Texas Psychiatry PBRN Coordinator for more information at waxler@uthscsa.edu.

The National Dental PBRN has launched a new study titled “Periodontal Adjunctive Antibiotics in Dental Practice” (PAAS). PAAS is a randomized clinical trial assessing the effectiveness of adjunctive antibiotics in treating periodontal disease. The study will investigate the effectiveness of Scaling and Root Planing (SRP) plus adjunctive antibiotics as compared to SRP with a placebo adjunctive for the treatment of generalized stage II-III, grade A-C periodontitis. Both recruitment and training are still underway, with 12 periodontists enrolled in the study, and 10 trained and recruiting patients.

UT Health San Antonio serves as the Southwest Regional site, which includes Texas, Arizona, Kansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. In this study our role will be to recruit 13 periodontists, and each periodontist must recruit 16 patients. Nationally our goal is to recruit and train 39 periodontists and 544 patients to assess the effectiveness of SRP with adjunctive antibiotics compared to SRP without antibiotics (placebo) in patients with periodontitis.

The ISRN aims to accelerate the development and dissemination of interprofessional improvement science in a systems context across multiple sites. Across the country, healthcare experts, administrators, researchers, and clinicians are devising and testing new strategies to improve the safety and quality of patient care. The ISRN mission is to to advance the scientific foundation for quality improvement, safety, and efficiency through transdisciplinary research addressing healthcare systems, patient-centeredness, and integration of evidence into practice. Updates will be provided in next newsletter.

STARNet is a learning community of primary care clinicians, staff and patients in offices and clinics across South Texas who participate in research to gain knowledge and understanding on how to improve the health of patients and their communities. New updates to be provided in next newsletter.

The Community & Stakeholder Engagement Team at IIMS and The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) College of Health, Community and Policy (HCaP) are pleased to announce that five community-academic partnerships from South Texas have been awarded $5,000 grants as part of the Community Engagement Small Project Grants program.

This grants program provides seed funding to enable community-academic partnerships to develop activities that lead to the translation of research for public health benefit. Grants are available to newly developed or current partnerships with projects focused on research/assessment; education/training; and/or dissemination/communication of research results, program features or policy implications

Among this year's awardees is SOARNet [(Vidya Sharma, MA RD (PI) and Sara Masoud (Co-PI and SOARNet Director)] for their project titled,​​​​​​​ Project ECHO Nutrition & Brain Health Training for Primary Care Providers: A Stakeholder-Engaged SOARNet Study.

The next research funding announcement will be released December 2025.

Click HERE for more information about the Community Engagement Small Project Grants.

AHRQ announces a new learning series designed to support and promote the work of Practice Based Research Networks (PBRNs). Each session features examples, information, and advice from experienced leaders actively working in PBRNs. This series is sponsored by AHRQ’s National Center for Excellence in Primary Care Research (NCEPCR) and is open to anyone interested in working or engaging with PBRNs.

Webinar: Managing and Growing an Established PBRN

June 20, 2024, 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. EDT

Register: https://ahrq-hhs.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_mQWNY3KJQVGdkOhwE3eVzQ

Webinar: Highlighting and Promoting the Value of PBRNs

July 11, 2024, 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. EDT

Register: https://ahrq-hhs.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_I3t13gFSQ2atCkH2IiUbPQ

E-learning Course: Building a Newer PBRN

To be published on AHRQ’s NCEPCR website in August 2024

PolicyMap is a free online data and mapping tool designed to provide users with access to a vast array of geographic data to support decision-making in various sectors such as healthcare, education, and community development. It allows users to visualize, analyze, and overlay data related to demographics,health, jobs, and other critical community indicators on a map. Key Features include

1. Comprehensive Data Library
2. Mapping and Visualization
3. Data Analysis
4. Customizable Maps
5. Interactive Tools

This D&I Catalog is a listing of external D&I resources, provides a curated list of resource catalogs relevant to the conduct of Dissemination & Implementation (D&I) science. The resource catalogs gathered here include frameworks/theories/models, methods/measures, funding resources, practice resources, training, and health equity resources. Included resource catalogs are curated/sponsored by academic and non-profit organizations with expertise in D&I; contain multiple resources that are systematically organized; and are (in almost all cases) both open-access and actively maintained/updated.

Please note that the times and dates are subject to change.

UPDATE ALL DATES, MAKE SURE THAT THEY FOLLOW CURRENT SCHEDULE.

• Aug. 27th from 10-11am
• Oct. 22nd from 10-11am

We invite you to submit your research articles, project updates, and success stories for our fall newsletter. This is a great opportunity to share your work with the broader PBRN community and inspire others. Please send your submissions to IIMS-CE@UTHSCSA.EDU by December 1, 2024.

The IIMS PBRN Resource Center serves as the operational base for developing new and supporting existing PBRNs in the South Texas region. The primary function of the PBRN Resource Center is to facilitate opportunities for collaboration between UT Health SA investigators and community clinicians.

This newsletter provides PBRN study updates, promotes cross collaboration, and informs readers about resources. Our intended audience includes PBRN directors, IIMS investigators, and IIMS leadership. We hope that you will enjoy this publication and that you will contribute to future news

IIMS PBRN Resource Center

E-mail: iims-ce@uthscsa.edu

Tel.: (210) 562-4087