WSU Spokane Campus Bulletin
Issue 2004-22 (December 1, 2004)
IN THIS ISSUE
Technology provides tools for improved health outcomes
Your doctor is drowning in data.
The world of medicine generates tremendous volumes of it. Clinicians and policy makers struggle to find and understand meaningful relationships within these large datasets.
The tools of technology increasingly enter into treatment and policy decisions, particularly in the emerging field of health informatics, as people work to turn data into information, and then into usable knowledge.
Kenn Daratha, assistant professor of
technology
management, hopes to apply his technical skills to help increase
understanding of potential solutions to complex problems.
He says, “I have always been fascinated by black and white answers to our most pressing problems. Chronic illness (by definition) has no cure. We must find ways to improve the lives of those with chronic illness. Diabetes was a natural problem to explore solutions to improve care and reduce costs and utilization. This disease not only represents one of our largest health care system expenditures, but also takes a tremendous toll on the lives of patients. In the case of diabetes, improved care includes screening and treatment options that delay the onset of co-morbid disease.”
It takes research to know which options are both cost-effective and provide the greatest benefit to the patient.
Daratha’s proposal for a study on improving cost, utilization and health outcomes in Type 2 diabetic patients received funding from the WSU Spokane 2004 seed grant program. He’ll collaborate with Joseph Coyne and Fevzi Akinci, in the department of health policy and administration.
Daratha’s earlier research in this area for his doctoral dissertation suggested that some preventive screening services are associated with delays in the onset of co-morbid disease and reductions in acute care utilization. His findings included:
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Base year lipid testing is associated with lower emergency department visits and lower acute inpatient utilization.
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Base year A1C testing is associated with lower acute inpatient utilization.
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Base year albumin testing is associated with lower acute inpatient utilization.
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Base year A1C testing is associated with a 42.9% lower rate of the onset of neuropathy
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Base year lipid testing is associated with a 38.6% lower rate of the onset of neuropathy
This latest study seeks to further understand the relationships between health services provided to patients with Type 2 diabetes and subsequent improvements in health, cost and utilization outcomes.
What role does technology play?
Six years’ worth of data will be drawn from administrative systems at Regence Blue Shield of Idaho in Lewiston. These records include medical and pharmaceutical claims for more than 1/2 million members in the State of Idaho.
The seed grant Daratha received will help fund a terabyte of storage to build a data warehouse to store and analyze this data. Neural network techniques such as self-organizing maps and statistical techniques such as logistical regression are applied to data stored in this data warehouse. This study seeks to find patterns within the data that can be used to improve outcomes for patients with Type 2 diabetes.
Centralized data storage and access, and development of standardized analytical data models and processing algorithms, lay the foundation for ongoing health services research initiatives at WSU Spokane.
Quick facts about diabetes
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Diabetes mellitus (Type 2) is one of the most prevalent and costly chronic conditions in the U.S.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates more than 18 million persons in the U.S. suffered from this disease in 2002, incurring direct medical costs of $92 billion.
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More than one in three Americans born in 2000 has a lifetime risk of developing this disease.
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More than 40% of the costs in treating diabetic patients are attributed to complications of the disease, and the majority of hospitalizations for diabetic patients occur for co-morbid diseases, not for acute treatment of this disease.
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Nearly 22 million persons in the U.S. will suffer from this disease by 2025, representing 9% of the U.S. population, and by the year 2050, 29 million people are expected to have diabetes mellitus. Given the finite resources of the healthcare system, management of this disease is critical.
Largest-ever diabetes study seeks subjects
Researchers in Spokane need more people with Type 2 diabetes to
sign up for a study. In particular, the researchers are looking for
individuals with diabetes who have experienced some of the
complications of the illness, such as high blood pressure and high
cholesterol.
Once enrolled in the study, subjects will receive medications and close monitoring of their illness over the next few years. They will have to report every few weeks for a medical checkup by health care professionals working on the national study at Washington State University Spokane.
Researchers have enrolled 90 subjects in the study and want to have 150 before next summer. Their goal is 100 by the end of the year.
Information gained from the study will be used to help design future treatments for diabetes, according to Debbie Weeks, registered nurse and research coordinator.
The study in Spokane is one of 70 sites at which the ACCORD trial is underway throughout the United States and Canada under the direction of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.
For more information about participating, please contact Weeks at (509) 358-7733, dweeks@wsu.edu, or Linda Kunstmann, (509) 358-7741, kunstman@wsu.edu.
• WSU Today article: WSU
Today article on ACCORD trial (Oct. 17, 2003):
http://www.wsutoday.wsu.edu/completestory.asp?StoryID=759
• ACCORD trial central Web site:
www.accordtrial.org
Designing a healthier neighborhood
Nursing and environmental design came together in a new way in a
collaborative learning session in mid-October. Nine nursing students
enrolled
in a course in Community Health and Practice (Nur 427) and
their instructor, associate professor of nursing Cindy Corbett,
joined eighteen students from an interdisciplinary design studio
taught by associate professor Bob Scarfo,
landscape architecture.
The purpose for the discussion was to share ideas regarding design interventions in two neighborhoods in the East Central Neighborhood. The design ideas aimed at neighborhood revitalization focused on multigenerational life, work, play, and learning were presented to the East Central Neighborhood Association November 4.
The East Central Neighborhood has been involved for the last year with a group of stakeholders, meeting monthly to develop a neighborhood-specific plan to meet the demands of growth management. The committee has been working with the planning department of the city and the EWU department of urban and regional planning, as well as with students from the Interdisciplinary Design Institute who have created design concepts.
Jerry Numbers, chair of the East Central Neighborhood Council,
said, “The visionary work that is being done by the Design Institute
students will offer us some new and exciting options that may fit in
the plan for the neighborhood. We were very impressed with the
enthusiasm and ownership that the students exhibited with their
presentations. We are looking forward to the final presentations and
the possibilities that will be an outgrowth of the project.”
Each of the four design teams was joined by two or three nursing students. They worked together for 30 minutes, then the nursing students changed teams for another 30 minutes. At the end of the first session, students asked to continue; they were very involved in discussions and did not want to break the momentum.
The students reported unanimously that they enjoyed the interaction. One student said, “I love collaboration and knowing people care about non-traditional healthcare related issues!”
They all said they valued the interaction, noting that awareness of community issues varies greatly depending on each student’s perspective. A nursing student noted that it was “nursing in a nontraditional fashion. It brings to reality the need to integrate other professionals, a necessity to making healthy lifestyles comprehensive and practical.” A design student said, “Any interaction with outside majors is valuable. Designers need very much to interact with non-designers.”
Asked for suggestions about bringing these very different professional programs together, students had several suggestions: an interdisciplinary elective focused on health and design, joint work on hospital and facility design and community design oriented toward wellness, a community healthcare class that brings together a wide variety of professions to examine spatial, physical, and mental components of health, in-service presentations for students and practicing nurses, and more interaction in general, particularly in the future when nursing moves to the Riverpoint campus.
Next, the students will expand on their initial concepts with more detailed development, culminating in posters and a CD-ROM presentation to the Neighborhood Council. The posters will be displayed at the Stier Memorial Lecture in February 2005.
Research First
Friday presentation
Please join us for the Research First Friday presentation on
Friday, December 3, from 3:10 – 4:30 p.m. at the WSU Intercollegiate
College of Nursing, Rm 166. Renee Hoeksel, Professor, and Janet
Spuck, Instructor, WSU Vancouver Intercollegiate College of Nursing,
will present: “Nurses Knowledge of Pain Management of Elders in
Critical Care Settings.” This presentation is open to faculty,
staff, graduate students and the community. Refreshments will be
served. For more information, contact Kathy Bridwell at 324-7258 or
at bridwell@wsu.edu.
Save the date: WSU Spokane spring semester kickoff January 5, 2005
Mark your calendars for Wednesday, January 5, 2005. That morning WSU Spokane faculty and staff will hold our traditional spring semester kickoff meeting. It will also serve as our on-campus welcome for new chancellor Brian Pitcher, whose first full day is January 17.
Date: Wednesday, January 5, 2005
Time: 8 a.m.-noon
Location: Phase I Classroom Building Auditorium
CTR Holiday Faire Follow-up
The second annual Holiday Faire and Craft Show, put on by the
Riverpoint Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) Committee took place on
Wednesday, November 17, and was a big success. Vendors included
Bohemian Heart Jewelry, by our very own Kelly LaGrutta
(right); Lakerock Creations, featuring unique stone lamps and candleholders;
Pockets of Prayer custom made quilts and pillowcases with pockets;
and Singing Shaman Traders, member of the Fair Trade Federation,
featuring one-of-a-kind pieces directly from artisans in Mexico,
aiding in the preservation of their unique art forms and cultures.
All proceeds from the Holiday Faire are used to continue the funding efforts of CTR on the Riverpoint campus, which includes both EWU and WSU. The CTR committee is given the responsibility by the state to promote CTR through education, promotions and incentives, such as the Holiday Faire, and the Fiesta held previously for those participants who won the Phase 1/SIRTI buildings competition. The budget is small, so committee members often donate personal time and money to make the promotions fun and worthwhile.
In 1993, Spokane County implemented the Commute Trip Reduction (CTR)
Law to reduce traffic congestion, air pollution and petroleum
consumption through employer-based programs that reduce the number
and distance of commute trips in single occupant vehicles (SOV).
More than 1,100 worksites participate in the CTR Program statewide.
In Spokane County, 107 worksites are part of the CTR program,
including 12 worksites participating voluntarily.
Community connections
Spokane Transit Citizens Advisory Committee
Spokane Transit recognizes that providing the best public transportation services to the community goes beyond carrying passengers from one point to another. To be truly effective and excellent at what they do, it is imperative that they draw on the talents and wisdom of the region’s citizens and thoroughly include them in this agency’s decision-making processes—and not just on routes, but on planning, practices, and policies as well.
One of many ways of accomplishing this is to consult a Citizens Advisory Committee. The Spokane Transit Board of Directors has adopted a charter for the creation of such a committee, and they are now recruiting members from various sectors of the community to participate.
They are requesting your help in soliciting applications for membership on the new Citizens Advisory Committee. If you know anyone whose talents and interests are suited to this committee, they would be very grateful if you inform them of this opportunity.
Copies of the Citizens Advisory Committee charter and application are posted on their website at www.spokanetransit.com. Applications must be completed and returned to Spokane Transit by December 6.
If you have any questions, contact Molly Myers at 325-6090 or
mmyers@spokanetransit.com.
Spokane Sister Cities Association
The Spokane Sister Cities Association invites you to attend our International Food Festival and Auction, Wednesday, December 1, 2004, 6:30 – 9:30 pm at the Montvale Hotel, 1005 W. First (First and Monroe). Fredrick Peterson, professor, WSU Spokane College of Education, is the Chair of the Sister Cities International Annual Conference in Spokane and money raised will be used to assist in funding the conference.
Be the first to see the Montvale Hotel, while you enjoy international appetizers and a no-host bar provided by the Catacombs Restaurant. With both silent and oral auction items, guests will have an opportunity to mingle, nibble and bid on great auction packages including gift baskets, dinners, art and international crafts.
Tickets are $20. Visit the website at
www.spokanesistercities.org.
Spokane’s Sister Cities:
Nishinomiya, Japan, since 1961
Jilin City, China, since 1987
Limerick Ireland, since 1991
Jecheon, Korea, since 1999
Personnel & staffing changes
Coming:
Patt Early, Research Associate, Child & Family Research Unit,
effective 12/01/04
Searches:
Senior Associate/Full Professor, Criminal Justice, open until filled
Assistant/Associate Professor, Construction Management, open until
filled
Assistant/Associate Professor, Interior Design, open until filled
Assistant/Associate Professor, Pharmacotherapy, open until filled
Clinical Assistant Professor, Pharmacotherapy, 7 positions full and
part-time, open until filled
Research Associate/Research Scientist, Washington Institute for
Mental Illness Research & Training, open until filled
Way to go!
"Way to go" is the place for you to recognize a co-worker's extra effort, outstanding contribution, or all-around good nature that makes your work day go a little more smoothly.
Send your “Way to Go!” comments to Laura Scholtens,
scholtens@wsu.edu,
and watch for your thanks to be published in an upcoming issue of
the
Campus
Bulletin!
Find it on the Web
- News Releases: Recent news releases and links to news releases organized by subject for WSU Spokane.
- WSU News Service: Breaking news from WSU, links to all news releases, and other information sources.
- World Class Faculty: Check out the online profiles featured as links from our home page. The images rotate randomly on the home page, but the profiles are always available from this central profile page. You can also navigate to this page by choosing "About WSU Spokane" from the home page, "People" in the lefthand navigation, and "Profiles" in the lefthand navigation there.
- Bulletin archives: Links to past issues of the Campus Bulletin from Oct. 2003 forward.
- In the News: Media coverage of campus programs and people
- Events Calendar:
What's going on around here, anyway?
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The Bulletin is usually published on Wednesday biweekly during the
academic year, every three weeks during breaks and summer session.
Publication date may shift due to holidays. Deadline is Friday,
the week before publication.
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The Bulletin covers news of interest to the faculty, staff, and friends of Washington State University Spokane, and associates on other WSU campuses and on the Riverpoint campus.
Regular columns cover personnel changes, upcoming events, professional accomplishments, opportunities for involvement in the campus community and the Spokane community, notices of new developments on campus, and other news.
The Bulletin also serves as a source of information for external communications directed to alumni, future and current students, and friends of Washington State University Spokane. You'll read it here first!
Subscribers welcome! Also available: WSU Spokane News & Events Update, an irregular email newsletter with brief excerpts from news releases and articles, and links to more information online (some duplication of Bulletin content). Send an email to Barb Chamberlain, chamberlain@wsu.edu, to request the WSU Spokane Campus Bulletin and/or the News & Events Update.
Editorial staff
- Barb Chamberlain, chamberlain@wsu.edu, (509) 358-7527
- Laura Scholtens, scholtens@wsu.edu, (509) 358-7540