MAPPR Presents Research at PBRN 2015

In an oral presentation at PBRN 2015, the facilitators of ADAPT-NC shared their experiences working on the state-wide asthma dissemination project.  From left:  Lori Hendrickson (PCRC), Kelly Reeves (MAPPR), Paul Bray (Vidant), Jennifer Rees (NCnet), Lindsay Kuhn (MAPPR), and Jacquie Halladay (NCnet).

The MAPPR research team attended the annual Practice Based Research Network Conference (PBRN) hosted by the  North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG) from June 29-30, 2015.  NAPCRG is a multidisciplinary organization for primary care researchers, and this conference provides a forum for presenting new knowledge to guide improvement, redesign, and transformation of primary care.  Researchers from PBRNs across North America come together to share strategies, methods and results.  The theme of this year’s conference was “Engagement”, and the research presented was designed to enhance the capacity of those attending to successfully engage their practices, patients, providers, and community stakeholders in research. 

Much of the research done by MAPPR concerning Shared Decision Making (SDM) was a perfect fit for the theme of the conference.  Shared Decision Making allows the patient to take an active part in their own treatment, and MAPPR team members have developed a SDM toolkit that has successfully reduced hospitalizations for patients with asthma. 

Other MAPPR Research described how an awareness of cultural differences can improve a researcher’s ability to engage various segments of the population, specifically African-Americans and immigrants.  Techniques such as the use of health coaches to facilitate IT-enabled virtual care visits were also discussed.

Overall, MAPPR team members presented five lectures and another five research posters during the two-day conference.   In addition to providing a chance to share our work, the conference provides an invaluable opportunity to hear what others in practice-based research are doing and learn from their experiences.