FROM STUDY IDEA TO PROS STUDY:
SUGGESTING A RESEARCH TOPIC TO PROS
Any PROS practitioner, member of an AAP committee, or Fellow of the Academy may
propose a study idea for consideration by PROS. Practitioner-generated ideas
are especially valued by PROS -- several have generated highly successful
projects. If you have an idea for a research project, read the materials
below and then type in a brief summary of the idea. A member of the PROS
executive committee will get back to you to discuss this further.
PROS functions as a pediatric primary care laboratory. The ideas most
appropriate for PROS studies are typically encounter-based projects that
can capitalize on the network?s size (nearly 700 primary care practices
with over 1800 practitioners) and broad geographical distribution (all
50 states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico). Physician surveys that
do not involve data collection from patients are better done via other
mechanisms. Although most PROS projects have been observational studies
examining variations in pediatric care and their associations with short
term patient outcomes, PROS is now conducting intervention studies as
well, and ideas for intervention studies are particularly welcome.
To make a study suggestion, please contact a member of the PROS Executive Committee -- Steering Committee Chair Stephen Pearson, MD (stephenj@pearsonoid.com),
PROS Director R. ?Mort? Wasserman, MD (rwasserm@zoo.uvm.edu),
or Director of Primary Care Research Eric Slora, PhD (eslora@aap.org).
Ultimately, you will be asked to submit a written proposal for consideration
by the PROS Steering Committee (PROS SC). That proposal will need to specify:
1. The research question;
2. The specific aims of the study;
3. The information to be gained from the study and its importance;
4. The data to be collected;
5. The approximate time frame for accomplishing the study.
Criteria applied by the PROS SC in its deliberation include importance of the study idea, appropriateness for PROS, and feasibility. If the committee approves a study idea, it is brought before the PROS Chapter Coordinators (AAP chapter representatives ? mostly practicing pediatricians) for their review.
If a study idea is approved by the coordinators, it is also reshaped and refined in varying degrees as the coordinators and other PROS practitioners who review and pilot study protocols and data collection materials maximize the study?s ?do-ability? in the practice or clinic setting. Through this process, network practitioners gain ownership of the study (and improve it!).
Following coordinator approval, the PROS SC appoints a Principal Investigator to lead the study?s Research Management Group in writing a grant proposal to obtain funds for the project (PROS and the AAP don?t fund studies). The individual who originally proposed the study idea often is the Principal Investigator, and always is a member of the Research Management Group. The process from suggestion of an idea to launching a study may take 2-4 years, with funding as the limiting factor.
| Core support for the PROS network is provided by a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration Maternal and Child Health Bureau |
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Pediatric Research in Office Settings (PROS)
American Academy of Pediatrics
141 Northwest Point Blvd
PO Box 927
Elk Grove Village, IL 60009-0927
800/433-9016, ext. 7623
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