Kenzie A. Cameron receives R01 and R21 grants
Grant #1:The Effect of Fact versus Myth Messages on Receipt of Influenza Vaccination (R21 grant funded by the National Institute on Aging):
Overview:
Many health messages use a "Facts & Myths" format when presenting information; however, researchers disagree as to the wisdom and efficacy of this approach. Some researchers suggest the best option is to use "Facts only" messages; for fear that message recipients may misremember presented myths as facts. However, other researchers suggest that a well-crafted "Facts & Myths" message that includes a direct refutation of the myths may be the most persuasive option. This study seeks to elucidate the effect of presenting "Facts & Myths" messages about influenza vaccination in a controlled trial to assess both immediate and delayed effects of message content on individuals' intention to be vaccinated against seasonal influenza.
Collaborators:
Co-Investigators include Dr. David W. Baker (General Internal Medicine), Dr. Michael E. Roloff (Communication Studies) and Dr. Borko Jovanovic (Preventive Medicine). In addition, the research would not be possible without the entire team, which includes Elisha Friesema, Sara Hauber, Quinn Stephens and Jason Thompson (in General Internal Medicine) as well as the assistance of Karen Marcelo (NMFF – General Internal Medicine).
What are the biggest challenges related to this project?
Easy: H1N1. The emergence of H1N1 and all of the media attention it received last Spring/Summer/Fall has completely changed the landscape. For preventive purposes, it was great – more individuals were clamoring for the seasonal vaccine and they were also getting it earlier than in past years. However, as our focus is on individuals who were not intending on being vaccinated, that has caused much havoc with our recruiting efforts and thus we have a much lower sample size than we had hoped.
Grant #2: Low-Literacy Physician-Patient Intervention Promoting Colorectal Cancer Screening (R01 grant funded by the National Cancer Institute)
Overview:
CRC is the second leading cause of cancer death among men and women in the United States, yet screening rates remain low. Limited literacy is associated with decreased use of preventive services, such as colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. Many interventions designed to increase CRC screening have targeted either physicians or patients, and have had only limited success in improving screening rates. In collaboration with Access Community Health Network, we seek to assess the effectiveness of a combined physician and patient intervention, designed using a low-literacy approach, to promote CRC screening among patients receiving care in Federally Qualified Health Centers.
Collaborators:
Access Community Health Network: Dr. Milton Eder, Dr. Charles Barron.
Northwestern Co-Investigators: Dr. M. Rosario Ferreira (Gastroenterology); Dr. Nancy Dolan (General Internal Medicine); Dr. Michael Wolf (General Internal Medicine): Dr. Alfred Rademaker (Preventive Medicine); Dr. Larry Manheim (Institute for Healthcare Studies) Northwestern Research team: Vanessa Ramirez, Dachao Liu, Quinn Stephens ACCESS Research team: Pablo Rodriguez
What are the biggest challenges related to this project?
Scheduling. There are many moving pieces to this research study, and trying to be proactive in scheduling them while still cognizant of the demands we are making on individuals time is a challenge. We are all very excited as we are to go into the field this Spring with the study after many months of preparation!
About Dr Cameron: 
I was born in Berkeley, California, but only lived there until I was 5 months old; moved to State College, PA where I grew up. I did my undergraduate work at Northwestern University, and I completed my Masters and PhD at Michigan State University. I have been with Northwestern since June 2003; I am a Research Assistant Professor. While at Northwestern, I completed an MPH as part of a Career Development Award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. My husband, Steve, and I live in Chicago with our two cats (Sasha and Neezer), one Betta fish (Sammy), and an assortment of sadly neglected houseplants (unnamed... for the most part).
About Dr Cameron's Project Coordinators:
Elisha Friesema and Vanessa Ramirez
Elisha was born and raised in Byron Center, MI and attended the University of Michigan. She has been a project coordinator with GIM for over 2 years, focusing mainly on preventive care quality measures and patient education.Vanessa is a Project Coordinator in GIM who works with Dr Cameron on the “Low Literacy Physician-Patient Intervention Promoting CRC Screening” project
. She coordinates all day-to-day aspects of this study while working closely with the community partner, research assistants, and 6 clinic sites. Vanessa received her BS in Biology from DePaul University and her MPH in Epidemiology from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
"I feel very fortunate to work with Kenzie as she is an absolute pleasure to work with. She is extremely thoughtful and has the best stories (from her graduate student days to her cat adventures); you can always count on her to put a smile on your face." V. Ramirez
