General Internal Medicine - Research

Research - Division of General Internal Medicine

Full-Time Faculty in GIM

David W. Baker, MD, MPH
Chief, Division of GIM; Director, REACH practice-based research network
Research Interests: Health literacy, health communication, quality measurement, quality improvement, electronic health records. 

GIM Research Partners at Northwestern
Institute for Healthcare Studies
Department of Preventive Medicine
Department of Medical Social Sciences
NU-CATS (Clinical and Translational Science Institute)
    Northwestern University Bioinformatics Center
    Community Engaged Research Center
Practice-Based Research Program
REACH practice-based research network
Buehler Center on Aging, Health, and Society
Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago

GIM Research Partners in Chicago and Beyond
The Alliance of Chicago Community Health Centers
Erie Family Health Center
Near North Health Services Corporation
Heartland Alliance
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Division of General Internal Medicine
Mount Sinai Medical School; Division of General Internal Medicine

Affiliated Faculty
Many other individuals make important contributions to our research programs but have primary faculty appointments in other parts of Northwestern University or work for other organizations.  We thank all of them for their efforts.
 

• HEALTH COMMUNICATION
• REDUCING DISPARITIES FOR VULNERABLE POPULATIONS
• IMPROVING HEALTHCARE QUALITY AND SAFETY
• CLINICAL EPIDEMIOLOGY AND CLINICAL TRIALS 

Health Communication 
DW Baker, MD, Site PI (EA Hahn, MA, Study PI; Evanston Northwestern Healthcare)
Refining and Standardizing Health Literacy Assessment
National Institutes of Health:  09/01/05 - 06/30/08
The aims of this study are:  1) To develop English and Spanish language item banks for measuring reading-related health literacy domains; 2) To evaluate the feasibility, validity and acceptability of computer-based methods for comprehensive assessment of health literacy; 3) To develop and pilot computerized adaptive testing of health literacy in clinical settings and; 4) To determine the independent association between health literacy and health behaviors related to prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer and health status.

KA Cameron, PhD, PI
Co-Investigators: DW Baker, MD; G Makoul, PhD
Addressing Racial Disparities in Influenza Prevention
Centers for Disease Control:  11/01/04 - 10/31/07
The major goals of this project are to develop a Multimedia Influenza Prevention Program (MIPP) specifically for African Americans ages 65 and older.  This study will test two versions of the MIPP to determine whether a positive affect or fear appeal is more persuasive.

G Makoul, PhD, PI
Co-Investigator: ML Clayman, PhD
Facilitating Caring Communication for People with Cancer: The Case of Breast Cancer
The Arthur Vining Davis Foundation:  10/01/05 - 09/30/06
This study involves patients, family members and health care teams in a concerted attempt to understand and respond to communication issues that arise along the continuum of cancer care.  The communications interventions developed and tested in the proposed study will be designed to facilitate caring communication for people with breast cancer.

G Makoul, PhD, PI
A Hispanic Patient Education Program on Colorectal Cancer Screening
American Cancer Society:  01/01/04 - 08/31/06
The overall goal of this study is to develop and test a multimedia patient education program (PEP) on colorectal cancer screening, designed especially for Hispanic patients in an outpatient community primary care setting.

G Makoul, PhD, PI
Co-Investigators: DW Baker, MD; ML Clayman, PhD
Tools to Increase Colorectal Cancer Screening Rates
National Cancer Institute:  01/11/05 - 12/31/06
The overall objective of this study is to develop and test practical, office-based computer-assisted counseling tools designed to help patients make an informed decision about participating in colorectal cancer screening.

MS Wolf, PhD, PI
Co-Investigators: DW Baker, MD; G Makoul, PhD; KB Weiss, MD
Improving Health Literacy to Reduce Asthma Disparities
Centers for Disease Control:  10/01/04 - 09/30/07
The purpose of this research is to support the mentorship and research training of Dr. Michael Wolf at Northwestern University to develop a health communication intervention strategy to improve asthma self-management among inner city children and adults.

Reducing Disparities for Vulnerable Populations
DW Baker, MD, PI
Co-Investigators: J Feinglass, PhD; MS Wolf, PhD
Literacy and Mortality Among Elderly Persons
National Institutes of Health:  08/01/05 - 06/30/07
The primary aims of this study are to determine whether elderly persons with inadequate or marginal functional health literacy have higher mortality than those with adequate literacy and to determine the importance of different causal pathways between literacy and mortality and the residual effect of literacy on mortality after adjusting for all pathways examined.

DW Baker, MD, PI
Co-Investigator: NR Kandula, MD
Improving Data Collection of Patients' Race, Ethnicity and Language in California
The California Endowment:  03/01/05 - 08/31/06
This project will conduct telephone surveys to determine:  1) Californians' attitudes about having health care providers collect information on patients' race, ethnicity and preferred language; 2) Determine which statements about rationales for collecting this information are most successful in making people feel more comfortable; 3) Determine whether people prefer providing information about their race and ethnicity using open-ended questions and; 4) To use the results from the survey to create and disseminate informational materials and tools.

DW Baker, MD, Site PI (R Hasnain-Wynia, PhD, PI; Health Research and Educational Trust)
Co-Investigator: J Feinglass, PhD
Linking Race and Ethnicity Data with Inpatient Quality of Care Measures
Health Research and Educational Trust:  09/01/04 - 08/31/06
This project will evaluate a new Uniform Framework for collecting race, ethnicity and primary language data that will be implemented at Northwestern Memorial Hospital as part of routine patient registration.  It is designed to allow patients to efficiently provide race, ethnicity and primary language information using their own words.  Race/ethnicity will then be linked to data on quality of care so that we can routinely monitor disparities in care and initiate interventions to eliminate disparities.

DW Baker, MD, Site PI (JJ Sudano, PhD, PI; Case Western Reserve University)
Co-Investigator: B Ruo, MD
Subjective/Objective Health Measures by Race/Ethnicity
National Institute of Aging:  06/01/05 - 05/31/08
This study examines measurement equivalence properties of the SF-36 quality of life questionnaire and a performance-based index of physical functioning among several diverse racial/ethnic groups.

NR Kandula, MD, Site PI (DS Lauderdale, MD, PI; University of Chicago)
A Multi-Level Analysis of Cancer-Related Risk Factors in Asian Americans
American Cancer Society:  07/01/04 - 06/30/06
This project is a multilevel analysis examining the effects of individual and neighborhood characteristics on cancer-related health behaviors, screening, and access to health care in seven Asian American ethnic groups.

KB Weiss, MD, PI
Chicago Initiative to Raise Asthma Health Equity
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institure:  09/30/02 - 07/31/07
The purpose of this project is to develop a collaborative research program between Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine and Cook County Hospital to fully characterize the relationship of social stress, coping and self-regulatory health behaviors in the context of asthma disparities among African American and low income populations.

KB Weiss, MD, PI
Co-Investigators: J Feinglass, PhD; TA Lee, PhD; MS Wolf, PhD
Community-Based Health Lifestyle Partnership
National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities:  09/30/05 - 06/30/08
The goals of this project are to:  1) Build a sustainable partnership between Westside Health Authority and Northwestern University; 2) Conduct a community needs assessment around the issues of health lifestyles; 3) To build community-based research capacity through focused education and training and; 4) To design, refine and pilot test a research protocol around the Health Lifestyles Program.

Improving Healthcare Quality and Safety
DW Baker, MD, Site PI (KS Kmetik, MD, PI; American Medical Association)
Co-Investigator: SD Persell, MD
Effecting Change in Chronic Care: The Tipping Point
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality:  10/01/04 - 09/30/06
This project will implement the AMA Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement Clinical Performance Measures for heart failure and evaluate the validity of electronic quality measures.

TA Lee, PhD, PI
Medication Adherence in Patients with Respiratory Disease
NDC Health:  09/01/04 - 08/31/06
The objectives of this study are to:  1) Estimate the adherence of VA patients with chronic respiratory disease (asthma, COPD) to inhaled medications and; 2) Examine patient-specific and medication regimen factors related to adherence with inhaled medications.

B Ruo, MD, PI
Co-Investigator: DW Baker, MD
Improved Assessment of Heart Failure Symptoms: Development of a Rapid Precise Computer-Based Tool
AHA Scientist Development Program:  01/01/06 - 12/31/09
The aims of this project are to design a computer-based symptom assessment tool for patients with heart failure and to pilot test this new instrument among a cohort of heart failure patients to determine test characteristics including concordant validity and test-retest reliability.

MW Sohn, PhD
Competition, Volume and Outcome in Cardiovascular Care in California
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation:  09/01/04 - 08/31/05
The purpose of this project is to investigate the effect of competition on quality in cardiovascular care (cardiac artery bypass grafting, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, carotid endarterectomy and abdominal aortic aneurysm repair) in California between 1992 and 1998.

MW Sohn, PhD
Competition, Volume and Outcome Association for Cancer Surgeries
American Cancer Society:  01/01/05 - 12/31/07
The purpose of this study is to examine whether quality skimping occurs among high-volume hospitals under strong competitive pressure and if so how long it affects the volume-outcome association for hospitals under low and high competition.

KB Weiss, MD, PI
Institutional National Research Service Award
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality:  07/01/03 - 06/30/08
The purpose of this project is to train predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows in the area of health services research. 

KB Weiss, MD, Site PI (V Snow, MD, PI; American College of Physicians)
Closing the Gap: Partnering for Change
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality:  10/01/03 - 09/30/06
The major goal of this project is to develop and test a team-oriented, multifaceted, practice-based continuing medical education intervention strategy that targets improving quality of care. 

Clinical Epidemiology and Clinical Trials
SM Belknap, MD
Evaluation of Adverse Drug Events During Cancer Drug Clinical Trials
American Cancer Society:  07/01/05 - 06/30/06
The overall goal of this project is to increase the safety of cancer clinical trials and to improve the timeliness and accuracy of ADR information available to oncologists and their patients by developing methods that will improve the detection of ADRs during phase I and phase II cancer drug clinical trials.

J Feinglass, PhD, Co-Investigator (JF Tseng, MD, PI; Jesse Brown VA Medical Center)
Amputation Related Trends, Health Care Use and Outcomes in Veterans
Veterans Administration:  07/01/05 - 06/30/08
This is a study of incident and repeat lower extremity amputation among VA clinic users with diabetes, using both VA and matched Medicare data, including analyses of longitudinal incidence trends, the effects of LE bypass surgery and angioplasty and patient and area-level demographic and clinical risk factors.

RF Kushner, MD, PI
Prevention of Weight Gain in Adult Type 2 Diabetic Patients Treated with Pioglitazone: A Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Trial
Takeda Pharmaceuticals Inc.:  01/01/03 - 08/31/06
This is a randomized, prospective, controlled study to investigate the effectiveness of three levels of lifestyle intervention when used in combination with pioglitazone in obese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

RF Kushner, MD, PI
Screened Health Assessment and Pacer Evaluation (SHAPE)
Medtronics Inc.:  04/01/04 - 08/31/06
This is a multicenter, one year, prospective, randomized double-blind study to investigate the efficacy of an implantable gastric stimulator (gastric pacer) for weight loss among obese adults.

TA Lee, PhD, PI
Co-Investigator: K Weiss, MD
Population-Based COPD Progression
Pfizer, Inc.:  09/01/04 - 08/31/06
The major goals of this project are to review the literature and analyze data to understand the natural history of COPD in a US population-based cohort -- the Framingham Heart Study.

MM McDermott, MD, PI
Mechanisms of Disability in Peripheral Arterial Disease
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute:  07/01/02 - 06/30/06
The major goal of this project is to identify the effects of lower extremity arterial ischemia on lower extremity muscle cross-sectional area and nerve conduction velocity.  Pathophysiologic findings in lower extremity muscle and nerve will then be related to lower extremity functioning in patients with PAD to identify mechanisms of functional impairment associated with lower extremity arterial ischemia.

MM McDermott, MD, PI
Improving Functioning in Peripheral Arterial Disease
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute:  09/30/03 - 09/29/08
The major goal of this project is to determine whether a supervised treadmill exercise program and a lower extremity repetitive resistance training program improve functional outcome measures in individuals with peripheral arterial disease both with and without symptoms of intermittent claudication.

MM McDermott, MD, PI
Inflammation and Peripheral Arterial Disease Outcomes
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute:  01/01/05 - 12/31/08
The primary purpose of this study is to identify cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between inflammatory cytokines and other blood factor levels with muscle cross-sectional area, muscle power and lower extremity functioning in men and women with and without peripheral arterial disease.

MM McDermott, MD, PI
Reducing Risk Factors in Peripheral Arterial Disease
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute:  09/01/05 - 08/31/09
The primary purpose of this study is to determine whether a telephone counseling intervention can reduce Low Density Lipoprotein cholesterol levels and increase physical activity levels in patients with peripheral arterial disease.

TA Lee, PhD; KB Weiss, MD, Co-Investigators (GT Schumock, PharmD, PI; University of Illinois-Chicago)
Outcomes of COPD Management
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality:  10/01/05 - 06/30/06
The aims of this project are to:  1) Identify major data sets that contain relevant prescription drug, surgical, outcome and utilization data for people with COPD; 2) Identify a set of clinically relevant key questions relating to effectiveness of medical therapy for COPD; 3) Conduct a secondary data analysis of the created data set to evaluate the key questions for outcomes including mortality, outpatient and inpatient hospitalization, COPD-related hospitalizations and ED visits and pulmonary function.