Harvard Catalyst Profiles

The Health Decision Sciences Center (HDSC) at Massachusetts General Hospital is committed to improving the quality of decisions made by patients and health care providers about medical tests and treatments. The HDSC is involved in developing, implementing, and evaluating decision aids and decision quality measures to support shared decision making in medical encounters. We are seeking students to participate in a research internship and assist with ongoing studies. This is an exceptional opportunity to get experience with cutting edge research focused on patient engagement and delivery of patient-centered care. Students will be supervised by Karen Sepucha, PhD, Director of the Health Decision Sciences Center and KD Valentine, PhD, Instructor. Project Proposal for 2022: The Center has several ongoing studies: Promoting Informed Decisions about Cancer Screening in Older Adults (PRIMED Study). This multi-site randomized trial is examining the impact of a skills training course for primary care physicians on conversations with older adults considering whether to continue or stop colorectal cancer screening. Implementation of patient decision aids for elective orthopedic surgery decisions. This implementation science project is a collaboration across Orthopedic Departments at hospitals affiliated with MassGeneralBrigham as well as others across the US. We aim to improve the quality of elective surgery decisions by implementing patient decision aids into routine orthopedic care for four conditions: hip and knee osteoarthritis, lumbar herniated disc and spinal stenosis. Student activities may include: Literature review, Key informant interviews and/or focus groups with patients, caregivers, and clinicians, Observation of clinic visits and mapping of clinic workflow (maybe be virtual), Development and testing of decision support tools (paper-based, online, video), Survey research: designing questionnaires, screening patients, preparing mailings, reminder phone calls, data entry, medical chart review, Data analysis: qualitative analyses of interviews and focus groups, basic and advanced quantitative data analytics, and data visualization, Use of Microsoft Office Suite, Redcap, Access, R, SPSS, Manuscript contributions (writing, editing, proofing, references), conference poster presentations, Grant proposal contributions, Interested? Send the following to KD Valentine via email (kvalentine2@mgh.harvard.edu) a 1 page (maximum) statement describing your research interests and goals and how this experience might help with your development and Your CV or Resume. To learn more about The Health Decision Sciences Center, visit our website: https://mghdecisionsciences.org

The Health Decision Sciences Center (HDSC) at Massachusetts General Hospital is committed to improving the quality of decisions made by patients and health care providers about medical tests and treatments. The HDSC is involved in developing, implementing, and evaluating decision aids and decision quality measures to support shared decision making in medical encounters. We are seeking students to participate in a research internship and assist with ongoing studies. This is an exceptional opportunity to get experience with cutting edge research focused on patient engagement and delivery of patient-centered care. Students will be supervised by KD Valentine, PhD, Junior Faculty at the Health Decision Sciences Center. All positions are remote. Project Proposal for Spring 2023: The Center has ongoing studies: • Promoting Informed Decisions about Cancer Screening in Older Adults (PRIMED Study). This multi-site randomized trial enrolled primary care clinicians to examine the impact of skills training using simulated patients on their conversations with older adults considering whether to continue or stop colorectal cancer screening. • Refining the shared decision making process survey. This project focused on decision making for caregivers of children with ADHD. We surveyed caregivers of children with ADHD to assess their knowledge about treatment options, amount of shared decision making, and other factors. The data will be used to better understand decision quality. • Use of social media to engage older, Spanish-speaking individuals in their care. This project focuses on the impact of a social media campaign aimed at Spanish-speaking adults in the Boston area. The data will be used to understand which messages were most interactive and which media engaged the most individuals. Student activities may include: • Literature review • Qualitative data analysis • Quantitative data collection, entry and analytics • Manuscript contributions (writing, editing, proofing, references) • Local conference poster presentations • Grant proposal contributions Interested? Send the following to KD Valentine, PhD via email (kvalentine2@mgh.harvard.edu) • 1 page (maximum) statement describing your research interests and goals and how this experience might help with your development • Your CV or Resume To learn more about The Health Decision Sciences Center, visit our website: https://mghdecisionsciences.org/