Measures of Central Tendency: Mean, Median and Mode
UMass Medical School, Lamar Soutter Library: Informationist
1. Librarian > Informationist
New Role, New Hat
Sally Gore, MS, MS LIS
Lamar Soutter Library
University of Massachusetts Medical School
“Promoting Breast Cancer Screening in Non-Adherent Women”
Principal Investigators: Roger Luckmann, MD and Mary Costanza, MD
September 6, 2012
2. The STUDY: R01 CA-132935
Promoting Breast Cancer Screening in Non-Adherent Women
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3. The RESEARCH TEAM: PEOPLE, PLACES
UMass Medical School
Family & Community Medicine
Principal Investigator
Project Director
Scheduler, Counselor Instructor
Administrative Secretary
Medicine
Principal Investigator
Behavioral Psychologist
Biostatistics
Biostatistician
Analyst
Center for Health Policy & Research
Director, Expert in Cost Analysis
Research Assistant
Library
Informationist
Fallon Community Health Plan
Claims Data Representative
Reliant Medical Group
Research Director
Research Coordinator
Site Project Director
Analyst
IT Guru
Chief of Radiology
Phone Counselors
Phone Schedulers
Primary Care Physicians
Claricode
Programmer
4. The DATA: AND THINGS
STAGING DATA CLAIMS DATA
TRACKING SYSTEM
DATA
ANALYTIC DATA
5. + an INFORMATIONIST
AIM 1: Improve effectiveness and efficiency of
communication w/in team regarding data
AIM 2: Articulate technology issues related to
implementation of the study
AIM 3: Enhance information
organization, management, utilization, and access skills
of team members
AIM 4: Assess value of an informationist to the research
team
6. AIM 1: IMPROVE COMMUNICATION
Develop a catalogue of analytic terms, i.e. a
comprehensive data dictionary
Develop a standard data request form
7. AIM 2: ARTICULATE ISSUES
Define the issues encountered during development of
the tracking system / database
Discover literature related to the topic
Identify the gaps in existing literature
Develop an electronic catalog of relevant publications
and resources
Write and publish a paper on the topic
8. AIM 3: ENHANCE SKILLS
Assist in systematic review of telephone outreach
interventions to increase adherence to mammograms
Develop system for collection, distribution, and review of
articles
Prepare and maintain timeline for project
Develop catalog of relevant resources on development
and evaluation of screening / preventive interventions
Establish and/or define rules
Set criteria
Create maintenance features
9. AIM 4: ASSESS VALUE
Informationist’s
PERSPECTIVE
Research Team’s
PERSPECTIVE
Process Evaluation Reports
Focus Group
Individual Interviews
http://librarianhats.net
10. Today: TOMORROW
Classifying/Organizing
Data Outputs
Developing Data
Dictionary
Integrated
Into Team
Assess Data
Organization Tools
Developing Data
Request Form
09-2012 03-2013
Identify and
Define IT Issues
Identify and
Organize Literature
08-2013
Information Skill Building
Develop Review
Processes
Process Evaluation
Manuscript Preparation (IT Issues)
01-2014
Systematic Review Drafts
Develop Review
Catalog
Introduction“Promoting Breast Cancer Screening in Non-Adherent Women”, is a 3-arm randomized trial comparing two forms of outreach to women coming due or overdue for a screening mammogram to the usual practice of a mailed reminder recommending getting a mammogram. One intervention involves the standard reminder letter, followed, if no response, by a scheduler call. The other intervention is a stepped approach that begins with the standard reminder letter and then, if no response, escalates to a second reminder letter and educational booklet. This followed, if no response, by a telephone call from a trained counselor who employs specific behavioral change methods to encourage women to get a mammogram.
Research Team Makeup:25+ individuals involved, not counting primary care physicians who must approve eligibility of patients – one check-pointLocated in basically 4 geographic locations – UMMS, Reliant Medical Group (healthcare providers), FCHP (insurer), Claricode (computer program consultants, Cambridge)
Data, likewise, is generated and/or collected via four sources:STAGING DATA – Captures Reliant EMR data – things such as office visits; historical data on labs, prescriptions, procedures; updates demographic and insurance enrollment coverageCLAIMS DATA – Historical data of FCHP captured claims from 1997 forward; Patients with a Reliant Medical Group PCP, claims on services utilized by Reliant patientsTRACKING SYSTEM DATA – Patient responses from counseling and scheduling interviews, including the baseline survey; counselor/scheduler call log entries and call outcomes - ~ 350 variablesANALYTIC DATA – Draws from other three sources, but also adds a number of new variables related to the specific outcomes soughtSummary – 4 sources, four locations, multiple people collecting/entering, 1000+ variables, etc.
So, why did the research team feel like an informationist would benefit them?During conversations, 4 aims developed
Give some specifics for each of these, so that you have an idea of what I’m expected to do and/or produce in my role.Improveeffectiveness and efficiency of communication w/in team regarding data
Articulate technology issues related to implementation of the study Took well over a year – much longer than originally anticipated when the researchers wrote the grant – to develop the tracking system that would be used in the interventions, i.e. the schedulers and counselor calls. Why is this? What’s been written on it? Anything? What can the experience of this study share with future studies?
Enhance information organization, management, utilization, and access skills of team membersMore “traditional” librarian skills; teaching information literacy, information management, biblographic software tools, etc. Systematic review – Something librarians have done for awhile, but new to me.
Assess value of an informationist to the research teamProgress evaluation – taking minutes from meetings, writing reports, sharing notes, etc. – not very good at it, decided instead to use a blog to track, reflect upon my experiences. It’s been really fun and, admittedly, kind of cool to see the number of people who are reading it regularly – approximately 500/week, including members of the team.Eventually, we’ll begin to meet and discuss my thoughts – me, the two PIs, the project director, and other key members on the team.Towards the end of the supplement time, we’ll have focus groups for members of the research team, as well as individual interviews – gather qualitative data for analysis; answer question of how much value I brought to the study; how, why, etc.
Finally, a quick look at the timeline – how I’m spending my time now and will continue to spend it in the future. Very general, but you can see how the work and the deliverables flow, how they overlap and/or inform one another, etc.