Newswise — The Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing has received a $2.5 million federal research grant—the largest in the school's history—to implement a team-based health care delivery system to manage the total cardiovascular health of 500 high-risk patients. Headed by Jerilyn K. Allen, RN, ScD, Associate Dean for Research, the five-year study will incorporate successful prevention strategies from three earlier research studies, addressing a wide variety of patient risk factors.
"The reality is that very few patients have isolated risk factors, and we need to take a more comprehensive approach to prevent the progression of cardiovascular diseases," says Allen. "We're bringing together the best of three models of care to improve outcomes in urban clinics and underserved populations."
The new team-based project, funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health, will draw on Dean Martha N. Hill's research on blood pressure in young African-Americans; Fred Brancati's work for the Bloomberg School of Public Health in managing diabetes; and Allen's own research on cholesterol management.
The centerpiece of the research program is the use of a three-person team—comprised of a physician, a nurse practitioner, and a community health worker—to manage the health care of the study participants, who will be recruited from clinics operated by Baltimore Medical System (BMS), a non-profit community health center system that provides care to 35,000 medically underserved people in Baltimore's poorest areas. BMS patients and health providers are to serve on a steering committee that will guide the research program. "They will be true partners as we work together to shape the intervention so that it will be sustainable when the project is complete," Allen says.
Half of the study patients will receive care from the three-person team, and half will receive a more traditional form of treatment. In addition to comparing health outcomes for the two groups, Allen will also compare the cost-effectiveness of each type of treatment, as cost is a key factor in implementing the project on a broader scale. "One of our goals is to communicate to other stakeholders how this model can be effective and cost-effective," Allen says. "We would hope that it would have potential to result in decreasing cardiovascular disease mortality and health disparities if applied across other primary care settings."
The Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing is a global leader in nursing research, education and scholarship and is ranked among the top 10 nursing higher education institutions in the country. The School's community health program is second in the nation and the nursing research program now holds eighth position among the top nursing schools for securing federal research grants. The School continues to maintain its reputation for excellence and educates nurses who set the highest standards for patient care, exemplify scholarship, and become innovative national and international leaders in the evolution of the nursing profession and the health care system. For more information, visit http://www.son.jhmi.edu/
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