Newsbrief
Drs. LaVela and Evans chosen as back-to-back American Paraplegia Society (APS) Excellence Award Recipients
This honor is awarded to an individual who is a recognized authority in the area of spinal cord injury medicine/research with “achievements recognized by peers and professionals of the community” and “accomplishments that have had a positive nationwide impact on individuals with SCI/D and their quality of life.” Dr. Evans was chosen in 2022 and Dr. LaVela was chosen in 2023.
Speak Up! Video Listed on VA Diffusion Marketplace
Dr. Gordon has developed and refined a patient engagement intervention over more than 10 years (the Speak Up! video). Two published RCTs have shown the efficacy of the video intervention and one RCT, an HSRD-funded hybrid type II effectiveness implementation study (“Empowering Veterans to Actively Communicate and Engage in Shared Decision Making in Medical Visits, A randomized controlled trial”; IIR 19-442; PI: Gordon), is in data analysis. As part of efforts to disseminate findings, Dr. Gordon and team have met with VA operations offices, including the Veterans Experience Office. Dr. Gordon and team are collaborating with the Veterans Experience Office to increase awareness and use of the tool, and as result, the Speak Up! video is listed on the VA Diffusion Marketplace.
Find it here: https://marketplace.va.gov/innovations/speak-up
Research by Dr. Weaver Featured on Multiple Platforms
Dr. Weaver led a study that included a national survey of women Veterans who received mobility related devices/equipment to assess their experiences with procurement, use and function of these devices. Articles about this research were posted on ORD’s website (https://www.research.va.gov/currents/0923-One-size-doesnt-fit-all-mobility-needs-in-Women-Veterans.cfm) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Eureka Alert website (https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1001478).
Dr. Evans Featured on Podcast
Dr. Evans was featured on the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) podcast discussing 'Infection Prevention for Patients with CP-CRE & Other Multi-Drug Resistant Gram-Negative Rods' released March 5, 2024.
Listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/infection-prevention-for-patients-with-cp-cre-other/id1192338467?i=1000648237632
Dr. Weiner Serves as Panelist
Dr. Weiner spoke at the 2023 VA Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) Research Summit to advocate for technical changes to the EHRM that will facilitate informatics research in VA. Dr. Weiner shared expertise on some of the technical tools (non-production/sandbox) that VA needs to adopt for informatics research to be feasible.
CINCCH Article to Count for CME Credit
Marissa Wirth, MPH, Frances Weaver, PhD, Charlesnika Evans, PhD and colleagues’ journal article "A retrospective cohort study of patient-reported urinary tract infection signs and symptoms among individuals with neurogenic bladder" in American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation will earn Category 1 continuing medical education (CME) credit.
Dr. Weaver Recognized for 40 Years of Service
Dr. Fran Weaver has led many key research projects in the past 40 years including the seminal work on deep brain stimulation in Parkinson’s disease published in NEJM, JAMA and Lancet Neurology; efforts to increase respiratory vaccination rates in persons with spinal cord injury and research on bone health and osteoporosis leading to a clinical practice guideline on bone health in spinal cord injury; and her current efforts to examine the effects of military toxins legislation on Veterans use of health care and disability claims. Congratulations to Dr. Weaver on this milestone!
