Discovery Park

The Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering announced six winners of its second annual seed grant program.

Melissa Franks (Child Development and Family Studies), Jake Jensen (Communications), Laura Sands (Nursing), Joseph Thomas (Pharmacy), Lee Schwarz (Management), Ji Soo Yi (Industrial Engineering).

The seed grant program provides up to $40,000 per project for one year and is designed to help take meritorious research ideas to a level at which they can more readily get external funding. The request for proposals was issued in December, and faculty from all Purdue campuses were invited to submit projects. Each proposal was judged by at least three faculty members, with one being in the project’s research area.

About the funded projects

Melissa Franks

“Following Doctor’s Orders: Does Patient and Spouse Communication with Healthcare Providers Improve Dietary Adherence Among Patients with Diabetes?”

Franks, co-PI Cleveland G. Shields, both associate professors in the Department of Child Development and Family Studies, will partner with a local endocrinologist to see if coordinating information delivery to patients and their spouses increases treatment adherence.

Diabetes is a chronic condition that affects nearly 24 million Americans. Proper and consistent management of the disease has been shown to be essential in staving off diabetes-related complications.

Jake Jensen

“Using Narrative Persuasion to Increase Colon Cancer Detection in High-Risk Individuals: A Worksite Intervention”

Jensen and co-PIs Mary Anne Sloan and Susan E. Morgan, will study a worksite campaign attempting to increase colorectal cancer screenings. Other studies have shown that worksite campaigns can be effective but this is the first study that will look at the narrative aspect as a means to achieving healthcare goals.

Laura Sands

“The Impact of No-Show Behavior on Diabetes Management”

Sands and co-PI Mark Lawley will study the impact of missed appointments on diabetes management efforts. Their research will also look at why appointments are missed, including predictive factors, that could be integrated into predictive modeling for better patient scheduling.

Lee Schwarz

“Modeling the Supply Chains for Healthcare Products”

Schwartz’s research project will focus on the consequences of healthcare product misidentification and the development of pharmaceutical distribution revenue models. Unlike consumer goods, healthcare products do not have a well-developed system of identification, distribution, or logistics. The impact begins with inefficiencies and extends into patient safety issues.

Joseph Thomas

“Integrated Data and Trauma Care Outcomes”

Thomas will use four data sources — Indiana trauma registry, Indiana Emergency Medical Services registry, Indiana hospital discharge data, and Medicaid data for cases in the Indiana trauma registry —  to examine variation in trauma care and the resulting outcomes. The larger data set will enable him to focus on outcomes other than mortality and to perform a more longitudinal analysis of the data.

Ji Soo Yi

“Testing an Interactive Web-Based Nutrition Tool in Patients Enrolled in Cardiac Rehabilitation”

Yi will develop a pilot project to test “Food Magnet,” a web-based tool that can be used to help patients diagnosed with coronary heart disease manage their diet. The tool will be designed so that computer- and nutrition-literacy issues do not limit patients’ ability to use it. Yi will also look at the tool’s effectiveness in educating patients and in creating behavioral changes in food selections.