Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion

Pittsburgh CHERP's Elian Rosenfeld, PhD, leads a VISN4 pilot project on screening and diagnosis of sexually transmitted diseases for women Veterans.

CHERP Pilot Funding FY2016

Four pilot research projects submitted by VISN 4 investigators have been recommended for funding from the Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion (CHERP), a VA HSR&D Center of Innovation.  These one-year projects focus on improving equity and/or quality in health and health care among Veterans. Awards are anticipated to begin in FY16, contingent upon availability of funding from VISN4.

Elian Rosenfeld, PhD:  Examining Rates of Screening and Diagnosis of Chlamydia and Gonorrhea among Women Veterans.  Using national VA data for FY 2009-2014, this project will compute the proportion of women Veterans who have been screened and diagnosed with chlamydia and gonorrhea, and examine differences in screening completion rates and diagnosis by race/ethnicity and clinic type. This project is aligned with Dr. Rosenfeld’s goals to understand and address disparities in sexually transmitted infection screening and ultimately improve the quality and equity of reproductive health care for women within VA.

Armando Rotondi, PhD:  E-Health Delivery of Social Skills Training to Veterans with Serious Mental Illness (SMI).  Social Skills Training (SST) is required to be available to all Veterans with SMI who could benefit, however, a recent study found that SST was actively provided in fewer than 20% of VA Medical Centers. This project will provide needed pilot data to support an HSR&D Investigator Initiated Merit Review Award application by developing and evaluating the use of web- and video-based delivery of Social Skills Training (e-SST) for Veterans with SMI at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System. 

Marina Serper, MD:  Way to Cure: Developing Effective Strategies to Promote Adherence to Hepatitis C Therapy among Veterans. Treatment for Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been revolutionized by the advent of highly effective, short duration, but extremely costly antiviral medications.  Phase III clinical trials show cure rates of >90% in clinical trial populations; however, data on real world adherence and cure rates are limited and not known in the VA setting. This two-arm pilot intervention at the Crescenz VAMC will determine specific patient characteristics that are associated with medication non-adherence and pilot-test a tailored electronic reminder and feedback strategy for Veterans with HCV.

Clara Wagner, PhD:  Treatment for Depression in Veterans: Identifying Gender Differences in Patterns of Mental Health Service Use and Receipt of Care.  Depression is a major health concern in VA.   Women Veterans experience depression at higher rates than male Veterans and identify services for depression among their top mental health treatment priorities. Despite this, information is lacking regarding depression treatment for women Veterans. This retrospective study will analyze characteristics of VHA patients newly diagnosed with depression at the Crescenz VAMC and affiliated CBOCs.  Findings will generate preliminary data on receipt of care, mental health service use, and outcomes of care for this cohort.