Optimizing health outcomes by improving measurement of grief after amputation with a health equity approach

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

Candidate: Dr. Cody McDonald is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Washington (UW). She completed her MPH and PhD at UW and has been engaged in rehabilitation-related research since 2014. Dr. McDonald has worked on several federally-funded research grants, including a randomized crossover trial and multiple outcome measure development studies. She also collaborates with colleagues at the federally-funded UW Center for Outcomes on Rehabilitation Research. Dr. McDonald’s research experience includes multiple phases of the translational research process: collecting and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data; development and application of new outcome measures; preparing for and implementing randomized crossover trials. Dr. McDonald’s long-term career objectives are to elucidate grief and emotional health after amputation and understand how grief may impact health outcomes; to develop measures centered in patient priorities to assess constructs of importance for individuals with impairments; and to develop and employ strategies for measure development and implementation to improve health equity. Environment: The UW School of Medicine consistently ranks among the top Medical Schools in the nation in the U.S. News and World Report for its excellence in research, clinical training programs, and patient care. The School of Medicine is an international leader in biomedical research, receiving over $500 million in research funding annually. The Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Washington has had a strong commitment to research since its inception. Research, both basic and clinical, is a major component of the departmental mission. The Department is consistently ranked in the top two in NIH funding and the top three in overall research funding for all rehabilitation departments. Research: In the proposed research, I will develop and calibrate a new patient-driven measure to assess grief after amputation using a health equity approach. This project includes two aims: first to develop a new self- report measure to assess grief using a health equity approach, and second, to conduct initial calibration of this new tool. Community-based participatory research methods and principles will be used throughout the proposed project. A community advisory board will be developed and engaged to inform project decisions. To develop the measure, I will conduct a literature review of existing grief measures. Next, I will use focus group and interview discussions with individuals with amputation (with a focus on minoritized groups) and guided by the diagnostic criteria for prolonged grief disorder and the socioecological model of health. Using existing measures and qualitative findings, I will develop new items and test them through cognitive interviews. Based on interview results, I will narrow items to a final item bank. The final item bank will be used to conduct a national survey of adults with limb amputation. This survey will yield data on the psychometric properties of the grief measure including initial calibration data and information about how items function within the measure.