Fourth Quarter 2023 - First Quarter 2024

We've been busy while we've been away. This newsletter will cover November 2023 through March 2024. Read on to find out what we've been up to!

New Publications

Three projects have been published since November 2023 and we have one project in pre-print. Visit the links below to view our work.

Huffstetler AN, Villalobos G, Brooks EM, Funk A, Richards A, Sabo RT, Rockwell MS, Epling JW, Webel B. The Current State of Alcohol Screening and Management in Virginia Primary Care Practices. Medical Clinics of North America. Published online August 2023:S0025712523001128. doi:10.1016/j.mcna.2023.07.001

Webel B, Villalobos G, Rockwell MS, Huffstetler A, Britz JB, Brooks EM, Krist AH. Considering the Environmental Impact of Practice- Based Research. The Journal of American Board of Family Medicine. Published online March 2024, jabfm.2023.230202R1. doi:10.3122/jabfm.2023.230202R1

Rockwell M., Holtrop J, Eden A, McNellis R, Leal A, Bierman A, Kato E. Mapping AHRQ’s 30-Year Investment in Primary Care Research (1990-2020). Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; January 2024. AHRQ Pub. No. 24-0016.

In pre-print:

Rockwell MS, Oyese EG, Singh E, Vinson M, Yim I, Turner JK, Epling JW. A Scoping Review of Interventions to De-implement Potentially Harmful Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) in Healthcare Settings. medRxiv [Preprint]. 2023 Jul 30:2023.07.29.23293362. doi: 10.1101/2023.07.29.23293362. PMID: 37546911; PMCID: PMC10402245.

Conferences & Presentations

NAPCRG

San Francisco, CA

Our research group presented three projects at the 2023 NAPCRG Annual Meeting. Two posters were presented. One was a research in progress presentation, Discounting Behavior in Primary Care Clinicians and Association with Low-Value Care Decision Making. The second was the poster for A Scoping Review of Interventions to De-implement Potentially Harmful NSAIDs in Healthcare Settings.

Drs. Epling and Rockwell were co-authors on an oral presentation by Alison Huffstetler, MD, Practice Facilitation to Improve Screening for Unhealthy Alcohol Use in Virginia: Outcomes of AHRQ’s EvidenceNow Initiative.

Dr. Epling presenting the poster on low-value care

Jamie with her poster at the Virginia Rural Health Association's Rural Voices Conference

Rural Voices Conference

Blacksburg, VA

Jamie Turner (PhD-1) presented The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Opioid Prescribing Rates in Virginia at the Virginia Rural Health Association's Rural Voices Conference in Blacksburg, VA. She placed second in the poster contest. Congratulations! She presented this poster again at the 47th Annual Appalachian Studies Conference in Cullowhee, North Carolina, March 2024.

TBMH Health Research Symposium

Roanoke, VA

Jamie also presented a poster on the Rural Variation in Patient Experience of "Sludge" in the Colorectal Cancer Screening Process, at the Translational, Biology, Medicine, and Health Research Symposium, Roanoke VA, December 2024.

VTC 2024 Research Symposium

Roanoke, VA

Congratulations to David Brooks (M4) for finishing his VTC Research Project and presenting at the 2024 Research Symposium.

David's poster for the VTC 2024 Research Symposium

Grants & Funding

We received several grants for our ongoing projects including the Ardmore Grant for Enhancing and Evaluating a Lifestyle Medicine Clinic in Southwest Virginia and two RAP grants from Carilion Clinic. One is a RAP Tier III for Drs. Dulaney and Epling's project evaluating DDB and the other is a RAP Tier II for Drs. Gregory and Rockwell's project evaluating maternity deserts.

Dr. Rockwell submitted an AHRQ R18 for practice-based de-implementation study.

Staffing Updates

Michelle Rockwell

Michelle Rockwell, PhD, RD was recently promoted to the Director of Research within FCMRG. Congratulations, Dr. Rockwell!

Emily Cox

Emily Cox, MPH, MS, RD, CHES started working for FCMRG in late February as the Research Coordinator. She has worked as a research assistant for FCMRG on the "Implementation of a Multimodal Heart Failure Protocol in a Skilled Nursing Facility" project and has experience as a clinical dietitian at Roanoke Memorial Hospital.

Gabby Peregrino

A special thanks to Research Coordinator Gabby Peregrino, MS, who helped the FMCRG with several projects over the past few months. She is continuing to assist with the "Examining the Impact of Diaphragmatic Breathing in Lowering Blood Pressure: A Pilot Study" (PI: Kim Dulaney, M.D.); sponsor Carilion Clinic Research Acceleration Program (RAP)) project.

Other Happenings

REMEDI

We are still recruiting for our Healthy Habits for Type 2 Diabetes: Remote Delivery and Outcomes Assessment in Urban and Rural Patients (REMEDI) project.

We are looking for participants who have a BMI of 30 or above, HbA1c of ~7.5% or above, and without history of bariatric surgery. There are also eligibility criteria based on types of diabetes medication (more information on website linked above). This lifestyle intervention uses convenient, evidence-based tools to empower patients where they live and work to lose weight, improve the control of their diabetes, and maintain these improvements over time. Eligible participants receive compensation upon successful completion of involvement in various research components. We also offer remote participation in this program which involves: dietary and lifestyle coaching, behavioral intervention, 90-minute average weekly commitment, Zoom assessment of blood sugar, diet, medication use, physical activity, and decision-making.

De-Sludging Care

Our work on the project, "Exploring Patient-Reported Sludge in the Delivery of Colorectal Cancer Screening Services," led by Dr. Rockwell, was featured in the iThriv Newsletter. Click the link to see the article!

De-sludgers (Jamie, Brianna (M2), and Dr. Epling) at work analyzing some data (pictured left).

Regional Meetings

FCMRG had a table at the recent regional meetings to showcase ongoing studies and recent findings.

FBRI Medical Scholar Lecture

Dr. Epling hosted Dr. Anthony Viera, MD, MPH, FAHA for FBRI's Timothy A. Johnson Medical Scholar Lecture. Dr. Viera and Dr. Epling served together in the Navy. Dr. Viera delivered a lecture about masked hypertension and his research about detecting this lesser addressed clinical phenomena.

Look who's paired!

Matthew Vinson (M3) and Dr. Epling were paired for Matthew's family medicine clerkship rotation!

Docs for Morgan

Isaiah Yim (M2) played in the 12th annual Docs for Morgan competition to honor the memory of Morgan Dana Harrington.

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