The Methods Minute is a bi-monthly newsletter which provides highlights, additions, and news on HSRMethods.org. Below is a list of the features, highlights, and PDF version from the current edition of the Methods Minute. Past editions of the Methods Minute are also available for download as PDFs.

December 2012 Methods Minute

Highlights

PCORI Finalizes Methodology Committee Standards Report
The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Board of Governors has adopted 47 revised Methodology Standards to guide the conduct of patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR), as recommended by PCORI’s Methodology Committee. The revised methods standards were based on the Methodology Committee’s analysis and review of 124 sets of public comments solicited during a 54-day public comment period earlier this year. A full narrative report, providing context for the standards, will be revised and published next spring.

PCORI Releases New Funding Announcement
The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) will award $12 million for up to 14 contracts that collaborate with patients and stakeholders advance address knowledge gaps and advance the field of comparative clinical effectiveness research. This PCORI Funding Announcement (PFA) corresponds to PCORI's fifth priority area, Accelerating Patient-Centered and Methodological Research, from its National Priorities for Research and Research Agenda. The results of these studies will inform future iterations of the PCORI Methodology Report and its standards. Application materials for this PFA can be downloaded from the "Funding Opportunities" section of PCORI's website. www.pcori.org/funding-opportunities. Letters of intent are due by January 15.

2013 Delivery System Science Fellowship Application Launching Soon
AcademyHealth is pleased to announce that we will begin accepting applications for the 2013 Delivery System Science Fellowship (DSSF) on December 17, 2012. The DSSF provides a paid post-doctoral learning experience to help researchers gain more applied experience conducting research in delivery system settings. Students and researchers with an interest in conducting research in delivery system settings are encouraged to apply. Positions will be available at Intermountain Healthcare, Geisinger Health System, PAMFRI, Medica Research Institute, North Shore- LIJ Health System, Mayo Clinic, and Kaiser Permanente Southern California. Please check our website or contact [email protected] for more information.

AcademyHealth Launches New HSR Information Sciences Community
AcademyHealth is pleased to invite you to participate in the Health Services Research (HSR) Information Sciences Community, an online community for librarians, information scientists, and health services researchers interested in engaging with, and learning from, each other. This new virtual network is free and may be accessed through my.hsrmethods.org.

National Cancer Institute (NCI) Launches “Dissemination and Implementation Measures and Methods Initiative”
The purpose of the Dissemination and Implementation (D&I) Measures and Methods initiative is to bring together an international community of researchers and practitioners to create a growing and evolving resource for standardized, vetted D&I measures and methods that can lead to comparable datasets and facilitate collaboration and comparison across disciplines and regions. The D&I initiative workspace and resource enables researchers and practitioners to:

• Identify and define constructs relevant to D&I research and practice;
• Learn about, comment on, and rate existing measures for D&I;
• Share new D&I measures;
• Identify missing D&I measures; and
• Learn about methods relevant to D&I.

More information on the D&I initiative and how to get involved can be found on the NCI website.

Recent Publications & Presentations...

New Chapter from AHRQ’s “Methods Guide for Effectiveness and Comparative Effectiveness Reviews”
This chapter focuses on developing and selecting topic nominations for systematic reviews. View all available chapters from the AHRQ methods guide.

Policy Brief: Predicting the Effects of the Affordable Care Act (Using Microsimulation Modeling)
This brief explains the basics of microsimulation modeling so that policymakers and analysts are able to secure the optimal model for their needs. With this in mind, the brief addresses three questions:

1. What are health policy microsimulation models and what are their components?

2. What are the similarities and differences among the five major federal health policy models?

3. What types of questions should policymakers and analysts consider when evaluating contracting options for health policy microsimulation?

HSR Methods Corner: Evaluating Survey Quality in Health Services Research: A Decision Framework for Assessing Nonresponse Bias
The second article in the HSR Methods Corner series, by Dr. Jonathan Halbesleben, addresses the issue of nonresponse as problematic and offers appropriate strategies for assessing nonresponse bias. The full-text of the article is available free of charge.

AHRQ Conference Plenary Session Video Archive Now Available
To help advance its goal of improving health care for all Americans, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) held its fifth annual conference, "Moving Ahead: Leveraging Knowledge and Action to Improve Health Care Quality," on September 9-11, 2012, in Bethesda, MD. This conference was designed to showcase the best of the Agency's research and provide examples of how that research is being implemented at all levels in health care delivery.

Webcast: Large Simple Trials and Knowledge Generation in a Learning Health System
This Institute of Medicine (IOM) webcast explores accelerating the use of large simple trials (LSTs) to improve the speed and practicality of knowledge generation for medical decision making and medical product development; the concepts of LST design, examples of successful LSTs, the relative advantages of LSTs, and the infrastructure needed to build LST capacity as a routine function of care; the structural, cultural, and regulatory barriers hindering the development of an enhanced LST capacity; and the needs and strategies in building public demand for, and participation in LSTs. Participants also considered near-term strategies for accelerating progress in the uptake of LSTs in the United States.

Online Resource: SHADAC Data Center
The State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC) Data Center is a web-based table generator tool allowing users to customize tables and graphs of health insurance coverage estimates within a pre-defined set of parameters. The Data Center is a user-friendly and easily accessible way to get health insurance coverage estimates from the Current Population Survey's Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS) and the American Community Survey (ACS). The Data Center now has calendar year 2011 estimates for the CPS and SHADAC-Enhanced CPS. The 2010 estimates for CPS and SHADAC-Enhanced CPS have also been revised to incorporate the new 2010 Census-based weights released by the Census Bureau.

Upcoming Events...

Get Early Bird Registration for AcademyHealth’s National Health Policy Conference
Attend the National Health Policy Conference (NHPC) to put our national policy challenges and solutions into perspective—hearing first hand from experts who can illustrate what it all means when applied to real people, organizations, and systems. Register by December 18 to save $100. The conference will take place in Washington, DC from February 4-5, 2013.

2nd Annual Conference on Statistical Practice
Statistical Practice 2013 aims to bring together hundreds of statistical practitioners, including data analysts, researchers and scientists, who engage in the application of statistics to solve real-world problems on a daily basis. The conference will provide an opportunity to learn about the latest statistical methodologies and best practices in statistical design, analysis, programming and consulting. Early registration closes on December 31, 2012 and the conference will take place in New Orleans, LA from February 21-23, 2013.

Stay Tuned for Upcoming AcademyHealth Webinars:

• Leveraging Mobile Health (mHealth) Solutions for Health Services Research (HSR)
• Long-Term Care Interest Group Data Resources
• Enrollment and Beyond: ACA Efforts and Implications in California

Past Issues of the HSR Methods Minute