Tara Kersey-Barrett and Dr. Greg Sawyer check settings on CO2 incubators.
Endocrine Factors of Post-Partum Depression
This study is looking for a correlation between multiple hormones that change
at the time of birth and possibly correlate with the onset of depression. Answers
to questions such as, “Is it possible to predict those at high risk?”
and “Can hormone therapy be proposed to mitigate symptoms or avert onset?”
are studied.
Sponsor: Pfizer, Inc.
PIs: Marty Beal, Gary Watson
GS: Sarah McCoy
An Examination of HIV/AIDS Knowledge and Attitudes Among Medical Trainees
It is estimated that the number of persons with HIV infection in the United
States ranges from 650,000 to 900,000. Given these numbers, future physicians
can anticipate being involved in the direct care of patients with HIV infection
and/or assisting in identifying care resources for them. However, research indicates
that a notable percentage of health care professionals have negative attitudes
towards HIV-infected and AIDS patients. This research examines the factors that
influence knowledge of AIDS and attitudes towards AIDS and HIV-infected patients
among medical trainees during their medical education.
Sponsor: College Seed Grant
PIs: Vivian Stevens, Damon Baker
Area Prevention Resource Centers
The Department of Psychiatry administers three Area Prevention Resource Centers
(APRCs). Each APRC serves a defined catchment area from offices within its geographical
region. The Tulsa APRC serves north and west Tulsa County; the PaNOK APRC provides
services to Payne, Pawnee, Noble, Osage, and Kay Counties; and the Tri-County
APRC functions in Creek, Okmulgee, and Okfuskee Counties.
These programs promote the prevention of substance abuse and its related problems
of domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, youth depression and suicide,
teenage pregnancy, STFDs and AIDS, violence, gangs and occult involvement, and
school dropouts through services that positively influence the personal attributes
of individuals and the environmental conditions of the community. APRCs organize
individuals into task forces that assess the mental health needs within their
community and, with the assistance of APRC staff members, develop and implement
programming to reduce the incidence of high-risk behaviors. APRC community-based
programs provide information and education, increase community awareness and
citizen involvement, present life skills development training, organize alternative
activities, examine social policy, and refer individuals for intervention services
as needed.
Sponsor: Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
PI: Bruce A. Singer
African-American Specialty Center
The goal of the Center is the development of healthy, responsible, productive
citizens who will be unlikely to experience alcohol or drug-related problems
in their lives. This is accomplished through the delivery of culturally-specific
prevention services that identify individual and environmental factors that
place African Americans at increased risk and address these conditions.
Sponsor: Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
PI: Bruce A. Singer
Cognitive Impairment Among Cherokee Elders
A pilot project is being conducted in collaboration with Ralph Richter of
St. John Medical Center and the Alzheimer’s Disease Center of the University
of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas dealing with cognitive impairment
among Cherokee elders in Oklahoma. The purpose of the study is to obtain preliminary
data on the prevalence of cognitive impairment, profiles of cognitively impaired
and non-impaired Cherokee elders, and the usefulness of several standard mental
health and functional assessment instruments for this population.
Sponsor: College Seed Grant
PI: Nancy Van Winkle
Cognitive Rehabilitation Following Brain Injury
Injury of brain tissue occurs in many diseases and traumatic incidents. Impaired
cognitive and perceptual abilities secondary to these injuries often prevent
patients from returning to productive work and family life. Rehabilitation therapies
have been widely available for only the past twenty years; research into their
effectiveness is in its infancy. Current investigation involves examining the
efficacy, clinical utility, and cost effectiveness of an in-home computerized
cognitive and perceptual rehabilitation system. This research involves collaboration
among faculty from OSU-COM and NSU College of Optometry.
Sponsor: College Seed Grant
PI: Richard H. Bost
Contribution of Osteopathic Cranial Manipulation to the Management of Recurrent
Otitis Media
The purpose of this research is to establish the value of osteopathic manipulative
treatment in the management of children with recurrent otitis media. Ninety
percent of all children under three years of age have at least one episode of
otitis media (ear infection), and seventy five percent have more than three.
Osteopathic physicians find that osteopathic manipulation therapy (OMT) in conjunction
with conventional medical treatment will reduce the frequency and severity of
recurrent otitis media. These manipulative techniques are not new but have not
been well studied in relation to recurrent otitis media. It is believed that
the manipulation will improve drainage of the eustachian tube (which normally
balances air pressure between the middle ear and the outside air). Drainage
of fluid from the middle ear should shorten the length of illness and reduce
the discomfort that goes with these illnesses.
Sponsor: AOA
PI: Miriam Mills
End of Life Issues in American Indian Communities
Funding is being pursued to conduct a pilot study in two American Indian tribes
to investigate end-of-life issues in these populations. This study will (1)
identify the values, beliefs, and behaviors of tribal members regarding end-of-life
issues, (e.g., advance directives, autopsies, organ donations), (2) determine
tribal members’ and health providers’ perspectives of how the health
care system currently deals with these issues, and (3) determine tribal members’
and health providers’ perspectives of how the health care system can be
improved to better meet the needs of tribal people regarding end-of-life issues.
This is the first step in a research program whose ultimate goal is to develop
curricular materials on end-of-life issues to train culturally competent health
care providers. This is a collaborative effort with Dianne Miller-Hardy of OSU-COM
and Everett Rhoades of OU Health Sciences Center.
Sponsor: College Seed Grant
PI: Nancy Van Winkle
Collaborator: Everett Rhoades, OU Health Sciences Center Oklahoma Area Health
Education Center Program
The Oklahoma Area Health Education Center Program (OkAHEC) is a sponsored program
of OSU-COM that is conducted through regional AHECs located in Enid, Poteau,
Lawton, and Pryor, and a training/health care facility in the Osage Hills Complex
in Tulsa. The program combines academic and community resources to improve the
supply and distribution of primary care professionals and to increase the accessibility
of quality health care services in rural and medically underserved areas. The
OkAHEC mission is accomplished through community-based training for health professional
students and medical residents with rural and underserved populations; educational
interventions that promote disease prevention and improved health through access
to primary health care services; continuing education for health practitioners
in rural communities; health careers recruitment with a special focus on minority
and underserved populations; locally based initiatives that respond to emerging
health care needs; and coordination with other state and federal primary care
initiatives.
Sponsor: Oklahoma Department of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services
PI: Larry Cherry
Prevention Resource and Evaluation Center
The Prevention Resource and Evaluation Center (PREC) provides consultation,
material resource support, and a wide range of program evaluation services for
the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (DMHSAS),
the Oklahoma Area Health Education Centers (OKAHEC), and other agencies throughout
the state. Originally developed exclusively for drug and alcohol prevention
programs, PREC has expanded its scope to include the evaluation of other health-related
topics and provides services, i.e., evaluation design, instrument development,
and the production of formal evaluation reports, to many other agencies. The
collection, input, analysis, and services offered by PREC staff are survey development
and implementation, evaluation site visits, conducting informational or training
presentations on evaluation or related topics, and providing consultation or
technical assistance.
Sponsor: Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
PI: Bruce A. Singer
Stress and Human Motor Activity
Restlessness and psychomotor agitation, i.e., excessive nonproductive or nongoal-oriented
motor activity, are symptoms of anxiety. This research examines the use of a
body-borne, motor activity measurement device to detect changes in motor activity
associated with anxiety-provoking life events. This research may help improve
diagnosis and treatment of anxiety disorders by aiding in the development of
quantitative methods for reliable, unobtrusive assessment of nonproductive motor
activity during daily life and in response to stressful life events.
Sponsor: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
PI: Michael H. Pollak
Suicide Among American Indians in New Mexico
A current outcomes study is being conducted with the Jicarilla Apache Tribe
to evaluate the efficacy of their National Model Adolescent Suicide Prevention
Project. This study compares the pre- and post-intervention suicide rates of
the Jicarilla Apache Tribe and other Apache, Navajo, and Pueblo tribes in New
Mexico. Additional studies are being conducted with Philip May of the University
of New Mexico to update epidemiological information regarding completed suicides
among the Apache, Navajo, and Pueblo Indians in New Mexico from 1957-1998. Quantitative
and qualitative data is being reviewed from state death certificates and death
reports from the Office of Medical Investigator to develop a more complete epidemiological
description of suicide completions. The association of alcohol and suicide,
age and gender differences, interactions prior to the event, and trends in suicide
rates are all currently being explored in these populations.
Sponsor: Indian Health Service
PI: Nancy Van Winkle
Clinical Drug Trials
Several faculty contract with different pharmaceutical companies to test new
drugs. Ongoing trials are testing drugs for the treatment of HIV/AIDS, cardiovascular
disease, asthma, and other diseases.