Active Research and Sponsored Projects
Recently completed projects can be found on our archive list.
The Collaborative Home for Oral Health, Medical Review, and Health Promotion (CHOMP)
Sponsor: The Cleveland Foundation
Period of Performance: 7/1/2013 – 7/31/2019
Summary: The CHOMP program pairs a Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) student with a Nurse Practitioner (NP) student to jointly serve patients in our clinics, with faculty supervision.
Interprofessional Learning Exchange and Practice (I-LEAP)
Co-Investigator: Dr. Catherine Demko (Lead PI: Dr. Ellen Luebbers, School of Medicine)
Sponsor: Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation
Period of Performance: 7/1/2016 – 6/30/2020
Summary: Under the I-LEAP (IP Learning Exchange and Practice) project, IPE will move into the clinical setting and ultimately become a required clinical experience for learners in the schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, applied social sciences, and the physician assistant program.
Continuous Time Causal Mediation Models for Social Behavior in Health
Co-Investigator: Dr. Suchitra Nelson (Lead PI: Dr. Jeffrey Albert, School of Medicine)
Sponsor: NIH-NIDCR
Period of Performance: 12/1/2016 – 11/30/2020
Summary: This project will develop new statistical methods that will help researchers better understand the progression of certain diseases and why particular interventions work or fail to work. The new methods, intended to reveal complex causal relationships among risk factors and outcomes as they unfold over time, will be applied to data from a randomized study of family interventions to improve use of dental care and a longitudinal study of behavioral and biological factors leading to dental caries in disadvantaged children. The new methods will facilitate the design of effective new behavioral and other interventions with the potential to improve health outcomes and reduce health disparities.
KeyBank Health Education Program
Co-Investigator: Dr. Catherine Demko (Lead PI: Dr. Ellen Luebbers, School of Medicine)
Sponsor: KeyBank Foundation
Period of Performance: 7/1/2017 - 6/30/2022
Interprofessional Learning Exchange and Practice (I-LEAP) Partnership
Co-Investigator: Dr. Catherine Demko (Lead PI: Dr. Carol Savrin, School of Nursing)
Sponsor: St. Luke's Foundation
Period of Performance: 7/13/2017 - 7/15/2019
Summary: In I-LEAP, CWRU will support Care Alliance and Neighborhood Family Practice through the work of patient-centered interprofessional student teams. Students from medicine, physician assistant, nursing, dentistry, and social work programs will work at and with these Federally Qualified Health Centers to increase provider capacity by supporting patient health education and care coordination. CWRU students will gain cultural competency and interprofessional clinical experience caring for underserved patients and communities.
Multi-Level Interventions to Reduce Caries Disparities in Primary Care Settings
Principal Investigator: Dr. Suchitra Nelson
Sponsor: NIH-NIDCR
Period of Performance: 09/01/2017 – 08/31/2020
Summary: This study will test innovative theory-driven multi-level interventions at the parent/caregiver, provider (physician), practice (pediatric) levels to increase dental attendance and reduce untreated caries among 3 to 6 year old Medicaid-enrolled children attending well-child visits in the pediatrician's offices. The behavioral interventions at the parent and provider levels, and implementation strategies at the practice level will help parent to seek dental care for child. These novel interventions have the potential for a new oral health care model for physicians providing care for young children.
MEDTAPP Dental Provider Training on Tobacco Cessation Counseling
Principal Investigator: Dr. Catherine Demko
Sponsor: Ohio Colleges of Medicine Government Resource Center
Period of Performance: 07/01/2018 - 06/30/2020
Reducing Oral Health Disparities of Older Adults: Comparative Effectiveness of 2 Treatments
Principal Investigator: Dr. Suchitra Nelson
Sponsor: PCORI
Period of Performance: 04/01/2019 – 04/30/2024
Summary: The overall goal of the project is to reduce oral health disparities by determining the most effective, efficient, and patient-centered treatments that can be delivered in community-based or clinical settings. To address this goal, researchers will compare two community-based tooth decay treatments: a “simple medical” treatment and a “typical dental” filling.