Request for Funding

Medical Student Research Fellowship for Summer 2002

Mentor: Belinda Vicioso
Department: Internal Medicine
Room number: Sprague Bldg. CS8-12
Mail Code: 8889
Phone number: 214-648-9012
E-mail: belinda.vicioso@utsouthwestern.edu
Project title: Medication Non-Adherence in an Elderly Population

Human subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable): Pending

Animal subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable):

Project Type (patient-based research, animal-based research, or basic research; this characterization is only to permit a general classification for grouping similar types of projects)
Patient-Based Research

Brief Description of Project: Medication adherence problems prevent 50% of patients with chronic disorders from receiving the benefits of a prescribed treatment plan. The initial phase of this project is designed to determine characteristics of medication non-adherence in the elderly. As part of this research project, the medical student will conduct open-ended telephone interviews with fifty Parkland patients or their caregivers.

The interview sample will be drawn from a cohort of indigent primary care patients already identified in a previous study. Students will receive one-week of instructions in open-ended interviewing techniques. They will use patient responses to identify reasons for adherence and non-adherence among this population. These responses will be ranked and incorporated into a larger survey tool for an on-going research project.

Previous Research Activities or Publications with Medical Students: Research project: A comparison of Care Practices of Geriatrics-Focused Providers to Traditional Care Providers.

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