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Health Service Research (HSR) examines the context, process, and outcomes of healthcare. An HSR orientation to contemporary issues in healthcare and rehabilitation offers unique perspectives on what works, what does not work, and why. Multiple researchers within the department employ HSR techniques to examine access to care, healthcare delivery, and outcomes of care.
Dr. Strasser directs a major VA- based program examining the relationship of rehabilitation team functioning to patient outcomes. To date, this research reveals that certain characteristics of team functioning, such as team relations and team actions, predict stroke patient outcomes. Findings from this study form the basis for the current randomized clinical trial designed to examine if patient outcomes can be improved with enhanced team functioning. Many clinicians and patients observe that some teams appear more affective than others. Dr. Strasser?s work represents the first national study to test whether patient outcomes can be improved through changes in how the rehabilitation services are delivered.
Others in the department make creative use of HSR techniques. For example, Dr. Stringer examines critical issues of access of care in Brain Injury Rehabilitation; Dr. Uomoto employs quantative and qualitative methodologies to study healthcare delivery.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) states that HSR examines access, costs, and what happens to patients as a result of care. The goals are to identify the most effective ways to organize, manage, finance and deliver high quality care, reduce errors, and improve patient safety. Researchers in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine make significant contributions to HSR.
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