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Committee Reports |
Research Committee Report
The Annual Spring Conference also provides an opportunity to highlight the accomplishments of family medicine researchers. The committee reviews all original research papers published by STFM members over the preceding academic year for selection of a Best Paper Award. Papers are nominated by STFM members or identified in an extensive literature search. This year, 26 papers were nominated for final consideration of the award, and the final selection was completed in January 2005. Charles Mouton, MD, of Howard University, is the recipient of this year’s award. The winning paper, “Prevalence and 3-year Incidence of Abuse Among Postmenopausal Women,” Am J Public Health 2004;94:605-12, received high marks from the Research Committee for its research question, analytic methods, writing quality, and relevance to family medicine. Dr Mouton will have the opportunity to present this paper at the Annual Spring Conference at the same session where our 2005 Curtis G. Hames Research Award winner will speak. This year’s Hames Award Winner, Allen Dietrich, MD, is being recognized for his contributions to advancing the science of our discipline. It will be a bittersweet presentation as we mourn the passing of Dr Hames earlier this year. The presentations by the Hames Award winner and the STFM Best Paper Award winner are among the highlights of the annual meeting, along with the research-themed plenary session. In New Orleans this year, the research plenary address will be delivered by Ron Epstein, MD, of the University of Rochester. Titled “What Can Findings From Practice-based Research Contribute to the Training of Physicians,” Dr Epstein will address how practice-based research could guide the process of medical education and assessment of clinician performance and will link these research agendas to the themes outlined in the Future of Family Medicine project. The Research Committee also actively monitors changes and opportunities on multiple levels that affect family medicine research. The chair of the committee serves as STFM representative to the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Commission on Clinical Policies and Research, the Association of Family Medicine Organizations Research Subcommittee, and the Board of the North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG). A member of the committee also serves as the STFM liaison to the Family Physicians’ Inquiries Network. Actions that impact family medicine research are reported back to the Research Committee and discussed, with recommendations and reports to the STFM Board of Directors when appropriate. Another effort from STFM to promote family medicine research has been its continued partnership with AAFP, ABFP, AFPRD, and NAPCRG to support the new research journal for our discipline, the Annals of Family Medicine. We continue to value this journal’s contribution to the scientific advancement of our specialty, and we hope that STFM members will continue their submission of manuscripts and their active readership. As chair of the committee, I would like to thank the committee members and
staff liaison Kay Frank for their hard work and dedication to this committee
and to STFM. Research Committee Erik Lindbloom, MD, MSPH, Chair Michael Crouch, MD, MSPH Carlos Jaen, MD, PhD Evelyn Lewis & Clark, MD, MA Caroline Richardson, MD Peter Smith, MD Gregory Strayhorn, MD, PhD Sonja Harris-Haywood, MD, Fellow Representative STFM Staff Liaison |
The STFM Research Committee is responsible for promoting and facilitating
research among the members of STFM and in the discipline as a whole. As part
of the Annual Spring Conference, the Research Committee coordinates 12 90-minute
Research Forums and a Research Poster Fair (including completed projects and
Best Paper Award winners). For the 2005 Annual Spring Conference, we accepted
two submissions for Distinguished Paper presentations, 36 research forum podium
presentations, 22 posters, and 21 fellows’ works in progress. The committee
also devotes meeting time each year for capacity-building sessions on important
topics for the STFM membership. At the 2005 Annual Spring Conference, we plan
to have a 90-minute session titled “Polishing Your STFM Research Submissions,” in
which we will give small-group feedback for individual proposals.