Dr. Friese Awarded Unique NIH/NINR Opportunity
Dr. Christopher Friese, assistant research scientist, University of Michigan School of Nursing, was awarded an initial-stage research funding grant through the new National Institutes of Health and National Institute of Nursing Research (NIH-NINR) “Pathway to Independence Award" program.
This unique research funding opportunity is a 2-phase program intended to facilitate the ability of a new, highly promising investigator to complete supervised research work, establish independence, publish results, and obtain an independent research position. The initial 1-2 year mentored phase allows investigators to complete their supervised research work, publish results, and search for an independent research position. The independent (R00) phase provides up to 3 additional years of research support.
Dr. Friese will apply this grant from NIH-NINR to fund his research project entitled “Fostering Independence in Nursing and Outcomes Research". The project estimated award is $177, 619.00 over the initial-stage period of September 2008 to June 2010 and will move into R00 phase after 2010.
The objective of these research activities is to measure and improve the health outcomes of patients with cancer. First he will apply advanced statistical modeling techniques to evaluate whether ANCC Magnet Hospital status is associated with improved outcomes for older adults hospitalized for cancer surgery. He will then conduct cost-effectiveness analyses to evaluate the economic outcomes for patients in Magnet- and non-Magnet hospitals. Finally he will revise the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index instrument to measure the practice environment of nurses working in ambulatory oncology settings. Hopefully the study will illuminate the relationship between the nursing practice environment and outcomes of care for patients with cancer.
In this study, Dr. Friese is joined by other distinguished researchers, including Dr. Laurel Northouse, U-M School of Nursing, Dr. Steven Katz, U-M School of Medicine and Public Health, Dr. Sandeep Vijan, U-M School of Medicine, Dr. Eileen Lake of the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Dr. Barbara Given of Michigan State University, and Dr. Craig C. Earle from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto Ontario. The research will result in peer-reviewed publications that detail the study findings and the implications for policy and practice.
Dr. Christopher Friese joined the faculty as Assistant Research Scientist at the University of Michigan School of Nursing, and Research Associate at the University of Michigan Health System on June 1, 2008. His program of research is focused on the measurement and improvement of outcomes for patients with cancer and has been funded by the American Cancer Society, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute for Nursing Research, the National Cancer Institute, and the Oncology Nursing Foundation. Current investigations include studying the outcomes of diagnostic delay for patients with hematological malignancies, and studying the outcomes of Magnet Hospital care for surgical oncology patients.
