A note from Stephen Crystal, PhD, Director of the Rutgers Center for Health Services Research and Distinguished Research Professor at Rutgers School of Social Work on August 28, 2024.
Dear Colleagues,
With the start of the semester approaching, we wanted to share some opportunities available for graduate research assistants at the Center for Health Services Research and seek your help in identifying outstanding students who may be interested. These opportunities may be particularly interesting for students focused on behavioral health services research or health policy analysis and provide opportunities to develop research skills, participate in published research, and potentially lead to dissertation research. Opportunities are available both for qualitative and quantitatively oriented doctoral or other advanced graduate students at varying levels of time commitment. They offer chances to work with exceptional CHSR faculty on important health services topics of high public health importance. Brief summaries for several new projects are below.
Due to the funding of new projects, CHSR also has opportunities for full-time researcher roles, including a currently posted Senior Research Specialist position; we are also planning an upcoming recruitment for an Assistant Research Professor. These positions may interest recent or upcoming graduates of your programs. We welcome any leads you may have for identifying talented potential research team members.
Those interested in these positions can contact Natalia Herman at nherman@ifh.rutgers.edu.
Thank you for any help you can provide in identifying promising prospects to join the exciting new research projects underway at CHSR!
Graduate Research Assistant Opportunities:
Project 1: NIDA R-01 – Improving Outcomes and Equity for Released Prisoners with OUD: Trajectories of Participation in Pre-Release and Post-Release MOUD, Peer Navigation, and Outcomes
Pre-release medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) and peer navigation (PN) represent promising strategies for improving re-entry outcomes, but there is a need for better understanding of implementation, utilization, and outcomes of these interventions. Large-scale implementation across New Jersey’s 11 state prisons creates a unique opportunity to develop knowledge that can inform translation across states. Among releasees with SUDs, the study will examine patterns/predictors of pre-release and post-release MOUD and PN; recovery outcomes over the re-entry period related to peer navigation and MOUD using innovative event history analysis strategies incorporating propensity scoring and machine learning strategies; analyze experiences from multiple stakeholders’ perspectives.
Project 2: Clinical and Translational Research Center Pilot Project
Translating Evidence on Opioid Overdose Prevention into Practice: Applying Translational Science to Strategies and Outcomes for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) Treatment Engagement Among Overdose Survivors
Specific Aims:
Aim 1: Develop measures assessing uptake of evidence-based clinical interventions leveraging administrative data sources including Medicaid claims and EHRs.
Aim 2: Identify practices used by high-performing hospitals through case studies.
Aim 3: Collaborate with hospitals to disseminate specific strategies used by high-performing sites.
Project 3: AHRQ Learning Health Systems Pilot
Translating Evidence on Opioid Overdose Prevention into Practice: Implementation & Outcomes of Emergency Department Interventions
Starting September 2024, RWJBH ED’s will roll out a physician-led education campaign covering neurobiology of OUD among other topics. In partnership with RWJBH collaborators at IFPR:
Tailor an implementation strategy involving qualitative interviews.
Conduct clustered stepped-wedge trial assessing implementation outcomes using surveys/EHR data.
Assess preliminary effects on ED-based buprenorphine uptake by patients comparing those seen by providers who completed motivational interviewing training before/after intervention.
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