COVID-19

March 16, 2022: Ivermectin Results From the TOGETHER Trial Will Be Shared in COVID-19 Grand Rounds

Posted on by Damon Seils
Headshots of Dr. Edward Mills and Dr. Craig Rayner
Dr. Edward Mills and Dr. Craig Rayner

In this Friday’s COVID-19 Grand Rounds session, Dr. Edward Mills of McMaster University and Dr. Craig Rayner of Monash University will present “Better Data on Ivermectin Is Finally Here: Results from the TOGETHER Trial.”

The Grand Rounds session will be held on Friday, March 18, at 1:00 pm eastern. Join the online meeting.

The NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory Coordinating Center is using its popular Grand Rounds platform to share late-breaking research and promote resources in support of clinical researchers affected by the COVID-19 public health emergency.

For previous COVID-19 Grand Rounds, and more news and resources related to the COVID-19 public health emergency, see the COVID-19 Resources page.

March 4, 2022: ACP COVID: A Trial to Evaluate an Advance Care Planning Video and Communication Skills Training Intervention for Older Adults During an Evolving Pandemic (Angelo E. Volandes, MD, MPH; James A. Tulsky, MD; Sophia N. Zupanc, BA)

Posted on by terren.green@duke.edu

Speaker

Angelo E. Volandes, MD, MPH
Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital

James A. Tulsky, MD
Chair, Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Sophia N. Zupanc, BA
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Keywords

Advanced Care Planning; VitalTalk; ACP DECISIONS; Unstructured data; Patient engagement; Clinician engagement

Key Points

  • ACP COVID combines the VitalTalk program and ACP DECISIONS videos to help patients and families navigate difficult decisions around advanced care planning.
  • VitalTalk is a non-profit organization providing evidence-based communication training. VitalTalk trained health care providers to communicate advanced care planning options with patients.
  • The ACP COVID study compared advanced care planning documentation rates at three specific timepoints: 6 months prior to COVID-19(control period, Sep 2019-Mar 2020), during the first wave of COVID-19(control period, March 2020-Sep 2020), and during the time period when vaccines were first rolled out in New York state(intervention period, Dec 2020-June 2021).
  • Advanced care planning conversations best happen in the outpatient setting, not in the hospital right before intubation.
  • Almost 24% of patients in the intervention period had Advance Care Planning conversations which was significantly higher than the control periods.

Discussion Themes

The clinician training program gave clinicians the skills to cope with the implications of the pandemic and led to increased clinician engagement.

 

 

Read more about ACP-COVID.

 

 Tags

#pctGR, @Collaboratory1

March 2, 2022: COVID-19 Grand Rounds to Share Findings of ACP COVID Study of Advance Care Planning

Posted on by Damon Seils
Headshots of Dr. Angelo Volandes, Dr. James Tulsky, and Sophia Zupanc
Dr. Angelo Volandes, Dr. James Tulsky, and Sophia Zupanc

In this Friday’s COVID-19 Grand Rounds session, Dr. Angelo Volandes of Massachusetts General Hospital and Dr. James Tulsky and Sophia Zupanc of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute will present “ACP COVID: A Trial to Evaluate an Advance Care Planning Video and Communication Skills Training Intervention for Older Adults During an Evolving Pandemic.” The study is supported by a supplemental grant award to the investigators of ACP PEACE, an NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory Trial.

The Grand Rounds session will be held on Friday, March 4, at 1:00 pm eastern. Join the online meeting.

The NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory Coordinating Center is using its popular Grand Rounds platform to share late-breaking research and promote resources in support of clinical researchers affected by the COVID-19 public health emergency.

For previous COVID-19 Grand Rounds, and more news and resources related to the COVID-19 public health emergency, see the COVID-19 Resources page.

January 27, 2022: Grand Rounds Podcast Now Available, Featuring Dr. Chris Lindsell on Selecting Outcomes for Outpatient Trials

Posted on by terren.green@duke.edu

Headshot of Dr. Christopher John LindsellIn the latest episode of the NIH Collaboratory Grand Rounds podcast, Dr. Christopher Lindsell and Dr. Adrian Hernandez continue the discussion about research outcomes and the importance of understanding stakeholder perspectives in choosing the correct outcomes for outpatient trials.

The full January 14 Grand Rounds webinar with Dr. Lindsell is also available.

January 12, 2022: COVID-19 Grand Rounds to Address Stakeholder Perspectives in Outpatient Trials

Posted on by Damon Seils
Headshot of Dr. Christopher John Lindsell
Dr. Christopher John Lindsell

In this Friday’s COVID-19 Grand Rounds session, Christopher Lindsell of Vanderbilt University will present “Searching for A Unicorn: Understanding Stakeholder Perspectives When Selecting Outcomes for Outpatient Trials.” Lindsell will discuss lessons about choosing endpoints in outpatient COVID-19 trials.

The Grand Rounds session will be held on Friday, January 14, at 1:00 pm eastern. Join the online meeting.

The NIH Collaboratory Coordinating Center is using its popular Grand Rounds platform to share late-breaking research and promote resources in support of clinical researchers affected by the COVID-19 public health emergency.

For previous COVID-19 Grand Rounds, and more news and resources related to the COVID-19 public health emergency, see the COVID-19 Resources page.

December 16, 2021: NIH Collaboratory Publishes COVID-19 Checklist for Statistical Analysis Plans in Pragmatic Trials

Posted on by Damon Seils

Thumbnail image of the COVID-19 checklistA new tool from the NIH Collaboratory assists investigators in identifying impacts of the COVID-19 public health emergency on ongoing pragmatic clinical trials. The Statistical Analysis Plan Checklist for Addressing COVID-19 Impacts summarizes impacts on trial conduct that study teams should document, measure, analyze, and report.

The new checklist was developed by the NIH Collaboratory’s Biostatistics and Study Design Core Working Group. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the NIH Collaboratory Trials have had to postpone recruitment, alter methods of participant engagement, and modify tools for research assessment and intervention delivery.

The leaders of the Biostatistics Core, Dr. Patrick Heagerty and Dr. Liz Turner, spoke in a recent interview about the impacts of the pandemic on the NIH Collaboratory Trials. Early next year, the Coordinating Center will report the results of a survey of the study teams about their experiences with these impacts.

Download the Statistical Analysis Plan Checklist for Addressing COVID-19 Impacts.

Grand Rounds January 14: Searching for a Unicorn: Understanding Stakeholder Perspectives When Selecting Outcomes for Outpatient Trials

Speaker:
Christopher Lindsell, PhD
Professor of Biostatistics and Biomedical Informatics
Director, Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (VICTR) Methods Program
Codirector, Vanderbilt Health Data Science (HEADS) Center

Topic: Searching for A Unicorn: Understanding Stakeholder Perspectives When Selecting Outcomes for Outpatient Trials

Date: Friday, January 14, 2022, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET

Meeting Info: To check whether you have the appropriate players installed for UCF (Universal Communications Format) rich media files, go to https://dukemed.webex.com/dukemed/systemdiagnosis.php.

To join the online meeting:
Go to https://dukemed.webex.com/dukemed/j.php?MTID=m4c6e3e4827442a92338a5649cee613e6

Click ‘Connect to Audio”
Choose ‘Computer Audio’ or ‘I will call in’.
If using the ‘call in option’, follow the information from the dialog box that appears.
Be certain to use the Access Code AND the Attendee ID.

Troubleshooting:
If the URL above does not work, go to dukemed.webex.com and enter:
Meeting Number: 2622 682 0537
Meeting Password: 12345

For Audio ONLY:
Call-in toll number (US/Canada): 1-650-479-3207
Access code: 2622 682 0537

NOTE: For Toll-free users, the call-back (call me) services are also available.

November 12, 2021: Using Financial Incentives to Increase COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake (Charlene Wong, MD MSHP; Noel T. Brewer, PhD)

Posted on by terren.green@duke.edu

Speakers

Charlene Wong, MD MSHP
Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Public Policy
Duke University School of Medicine
Chief Health Policy Officer for COVID-19
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services

Noel T. Brewer, PhD
Gillings Distinguished Professor in Public Health
Department of Health Behavior
Gillings School of Global Public Health
University of North Carolina
Member, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
University of North Carolina

Topic

Using Financial Incentives to Increase COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake

Keywords

COVID-19; Vaccine; Incentive; North Carolina DHHS

Key Points

  • The Summer Cash Card incentive program, run by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services from May 26 to June 8, 2021, offered $25 gift cards as an incentive to receive a COVID-19 vaccination and an additional $25 gift card to anyone transporting individuals to a vaccination site.
  • During the time period that the Summer Cash Card incentive program was running, 2 in 10 people indicated that they were likely to get vaccinated, but remained unvaccinated for reasons such as lost wages, lack of child care, and lack of transportation.
  • Other incentive programs used in North Carolina included drawings for larger cash prizes or college scholarships for teens.
  • Recipients of $25 gift cards completed a survey asking the importance of getting the $25 gift card in their decision to get vaccinated or drive someone to get vaccinated.
  • Results from the survey showed that the financial incentive was particularly important to Hispanic individuals and individuals with an annual income below $40,000.
  • During times when vaccine administration fell, incentive sites did not see the same drop in vaccination rates.
  • Incentives are effective if they are known, valued, contingent, certain, and immediate.

Discussion Themes

For many individuals cost or transportation issues are the main barrier to vaccination.

Financial incentives could be considered coercive, but the benefits to the individual and the community are broad and the risks low. The $25 incentive is a fair amount to cover the costs of lost wages and transportation that it takes to get to the vaccine clinic.

Focus for incentives is still on the remaining people who are not vaccinated at all rather than on those who need booster vaccines.

 

Read more about the North Carolina DHHS financial incentive program for COVID-19 vaccines. Read the JAMA paper published in October 2021.

 

Tags

#pctGR, @Collaboratory1

November 10, 2021: COVID-19 Grand Rounds to Highlight Use of Financial Incentives for Vaccine Uptake

Posted on by Damon Seils
Headshot of Dr. Charlene Wong
Dr. Charlene Wong

In this Friday’s COVID-19 Grand Rounds session, Dr. Charlene Wong of Duke University will present “Using Financial Incentives to Increase COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake.” Wong is the chief health policy officer for COVID-19 at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

The Grand Rounds session will be held on Friday, November 12, at 1:00 pm eastern. Join the online meeting.

The NIH Collaboratory Coordinating Center is using its popular Grand Rounds platform to share late-breaking research and promote resources in support of clinical researchers affected by the COVID-19 public health emergency.

For previous COVID-19 Grand Rounds, and more news and resources related to the COVID-19 public health emergency, see the COVID-19 Resources page.

Grand Rounds November 12: Using Financial Incentives to Increase COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake

Speakers:
Charlene Wong, MD MSHP
Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Public Policy
Duke University School of Medicine
Chief Health Policy Officer for COVID-19
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services

 

Noel T. Brewer, PhD
Gillings Distinguished Professor in Public Health
Department of Health Behavior
Gillings School of Global Public Health
University of North Carolina
Member, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
University of North Carolina

Topic: Using Financial Incentives to Increase COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake

Date: Friday, November 12, 2021, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET

Meeting Info: To check whether you have the appropriate players installed for UCF (Universal Communications Format) rich media files, go to https://dukemed.webex.com/dukemed/systemdiagnosis.php.

To join the online meeting:
Go to https://dukemed.webex.com/dukemed/j.php?MTID=m4c6e3e4827442a92338a5649cee613e6

Click ‘Connect to Audio”
Choose ‘Computer Audio’ or ‘I will call in’.
If using the ‘call in option’, follow the information from the dialog box that appears.
Be certain to use the Access Code AND the Attendee ID.

Troubleshooting:
If the URL above does not work, go to dukemed.webex.com and enter:
Meeting Number: 2622 682 0537
Meeting Password: 12345

For Audio ONLY:
Call-in toll number (US/Canada): 1-650-479-3207
Access code: 2622 682 0537

NOTE: For Toll-free users, the call-back (call me) services are also available.