HSR Core Services

The Vanderbilt Center for Health Services Research operates 3 cores focusing on: Implementation and Quality Improvement Research, Qualitative Research, and Effective Health Communication.  

Vanderbilt Implementation and Quality Improvement (VIQI) Core

Provides consultation and research support services for the implementation and evaluation of initiatives to improve the quality, safety, value, and delivery of health care. Services include consultation on the use of implementation science frameworks, study design (including hybrid designs, quasi-experimental and pragmatic clinical trials), selection of process and outcome measures, program evaluation, and assistance with manuscript and grant preparation. Contact: robyn.tamboli@vumc.org

Qualitative Research Core 
Offers consultative services, equipment, and facilitation to support investigators planning to conduct qualitative studies, with a particular focus on use of structured and semi-structured interviews, web-based collection of qualitative data, direct observation of behavior, and focus groups. Contact:kemberlee.bonnet@vanderbilt.edu

Effective Health Communication Core 
Provides consultation on aspects of research study design, informed consent, patient recruitment, measurement, data collection, quantitative and qualitative analysis, and manuscript preparation related to health literacy, numeracy, cross-cultural communication, and mobile device or internet-based communication. Contact:
erin.m.bergner@vumc.org

 

Additional Vanderbilt core services are available to help meet the needs of researchers.

 

Survey Research Shared Resource (SRSR)

Based in the Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center, the SRSR offers a wide range of services related to the development and performance of telephone, web and mixed mode surveys. Services include survey design, project planning, development and pretesting of instruments, interviewer training and certification, recruitment and informed consent, data collection (via telephone interviews, mail, or web), follow-up, and reporting, Contact: SRSR@vumc.org.

 Integrated Data Access and Services Core (IDASC)

The IDASC supports research involving secondary use of clinical data and is a mechanism for receiving programming related to the Synthetic Derivative/BioVU, and the Research Derivative available to the Vanderbilt research community. IDASC also supports storage and analysis of publicly available biomedical and public health datasets. Contact: victrbigdata@vumc.org.

 Meharry-Vanderbilt Community Engaged Research Core (CERC)

The CERC offers a wide range of consultative services to support all phases of community engaged research. Assistance include strategies for identifying and engaging communities in development and implementation of a research project; community needs assessment; research designs, measurement strategies, evaluation methods, and monitoring approaches best suited for community settings; navigating administrative obstacles to carrying out research in community settings; and translating and disseminating research findings in community settings. Contact: cerc@vumc.org.

 V-CLIC Clinical Informatics Core

The Clinical Informatics Core offers  1) clinical data extraction and analysis,  2) design and build of EHR interventions, including clinical decision support tools, 3) predictive model implementation, 4) value set and logic development, and 5) general clinical informatics consultation. Contact: elise.russo@vumc.org