Colorectal Cancer Screening

Recruitment is underway on a 2-year qualitative study to explore attitudes and barriers towards this life-saving screening test in the Hispanic and Native American communities of New Mexico. Nationally, rates of this type cancer are improving, but here they are getting worse. Before embarking on efforts to boost screening rates, this is an effort to understand the cultural and regional context.

Komen Breast Cancer project

In conjunction with the Prevention Research group of Dr. Deborah Helitzer, RIOS Net is recruiting Hispanic women over 40 for focus groups regarding their utilization of mammography services. They plan to "elucidate appropriate patient navigation strategies to improve use of mammography".

Screening and Treatment of Alcohol and Opiate Dependence in Primary Care (STOAP)

This RIOS Net project was competitively selected as a pilot project by the new Clinical and Translational Science Center. It will explore the role of primary-care clinicians and pharmacological treatment is managing drug and alcohol abuse.

CHILE Project

As profiled in Healthy Choices, Healthy Children" a major five-year study including RIOS Net clinicians as partners has been launched by the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. Sixteen rural New Mexico communities will receive a multi-pronged intervention delivered to the students, teachers, staff, and family members of each community's Head Start center.

Chronic Non-Malignant Pain

Information was gathered  in RIOS Net and four partner networks about how clinicians view the management of chronic pain .  The purpose is to understand the impact of pain visits on primary care practices and help formulate further work. 

Acanthosis Nigricans and Diabetes

With PRIME Net collaborative, RIOS Net members in 4 clinics extended our earlier work in Diabetes Prevention Project #1. They  investigated the relationship of AN to metabolic markers of diabetes risk in their patients, and how presence of AN may influence diabetes prevention counseling. 

Hepatitis C

Medical guidelines are conflicted on whether doctors should take the time to screen for debilitating, yet stubborn condition. Whether to refer out to a specialist or manage it in primary care is also unclear.  RIOS Net anonymously surveyed clinicians in five states to get insights into how real doctors interpret these ambiguities.  

The Community Voice in RIOS Net

RIOS Net staff listened to community members to gain an understanding of their concerns and views about health and medical research, as well as privacy and confidentiality with regards to their health information.

(Funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: RO3HSO13208)

Tobacco Usage Among Primary Care Patients in RIOS Net

Information was gathered about tobacco use in over 2,000 patients and will be used to design and implement future tobacco cessation and prevention projects.

Summary: Results | Published Paper | Article Details

(Funded by UNM Cancer Research and Treatment Center: 5 P20 CA088807-04)

Diabetes Prevention Project #1: Use of a Primary Care Practice-Based Research Network to Investigate Acanthosis Nigricans and Risk of Diabetes in Southwestern Hispanic/Native American Adolescents and Young Adults

The purpose of this project was to gain an understanding of how widespread diabetes risk factors are in patients between the ages of 7-39 years, and to examine the relationship between the skin condition called Acanthosis Nigricans and diabetes. 

Summary: Published Paper | Article Details

(Funded by the American Diabetes Association: 1-03-CR-34)

Diabetes Prevention Project #2: Exploration of Successful Strategies and Barriers to Diabetes Primary Prevention in RIOS Net: The Qualitative Phases

This was a project to find out how, when and why doctors and health care providers talk with their patients about obesity. This project also examined what can be done to improve provider effectiveness in obesity and diabetes prevention.

Summary: Published Paper | Article Details

(Funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: 5 R21 HS013496)

Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM): Decisions on Seeking Care

Information was gathered about how people talk with their doctors and health care providers about their alternative and traditional care. The purpose of this study was to increase provider knowledge, improve communication and improve care.

(Funded by the NIH National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine: R21AT002323)

Primary Care Network Survey (PRINS)

The Primary Care Network Survey was the first project conducted by RIOS Net. Information was gathered about the doctors and health care providers within the network, the patients, why people go to see their doctor, what the most common health problems are and how they are addressed. The results are used to help plan future projects and to give members and communities a glimpse of what the network looks like.

Summary: Results | Published Paper | Article Details

(Funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: R21HSO13496-02)