Project Summary
During the Tier II contract period, we will continue to build our regional network of service providers, health system leaders, and community members committed to developing and implementing research that addresses the healthcare needs of the communities in the Columbia River Gorge. Under the local leadership of Dr. Dillon, we will continue to work with Dr. Melinda M. Davis (Tier I and Tier II co-Principal Investigator) to connect with academic colleges as partners in research and to build a team of academicians with the range of skills and expertise needed to support this collaborative work. At the end of the 12-month award period, we will have equipped local people to meaningfully engage in health research, from planning through dissemination, and have identified a series of comparative effectiveness research questions. Our community-academic partnership will be positioned to move forward with writing a competitive application that is scientifically rigorous and community/patient-centered, and that addresses important regional questions while advancing generalizable knowledge on rural health and health services research.