Dr. James Dolan's primary research interest is medical decision making, with a special interest in the use of multi-criteria decision making methods to support clinical decisions. His research to date has demonstrated that a multi-criteria method called the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) can be used to help understand and support clinical decision making, assess patient and provider preferences, uncover areas where preferences vary, and provide insight into why variations in recommended practices occur. The AHP, however, is only one of several well-established multi-criteria methods. His immediate career goals are: a) to explore the relationship between ease of implementation and the theoretic rigor of multi-criteria analysis to support clinical decision making;b) to introduce a new generation of beginning clinical investigators to patient-oriented research into clinical decision-making and decision support;and c) to develop additional mentoring skills. His long term research goals are: a) to lead a research group based at the University of Rochester devoted to the development, testing, and implementation of patient-oriented clinical decision support systems that will improve the quality of clinical decision-making and promote the effective translation of clinical research findings into practice;b) to encourage and support similar research activities at other institutions, nationally and internationally;and c) to develop a vibrant research community consisting of beginning and experienced investigators interested in using decision science, especially multi- criteria decision making, to support clinical decision making and promote the effective and efficient translation of clinical research findings into clinical practice. Mentoring activities will consist of active engagement in the teaching and guidance provided to students enrolled in the University of Rochester's programs for beginning clinical researchers which include a K30 program for beginning clinical investigators, a post-doctoral T32 training award in preventive cardiology, a Predoctoral (T32) program in clinical/translational research, a K12 mentored career development program for fellows and junior clinical faculty, and a PhD program in Translational Biomedical science. The research component of this program will compare the extent to which differences among three multi-criteria methods that vary in ease of use and methodologic rigor affect the results of analyses performed by patients, the time and effort required, the accuracy and reliability of the results, and decision support for decisions regarding aspirin and lipid- lowering therapy for primary prophylaxis of cardiovascular disease.
Good clinical decision-making is an essential element of high quality health care. Decision support tools based on multi-criteria decision making methods represent a promising approach for developing a new generation of clinical decision support systems that can help clinical decision makers make better decisions in complex circumstances, improve communication between patients and providers, and promote the effective translation of new evidence into practice.
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