We propose a China-US Health and Aging Research Program to improve the quality and efficiency of health care delivery in China, generally by developing the health services research capacity in China, and specifically through research projects conducted by trainees targeted to address Chinese health policy priorities. Through a collaboration between Stanford University?s Center for Health Policy and Center for Primary Care and Outcomes Research (under its Center for Demography and Economics of Health and Aging, the """"""""parent grant"""""""") and the China Health Economics Institute, we aim (1) to provide a US-based training program for new investigators in health services research from China, (2) to provide joint US-Chinese mentoring for trainee research performed as part of a degree-granting program in China; and (3) to augment training and research opportunities in China on health services research through seminars, conferences, and meetings. To prepare individuals to make outstanding contributions to the field, the China-US Health and Aging Research Program will combine supervised research experience with formal classroom instruction. The proposed program will both increase trainee expertise and foster long-term collaborations between participating faculty, other trainees, and outstanding health services researchers from around the world. Postdoctoral trainees will participate in a three-month preparatory language course, followed by a one-year intensive training and research program at Stanford University, including graduate courses in the field of health care research and policy as well as a directed research project. Upon completing the US training program, trainees will return to China to complete work on the directed research project at CHEI with their China mentors. This program will provide trainees with competence in the methodological tools of health services research; familiarity with major current issues, both nationally and internationally; the ability and insight to anticipate future issues; a working knowledge of the institutional structures of health care; and the ability to collaborate effectively with investigators from a different country and whose expertise may be in a different academic discipline. National and international workshops and symposia will provide exposure for trainees and opportunities to form ties with a wide network of peers and potential collaborators. The program is designed to provide maximum leverage throughout China and the region.
