In this application for a Mentored-Patient Oriented Research Career Development Award, the candidate will obtain expertise in epidemiology, biostatistics, and health management & policy so that she may conduct population-based epidemiological studies to evaluate the association between psychiatric disorders and physical disorders. She will use the findings to support the development and implementation of clinical interventions designed to prevent or modify comorbidity. The candidate proposes a multi-disciplinary training and research program at a university with a long-standing history of excellence in psychiatric epidemiology research. She will capitalize on resources including the availability of two population-based data sets (Wellmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield Claims Data Files and the SEER Iowa Cancer Registry), mentors with significant experience in epidemiology, biostatistics, and health services research, and a supportive research environment offered through a college of medicine and a college of public health. The educational program will be integrated with the proposed research and mentorship to study: 1) the longitudinal relationship between mental disorders and physical disorders (specifically cancer) in an insured, rural population; 2) patient and provider factors that influence the interaction between mental and physical disorders and 3) the utilization of health resources and the delivery of clinical preventive services to persons with psychiatric disorders. Based on the epidemiological findings, the candidate will develop a clinical preventive intervention directed at the primary and secondary prevention of comorbidity. The candidate's proposed research will provide a paradigm for the future study of the association of mental disorders and physical disorders such as cardiovascular diseases. This award will provide the candidate with the necessary background to develop future studies directed at the understanding and prevention of comorbidity. She will develop the additional skills necessary in the design and analysis of large-scale epidemiological studies and an understanding of health services that will prepare her for the development of research proposals leading to an independent research career.
