HIV is increasingly understood as a chronic condition, like diabetes or hypertension. Indeed it can be - but only for those who are willing and able to make a commitment to take antiretroviral (ARV) medications daily for the rest of their lives. The long-term goal of Dr. Wilson's research is to improve adherence to prescribed medication regimens and thereby long-term health outcomes of persons with chronic conditions. To this end, Dr. Wilson is PI of an RO1 that is testing an innovative, physician-focused intervention to improve patients' adherence with ARVs. Other adherence-related projects with which he is involved include a 50-state survey of Medicare recipients to assess rates of cost-related medication skipping, and the development and testing of a new method to assess physician-patient dialogue for adherence content. Dr. Wilson's mentoring plan is noteworthy in several ways. First, his proven ability to apply rigorous social science methods to address important clinical research questions is a unique resource for trainees. General Clinical Research Centers are traditionally extremely strong in hospital-based studies of metabolic phenomena. Dr. Wilson brings strengths in a series of complementary methods that are increasingly important to patient-oriented researchers but often under represented in GCRCs, including the measurement of health status and patients' perceptions of care processes, psychometrics, survey research, clinical epidemiology, study design, and qualitative research. Second, Dr. Wilson's environment is enriched with the kinds of methodological expertise that facilitate high quality research and mentoring, including biostatistics, evidence-based medicine and meta-analysis, predictive modeling, and social science expertise. His trainees will have full access to these valuable resources. Third, because of the Tufts University Sackler School MS/PhD Program in Clinical Research there is an existing, successful training infrastructure that provides both trainees and junior faculty the opportunity to learn research skills.
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