The latter half of this century has been characterized by an increasing prevalence of chronic disorders which contribute to premature mortality, impairment of function, and significant economic impact. Chronic disorders are defined as those which are permanent and require long periods of observation or care. Adjustment to the disorder or risk factors, prevention of complications, slowing of disease progression, and maintenance of function are the aims of most chronic disorder therapies. As health care moves from the acute care arena to the outpatient and community setting, nursing will have an increasingly important role in the management of these disorders and the prevention of their sequelae. Management strategies must be directed toward improving or arresting clinical status as well as toward maintaining function and quality of life. Consequently, we are proposing this research center to provide infrastructure support for a center of excellence in multidisciplinary, outcomes-based nursing research in chronic disorders among adults. Specifically we are emphasizing function ability, cognitive ability, quality of life, and disorder specific biological outcomes. Such outcomes can be examined both within and across disorders and populations enriching our knowledge of effective intervention strategies across populations. In order to fully develop our Center, we require mechanisms to foster collaborative research, preliminary work which can lead to funded investigations, consultation and/or training in measurement methods, support for data management and analysis; as well as resources for developmental and dissemination activities. Consequently, we are proposing three cores as components of this infrastructure. Specifically, we propose: (1) an administrative core which will provide overall guidance, coordination of resources and management of a pilot study program; (2) a research support core which will function as a data center, offering expert consultation on methodology and measurement, as well as direct support for data entry, data management, and analysis; and, (3) a research development and dissemination core which will offer training and other developmental activities, including promotion of collaboration, for both active and potential core users.
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