Featured Projects
SciMetrika has a proven track record of successfully providing scientific, technical and logistical support services. These include advanced statistical programming, surveillance tracking, database management, and technical assistance/consultation utilizing epidemiologic, statistical, and web-enabled technologies.
We have conducted public health research projects for such agencies as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and the Department of Defense (DoD) and currently hold a number of IDIQ contracts with the CDC providing comprehensive scientific and technical support services.
- Statistics and Epidemiology
- Health Behavior and Health Education
- Program Development and Program Evaluation
- Technical Assistance
- Environmental Consulting
- Management Consulting
Contextual Analysis of Breast Cancer Stage at Diagnosis and Treatment
SciMetrika examined risk factors using data from NPCR, SEER, and the Health and Resources Services Administration (HRSA) area resource file (ARF) databases. Analytical activities included recoding of variables and the concatenation and merging of large datasets using SAS. SciMetrika worked closely with DCPC to prepare two papers for submission to a peer-reviewed journal. This project provided an opportunity for SciMetrika to demonstrate expertise in data management (SAS programming), complex statistical analysis techniques, and a strong ability to work with a multi-disciplinary research team.Human Papillomavirus (HPV): A long-term Impact Study in Medically Underserved, Low-income Populations in the United States
SciMetrika is conducting a systematic literature review on models developed to estimate the impact of HPV vaccination in different countries and in specific populations, so that the appropriate base model may be constructed. Among our main tasks was to identify and select expert resources in the area of HPV vaccination and to provide modeling guidance and high-level consultation related to other aspects of the project. SciMetrika was ultimately responsible for developing a baseline model as well as a more complex model that might be applicable to additional cancers of interest – with cervical cancer has been the primary outcome of interest. For this project, SciMetrika quickly identified and recruited the required expert resources, demonstrating our ability to respond immediately to customer needs and to interact with experts of diverse backgrounds.Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) – Statistical Support
SciMetrika assisted in the data management and analysis of various surveys and administrative databases maintained by the VA. Using the Survey of Healthcare Experience of Patients (SHEP), SciMetrika investigated receipt of influenza vaccination, factors associated with receipt of the vaccination, and whether there were any racial disparities. This analysis necessitated the use of complex survey designs such as multiple stages of selection, unequal probability of selection, and stratification. This was accomplished using Taylor series linearization as implemented in the software SUDAAN. Results from our analysis were published in the November 2006 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Health Behavior and Health Education
Health-related Quality of Life Surveillance Program Social Marketing Plan
SciMetrika developed a social marketing plan for the Health-related Quality of Life Surveillance (HRQOL) program based in the Arthritis, Epilepsy, and Quality of Life (AEQOL) Branch of the CDC, Division of Adolescent and Child Health (DACH). This plan was designed to alert current and potential CDC partners and customers to relevant HRQOL products and services. The project involved: 1) identifying and describing existing HRQOL surveillance products, services, and applications; 2) identifying and describing high-, medium-, and low-use target groups; 3) developing communication strategies and an evaluation plan; 4) assisting with the convening and facilitation of an expert committee meeting; and 5) disseminating the social marketing plan through the presentation of a seminar. SciMetrika used a diverse set of methodologies and processes, including: a review of articles on HRQOL resources; qualitative interviews to develop audience profiles; best practices in health communication strategies and message development; and user-friendly evaluation strategies to be implemented by the CDC to assess the social marketing plan. SciMetrika demonstrated knowledge in public health communication strategies and evaluation approaches, and we applied technical expertise in conducting literature reviews, qualitative interviewing and analysis, and assessment strategies.National Diabetes Education Program – Train-the-Trainers Toolkit Development Assistance
SciMetrika is assisting in the development of a Road to Health train-the-trainer toolkit. SciMetrika’s primary role is to refine the toolkit materials, conduct training sessions, and market and promote the final products. This project is an addendum to a CDC contract in which SciMetrika participated in the development and evaluation of the toolkit (i.e., SciMetrika conducted focus groups about the usability of the toolkit). This toolkit ultimately will be available online and/or on a DVD. These materials are designed to be used to train community health workers and promotores responsible for helping prevent diabetes in their respective communities. SciMetrika is demonstrating our ability to interact with public health workers of diverse training and backgrounds; knowledge of health communication and curriculum development, formative research, and evaluation; and strong management skills.Enhanced Parent Child Centers for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment and Youth Violence
SciMetrika was tasked with gathering information to inform the development and implementation of the EPCDC approach. This consisted of an informal literature review summarizing the core elements and infrastructure of two comprehensive early childhood education centers and of six standardized parent-skills training interventions. The content of the literature synthesis is being complemented by information obtained during semi-structured interviews with the interventions’ developers. As a second step, SciMetrika will convene and facilitate virtual and on-site meetings with selected informants to discuss the practicability of the EPCDCs. A final document summarizing and interpreting the results of the literature review, the interviews, and the meetings will be prepared and used by CDC Division of Violence Prevention (DVP) as evidence of the feasibility of the EPCDC approach. SciMetrika demonstrated expertise in the synthesis of information on the key components and infrastructure of the reviewed interventions that goes beyond a simple summary of results. We also demonstrated expertise in diverse methodologies (e.g., informal literature review and qualitative interviews of key informants).
Program Development and Evaluation
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CDC Office on Smoking and Health External Peer Review
SciMetrika assisted the CDC OSH with the development, implementation, and follow-up of this first internal peer review. SciMetrika was responsible for: (1) conducting partner and customer assessments; (2) coordinating and facilitating the on-site peer review meeting; (3) authoring a lessons learned document; and (4) aiding in the preparation of a final panel report submitted to high-level OSH personnel. SciMetrika prepared and conducted two focus groups with OSH and OSH partners, analyzing and summarizing qualitative results in a document for use during the peer review meeting. In addition, SciMetrika managed the logistical aspects of the on-site peer review meeting. SciMetrika staff will coordinate the final peer review. SciMetrika demonstrated technical expertise in facilitating focus groups and analyzing qualitative information. We also showed flexibility in meeting the unique logistical needs of each customer and familiarity with government guidelines for assembling expert panels as well as GSA guidelines for travel.Development of a Quality Improvement (QI) Framework and Professional Development Resources for the CDC’s National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP)
SciMetrika was responsible for reviewing the quality assurance/quality improvement (QA/QI) and professional development/provider intervention literature as it pertains to public health and clinical screening. We also were responsible for developing a QA/QI framework based on a literature review, key informant discussions, and consultant expertise and also for both writing a grantee manual describing this new framework and outlining tested professional development activities. Phase II of the project involves the review and revision of the grantee manual by subject matter experts, by experts internal to CDC, and by program grantees. Additionally, SciMetrika is developing PowerPoint training presentations for the manual and creating an evaluation plan to assess training effectiveness. This project allows SciMetrika to contribute to the subfield of QA/QI within public health, as it leads to the creation of a unique QA/QI framework specific to a public health, outpatient screening environment. In turn, this guides the development of training resources for use by NBCCEDP grantees. SciMetrika’s technical assistance benefited grantees by demonstrating expertise in conducting literature reviews and key informant discussions, in writing technical summary documents, and in developing instructional materials. We also demonstrated an in-depth understanding of QA/QI principles through our multidisciplinary approach and our integration of business QA/QI concepts to address public health needs.Getting to Outcomes (GTO) – The Primary Prevention of Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence for the CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention
SciMetrika is providing labor, consulting, and logistical support services to the CDC Division of Violence Prevention (DVP) for diverse tasks. These include evaluation assistance to grantees, meeting facilitation, development of measures and guidelines, writing/editing, and meeting logistics related to three programs: DELTA (Domestic Violence Prevention Enhancements and Leadership through Alliances), EMPOWER (Comprehensive Prevention Program Planning and Evaluation Capacity for Rape Prevention and Education Funded Programs), and RPE (Rape Prevention and Education). SciMetrika is facilitating the adaptation of the Getting To Outcomes framework for use by intimate partner violence and sexual violence planning groups at the state and community level. We also are developing indicators and practice guidelines for the RPE program. Other responsibilities include (1) providing assistance to the empowerment evaluation group; (2) providing expert meeting facilitation and consultation for the DELTA and EMPOWER programs; and (3) arranging all logistical aspects of grantees meetings.Identification and Evaluation of Nonsomatic Sensitive Anxiety and Depression Measures for Health Surveillance among Adults with Chronic Disease
SciMetrika provided technical expertise and logistical support services to the CDC’s Arthritis Program. This included 1) convening an expert panel knowledgeable in population health surveillance and measures of mental health (i.e., depression and anxiety); 2) identifying and reviewing measures of anxiety and depression from the published literature; and 3) describing and analyzing the psychometric properties and potential applications of the identified anxiety and depression scales. SciMetrika also assessed anxiety and depression measures for their sensitivity to somatic complaints and feasibility for use on population health surveillance surveys and developed recommendations to be incorporated in national and state chronic disease surveillance. SciMetrika managed the logistical aspects of a one-day on-site expert panel meeting, including arranging for attendees’ travel and coordinating catering. Final reports communicated overall project results that led to decision making and originated a document for a peer reviewed scientific publication. SciMetrika provided technical expertise in both public health and clinical psychology and also provided staff members dedicated solely to the coordination and logistical aspects of the project.
National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH), Division of Environment Hazards and Health Effects (EHHE)
For this IDIQ contract and subsequent task orders, SciMetrika is providing epidemiological expertise to the CDC’s Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects within its National Center for Environmental Health. Specific tasks to be performed under this contract include, but are not limited to: assisting the CDC with a surveillance system for environmental exposures and related health outcomes; studying the impact of ambient air pollution cardiovascular and respiratory morbidity in Cook County, IL; developing a national surveillance strategy for carbon monoxide poisoning; evaluating the benefit of residential carbon monoxide warning systems; and working with CDC grantees to develop educational materials on asthma. For this contract, SciMetrika deployed staff with expertise in analyzing human exposure to environmental hazards and with demonstrated experience in the use of advanced statistical techniques for handling complex survey data. SciMetrika also demonstrated expertise and experience in health education.Groundwater Monitoring and Well-water Analysis Studies
SciMetrika, on behalf of the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) is collaborating with the Iowa Department of Public Health’s Division of Environmental Health (DEH) to study human exposure to contaminants in well water caused by pesticides and fecal bacteria. The study involves two data collections. The first collects 150 well water samples that will be analyzed for five indicators of fecal contamination and enteroviruses using a highly sensitive TaqMan Real-time PCR assay. Secondly, the study collects 50 random samples from private wells in rural counties of Iowa during early spring and early fall. For this project, SciMetrika utilized staff with expertise in analyzing human exposure to toxic chemicals. They also had the capacity to effectively collaborate with state-level health departments to ensure compatibility of data sets and analyses, and they demonstrated superior data management skills and the ability to conduct complex statistical analyses.Analysis of Air Quality and Acute Health Outcomes
SciMetrika is analyzing the temporal and spatial congruence of environmental monitoring and health surveillance data in order to assess the potential impact of environmental changes on acute medical outcomes for the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH), Air Pollution and Respiratory Branch (APRHB). In addition, SciMetrika is providing expertise’s to compile, clean, organize, geocode, and perform statistical analysis of select environmental data. As a result of this project, SciMetrika has developed a systematic model to estimate the ambient air pollutant concentrations at the ZIP code level as a surrogate for daily exposure to air pollutants of interest at the ZIP code level. The result of the analysis sheds light on the association between air pollutant exposure indicators and respiratory and cardiac events identified through a syndromic public health surveillance system. SciMetrika provided expertise in public health epidemiology and data analysis, expertise in the development and use of complex statistical models. In addition, SciMetrika demonstrated the ability to work with diverse stakeholders, including researchers at the federal, state, and county levels.Enhanced Carbon Monoxide Surveillance
SciMetrika worked with the Air Pollution and Respiratory Branch (APRHB) of the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health to provide epidemiological expertise and to enhance surveillance systems of severe carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning cases. One of the activities involved providing technical assistance to the international Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) for adapting their real-time dive accident reporting system so that it recorded the total number of treatments provided for CO intoxication. To manage this project, SciMetrika engaged a world-renowned expert on air pollution exposure assessment. As part of this project, SciMetrika is evaluating the effectiveness of an ordinance in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, requiring every residential dwelling to have a CO detector.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Evaluation and Dissemination of Findings from the Controlling Asthma in American Cities Projects
For the Asthma Intervention Evaluation Study, SciMetrika is responsible for providing program evaluation expertise to the Air Pollution and Respiratory Health Branch (APRHB) of the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health. SciMetrika is evaluating the performance of programs implemented by seven cities that received funding from CDC to develop and implement programs to help reduce asthma episodes. The evaluation of the implementation of these programs involves evaluating both processes–including assessing contextual factors that led to successful adoption–and outcomes (analysis of hospitalization data to ascertain a decrease in emergency department visits or admissions). SciMetrika demonstrated expertise and experience in health education and the ability to respond quickly and efficiently to the customer’s needs.
Support Services to Conduct an External Peer Review of the Centers for Disease Control’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control
SciMetrika provided logistical and support services for an external peer review of the CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control (DCPC). SciMetrika’s primary responsibility was to provide peer review planning support, including: identifying and securing subject matter experts (SMEs) to participate in the external peer review (two leads and fourteen support reviewers); developing required review materials (site visit books); disseminating review packets; and coordinating and managing travel and meeting logistics. In addition, SciMetrika was responsible for creating and documenting the DCPC peer review process that will serve as standard operating procedure for DCPC and may be implemented by other divisions wishing to conduct external peer reviews. Supporting tasks involved interacting with DCPC management, including the director, branch chiefs, and deputy branch chiefs. SciMetrika demonstrated a strong ability to interact with experts from different areas of public health as well as particular strength in management skills that ensured tasks were performed on time and within budget. SciMetrika also demonstrated a familiarity with government guidelines for assembling expert panels as well as GSA guidelines for travel policy.Logistical Support to the CDC’s Epilepsy Program: Epilepsy Case Definition Project
SciMetrika developed an advisory panel of external experts to: (1) identify valid operational case definitions for epilepsy; (2) apply practical methods for case ascertainment; and (3) identify key data elements for use in epidemiologic studies and public health surveillance systems. Specific responsibilities included the conduct of an informal literature review, compiling background materials, identifying steering committee/advisory panel members, developing a communications system, coordinating travel and meeting logistics, compiling summary reports, and assisting in the development of final documents proposing case definitions, methods, and key data elements. This entailed reviewing papers, conference reports, editorial responses, and other background materials, focusing on issues pertaining to epilepsy case definitions and on surveillance study methods used by the steering committee to prepare review documents. SciMetrika used conventional mail services, online communications, and conference calls for the steering committee and advisory panel. The final report developed by SciMetrika is set to be published in a peer-reviewed journal and ultimately may influence epidemiological considerations and public health practices. SciMetrika demonstrated expertise in epidemiological methods, superior management skills, and the ability to interact with experts of diverse backgrounds.Literature Review to Inform the Development of a Study on the Health Behaviors of Five-Year Colorectal Cancer Survivors
SciMetrika was responsible for developing plans for the conduct of the literature reviews, developing data collection tools, conducting literature reviews/data abstractions, and for developing a final report of literature review results. This was accomplished by defining search terms, specifying inclusion criteria, abstracting and reviewing articles, collecting citations, determining relevancy of retrieved documents, and writing a final report describing the strengths and weaknesses of relevant studies and/or measures.
In addition, SciMetrika utilized rigorous methodologies and techniques to identify relevant articles, including: (1) using EndNote to collect citations and provide links to articles; (2) conducting searches in the PubMed database using a combination of Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), and text words; and (3) conducting independent data abstraction. SciMetrika successfully accomplished these activities by employing our in-house quality assurance (QA) methodology for performance of systematic reviews. This resulted in clearly written plans indicating search terms to be used, databases to be searched, inclusion and exclusion criteria, continuous improvement of search strategies, and detailed synthesis of literature weakness and strengths, as well as directions for future studies. The end result of these literature reviews were the identification of: (1) recommendations from medical organizations on health behaviors specific to or applicable to colorectal cancer survivors; (2) instruments that have measured adoption of healthy behaviors and their resulting influence; and (3) limitations, strengths, and weaknesses of the recommendations, studies, or measures.Literature Review to Inform the Development of a Study to Examine Evidence in Studies of Vitamin D Status and Cancer Risk
SciMetrika examined the existence of a Vitamin D/cancer risk association for all subtypes of cancer (excluding skin cancers) and examined the evidence from in vitro/ in vivo studies on vitamin D status and cancer cells. Specifically, SciMetrika defined search terms, specified inclusion criteria, abstracted and reviewed articles, collected citations, determined relevancy of retrieved articles, and prepared final reports describing the strengths and weaknesses of the relevant studies, as well as patterns and conclusions that can be drawn from them. We employed our in-house quality assurance (QA) methodology to ensure relevant abstracted articles were included for analysis. This methodology also resulted in clearly written plans indicating search terms that were to be used, databases to be searched, inclusion and exclusion criteria, continuous improvement of search strategies, and confirmation of article relevancy and provides detailed synthesis of literature results inclusive of weakness/strengths, and directions for future studies. SciMetrika also employed rigorous methodologies and techniques to identify relevant articles, to collect citations with Reference Manager software, and to conduct searches in the PubMed database (in addition to EMBASE, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library) using a combination of Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and text words. The systematic literature review conducted by SciMetrika was the most comprehensive review to date, helping researchers and clinicians examine the quality of evidence in studies that investigated associations between Vitamin D status and cancer risk. Resultant documents included a comprehensive summary detailing individual study results, patterns, and applicable conclusions as well as a series of manuscripts on the topic.