March 29, 2007
Health Sciences News Briefs
School of Nursing receives Lance Armstrong Foundation grant
Researchers at the UW School of Nursing have received a $247,000 grant from the Lance Armstrong Foundation to study a new parenting program for parents recently diagnosed with cancer.
Frances Marcus Lewis, the UW Bloedel Professor in the Department of Family and Child Nursing, will serve as principal investigator for a three-year pilot study that will evaluate the effectiveness of a new parenting program designed for patients who have been diagnosed with early-stage cancer. Called When Mommy or Daddy Gets Cancer: A Cancer Parenting Program, the effort focuses on helping parents support and talk to their children about cancer.
Researchers will begin recruiting families from the Pacific Northwest for the study this spring and will meet with newly-diagnosed parent in clinic to deliver the program every two weeks, for a total of five sessions over a two-month period. The UW and the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance are collaborators on the project.
Clinical trial tests how to help men choose among early-stage prostate cancer treatment options
A new Web-based interactive decision-support system is now being tested in clinical trials to help men determine the personal factors and other information to consider when choosing a treatment plan for early-stage prostate cancer.
The system, called Personal Patient Profile-Prostate (P4), was developed by Dr. Donna Berry, professor in the Department of Bio-behavioral Nursing and Health Systems at the UW School of Nursing. The system uses a touch-screen computer to help men clarify their personal factors, hear how patients talk to doctors about these factors, and search for relevant information. It is the first decision aid that customizes the decision-making process by integrating influential personal factors.
Men are diagnosed with prostate cancer more often than any other cancer except skin cancer. Although there are several options for treating early-state prostate cancer, deciding which option is best can be difficult.
The development of this Web-based program is funded by the National Institute for Nursing Research. It is being conducted at UW Medical Center, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Seattle Prostate Institute, and the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System in the Seattle area, and the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio, Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia and the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta.
UW Medicine TV programs honored by film and video industry
Two medical-related television programs created by the UW Medicine Marketing Department and UWTV have received numerous awards for excellence. The series include Talk Medicine, a talk-show format program, and Inside Access, a documentary-style show.
The Talk Medicine: Total Elbow Replacement episode, featuring the UW Department of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, received an Award of Distinction from the Videographer’s Awards. Those awards are given out by communications professionals to honor talented individuals and companies working on video production who are raising the standards of the industry.
Three episodes of Inside Access have also received several awards. An episode featuring the UW Medicine Regional Heart Center won a Silver medal at the Telly Awards, a Platinum Best in Show at the Aurora Awards, a Crystal Award of Excellence at the Communicator Awards, an Award of Excellence at the Videographer’s Awards, and was a finalist at the New York Festivals.
Inside Access: Brain Tumor Surgery, featuring the UW Division of Neurosurgery, received a Platinum Telly Award, a Gold Aurora Award, and an Award of Excellence from the Videographer’s Awards.
Another Inside Access episode on minimally invasive total knee replacement, featuring Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, received an Award of Excellence at the Videographer’s Awards and a Crystal Award of Excellence at the Communicator Awards.
The Telly Awards honor outstanding local, regional, and cable television programs, as well as the finest video and film productions, and is one of the most sought-after national awards in the TV industry. The Aurora Awards are an international competition designed to recognize excellence in the film and video industries. The Communicator Awards is an international program founded by communication professionals to recognize excellence in the field. The New York Festivals International Film and Video Awards recognize the best work in the world in informational, educational, and industrial film and video productions.
UW Medicine doctors featured in Seattle Metropolitan Magazine
Many UW Medicine physicians are featured in this month’s issue of Seattle Metropolitan Magazine, which includes a list of the city’s top doctors as chosen by a survey of their peers. The magazine lists 296 physicians in 77 fields who were ranked through a survey of more than 23,000 medical professionals in the area. It includes physicians from UW Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center, Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center, the VA Puget Sound Health Care System, and other UW Medicine affiliates. A full list of the UW Medicine doctors selected for the Top Doctors 2007 list can be found on the UW Medicine Web site at http://www.uwmedicine.org.
