CBDSM Updates

Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race

CBDSM — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Between February 3 and April 13, 2012, in collaboration with the Taubman Health Sciences Library and the Center for the History of Medicine, CBSSM is co-sponsoring an exhibit entitled "Deadly medicine: Creating the Master Race" on the 4th floor of the Taubman library. This traveling exhibit is a spin-off of the larger exhibit that debuted at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. For more information about the exhibit, click here.

Dr. Zachary Schrag to give a talk, February 1

CBDSM — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

CBSSM is sponsoring a talk by Dr. Zachary Schrag, Associate Professor of History at George Mason University and author of "Ethical Imperialism: Institutional Review Boards and the Social Sciences." The talk will take place on Wednesday, February 1, 3-5 pm, at Palmer Commons (Great Lakes Central) and will be followed by a panel discussion featuring UM faculty Cleo Caldwell, Carl Schneider, and Alford Young, Jr. The talk is titled, "Ethical Imperialism: The Case Against IRB Review of the Social Sciences."

2011 Waggoner Lecture

CBDSM — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Laura Roberts, MD, will give the 2011 Raymond W. Waggoner, MD, Lecture on Ethics & Values in Medicine, sponsored by the UM Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Roberts is Professor and Chair in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine. Her talk is titled, "In Becoming a Physician: Stresses and Strengths of Physicians-in-training" and will take place on Wednesday, November 9, 4:00-5:30 pm, in Ford Auditorium in UM Hospital. Dr. Roberts will also speak at the Psychiatry Department Grand Rounds on Wednesday, November 9, 10:30-12:00 in the Garden Level Conference Room of the Rachel Upjohn Building. For more information, contact Adrienne Young (alyoung@med.umich.edu) or Philip Margolis, MD, (margolis@med.umich.edu).

Author Jason Karlawish to discuss "Open Wound" on October 20

CBDSM — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Dr. Jason Karlawish, Professor of Medicine and Medical Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania, will discuss his forthcoming novel, "Open Wound: The Tragic Obsession of Dr. William Beaumont" on Thursday, October 20, 3-5 pm, at the Biomedical Research Science Building (BSRB), Room 1130. "Open Wound" is a fictional account of true events along the early 19th century American frontier, tracing the relationship between Dr. William Beaumont and his illiterate French Canadian patient. The young trapper sustains an injury that never heals, leaving a hole in his stomach that the curious doctor uses as a window both to understand the mysteries of digestion and to advance his career. A reception will follow the talk, and books will be available for purchase on site from Nicola's Books. The event is co-sponsored by the Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine, the Center for the History of Medicine, and the University of Michigan Press. Click here for more information about the book.

Faculty Scholars Program, University of Chicago

CBDSM — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The Program on Medicine and Religion at the University of Chicago sponsors a Faculty Scholars Program designed to develop faculty leaders who will expand scholarship and education regarding the spiritual dimensions of the practice of medicine. The program targets junior faculty with an interest in physician spirituality, and successful applicants will receive up to $75,000/year in salary support. For more information, see pmr.uchicago.edu/fsp.

Medical Academic Partnerships (Pfizer)

CBDSM — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Pfizer offers fellowship programs to support career development and promotion of junior physician scientists or researchers. Fellowships are awarded to institutions, who in turn select the fellow(s). Grant payments typically begin in July of each year for two years. Award recipients are selected by an independent academic advisory board of prominent medical academicians specific to that program's therapeutic area or discipline. Click here for more information.

Reproductive justice work: Ed Goldman

CBDSM — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

In September 2011, Ed Goldman traveled to Ghana, where he helped establish a "students for reproductive justice" program at the Kumasi Law School and also helped to create a class in reproductive justice. The law school has asked him to assist them with an LLM in reproductive justice, as well as a center for women's rights and an interdisciplinary program with the medical school and teaching hospital in Kumasi.

Next semester, Ed will be teaching classes on reproductive justice in LSA and in the Law School at U-M.

CBSSM Post-Doctoral Research Fellow Program is now accepting applications for 2012-13

CBDSM — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Application materials from qualified candidates are now being accepted for the 2012-13 CBSSM post-doctoral research fellow program. Please see http://cbssm.org/post_doc for more information.

CBSSM Investigators at National Meetings, October 2011

CBDSM — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Investigator(s)

Conference

Title of Talk/Poster

Ray De Vries

Lisa Harris

et al.

American Society for Bioethics & Humanities (ASBH)

Annual Meeting

“Mundane Reproductive Ethics: Beyond the Sensational Lie—Everyday Ethical Problems in Abortion, In Vitro Fertilization, Pregnancy Planning, and Birth”

Ray De Vries

Susan Goold

et al.

American Society for Bioethics & Humanities (ASBH)

Annual Meeting

“Learning about Learning from the Public: A Workshop about Methods of Public Engagement on Ethical Issues in Biomedical Research, Health, and Health Care”

Angela Fagerlin

et al.

Society for Medical Decision Making (SMDM) Annual Meeting

“Minority Cancer Survivors’ Perceptions and Experience with Cancer Clinical Trials Participation”

Angela Fagerlin

Andrea Fuhrel-Forbis

Sarah Hawley

Holly Witteman

et al.

Society for Medical Decision Making (SMDM) Annual Meeting

“Preferences for Breast Cancer Chemoprevention”

Angela Fagerlin

Andrea Fuhrel-Forbis

Brian Zikmund-Fisher

et al.

Society for Medical Decision Making (SMDM) Annual Meeting

“Informed Decision Making About Breast Cancer Chemoprevention: RCT of an Online Decision Aid Intervention”

Angela Fagerlin

Valerie Kahn

et al.

Society for Medical Decision Making (SMDM) Annual Meeting

“Literacy and Numeracy in Veterans and Their Impact on Cancer Treatment Perceptions and Anxiety”

Angela Fagerlin

Laura Scherer

et al.

Society for Medical Decision Making (SMDM) Annual Meeting

“Anxiety as an Impetus for Action: On the Relative Influence of Breast Cancer Risk and Breast Cancer Anxiety on Chemoprevention Decisions”

Angela Fagerlin

Laura Scherer

et al.

Society for Medical Decision Making (SMDM) Annual Meeting

“Literacy and Irrational Decisions: Bias From Beliefs, Not From Comprehension”

Angela Fagerlin

Holly Witteman

Brian Zikmund-Fisher

et al.

Society for Medical Decision Making (SMDM) Annual Meeting

“Integers Are Better: Adding Decimals to Risk Estimates Makes Them Less Believable and Harder to Remember”

Andrea Fuhrel-Forbis

Holly Witteman

Brian Zikmund-Fisher

et al.

Society for Medical Decision Making (SMDM) Annual Meeting

“Avatars and Animation of Risk Graphics Help People Better Understand Their Risk of Cardiovascular Disease”

Holly Witteman

Brian Zikmund-Fisher

et al.

Society for Medical Decision Making (SMDM) Annual Meeting

“If I’m Not High Risk, Then That’s Not My Risk: Tailoring Estimates for Low-risk Patients May Undermine Perceived Relevance”

Brian Zikmund-Fisher

et al.

Society for Medical Decision Making (SMDM) Annual Meeting

“The Effect of Narrative Content and Emotional Valence on Decision About Treatments for Early Stage Breast Cancer”

Center for Ethics and Humanities in the Life Sciences Brown Bag/Webinar Series 2011-12

CBDSM — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The Center for Ethics and Humanities in the Life Sciences at Michigan State University has posted information about its 2011-12 Brown Bag/Webinar Series. All sessions take place 12-1 pm in C-102 East Fee Hall on the East Lansing campus. Sessions for the fall include:
September 7: Helen Veit, PhD, "The ethics of aging in an age of youth: Rising life expectancy in the early twentieth century United States"
October 19: Scott Kim, MD, PhD, "Democratic deliberation about surrogate consent for dementia research"
November 10: Stuart J. Youngner, MD, "Regulated euthanasia in the Netherlands: Is it working?"
December 7: Karen Meagher, PhD candidate, "Trustworthiness in public health practice"
See www.bioethics.msu.edu/ for more information.

CBSSM investigators teaching bioethics elective for medical students at U-M

CBDSM — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Investigators Naomi Laventhal and Kathryn Moseley (with several other colleagues) have proposed to teach an elective for M2 students in the U-M Medical School this year. Titled, "Pediatric Ethics and Ethics Consultation," the elective will focus on the ethical issues surrounding the pediatric patient. The goal is to introduce medical students to basic concepts used in pediatric ethics via case studies and a mock ethics consultation. The M2 elective provides medical students with an opportunity to explore specialized topics.

CBSSM aims to play a key role in enhancing the integration of bioethics into the U-M medical school curriculum. The M2 elective offers an opportunity to deepen student learning around bioethics in medicine.

The community perceptions of dioxins (CPOD) study

CBDSM — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

This National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)-funded study seeks to explore the mental conceptualizations of risk of dioxin-like compounds (DLCs) among residents in Midland/Saginaw (M/S), Michigan, who live in areas that have been exposed to DLCs. The CPOD study is using a combination of in-depth qualitative "mental models" interviews (for comparison with an "expert" model) and a larger, population-based survey questionnaire to yield a rich base of knowledge and information about community members' beliefs and understandings about dioxins and dioxin-related health risks. This, in turn, will inform evidence-based recommendations for designing better, more appropriate risk communication messages for the community and for other dioxin exposure assessment studies. Specifically, we seek to distinguish between those dioxin-related concepts, facts, or beliefs that are already well understood by most community members (which therefore could be minimized in future communications) from those misconceptions or factual omissions that most directly inhibit effective risk management by community members. We are also contrasting models of people who know their personal exposure (through prior participation in the University of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Study) versus those who do not. Brian Zikmund-Fisher is the PI of this study.

The social determinants of health: Why insurance and access are just the beginning

CBDSM — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Kathryn Moseley, MD, gave a presentation at the 2011 Pediatric Bioethics Conference in Seattle, WA.

Waggoner Lecture 2011

CBDSM — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Save the date: Wednesday, November 9, 2011, 4:00-5:30 pm, Ford Auditorium, UM Hospital

Laura Roberts, MD, Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine, will give the Raymond W. Waggoner, MD, Lecture on Ethics & Values in Medicine. She will also speak at the Psychiatry Department Grand Rounds Wednesday, November 9, 10:30-12:00, Rachel Upjohn Bldg, 4250 Plymouth Road.

When less is more: Improving risk communication with simpler graphics, smaller doses, and fewer words

CBDSM — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Brian Zikmund-Fisher, PhD, gave a talk at the Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands, on June 22, 2011.

Assessing the quality of democratic deliberation: A case study of public deliberation on the ethics of surrogate consent for research

CBDSM — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Click here to view supplementary content, including a video of one of the authors, of a paper by Ray De Vries, Aimee Stanczyk, Ian Wall, Rebecca Uhlmann, Laura Damschroder, and Scott Kim.

De Vries R, Stanczyk A, Wall IF, Uhlmann RA, Damschroder L, Kim SY. Assessing the quality of democratic deliberation: A case study of public deliberation on the ethics of surrogate consent for research. Social Science and Medicine 2011;70(12):1896-1903.

Bioethics on the ground

CBDSM — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Raymond G. De Vries, Ph.D., gave a talk at the David C. Thomasma International Bioethics Retreat, Cambridge UK, in June 2011.

Health Services Research Group Launch Symposium

CBDSM — Thu, 26 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Please consider attending the Health Services Research Group Launch Symposium at the North Campus Research Complex (Building 18) on Thursday, May 26, 7:30am - 5:00 pm. The purpose is to discuss the HSR Group's goals and future plans, discuss relevant topics in healthcare policy, and network with colleagues. Even if you are unable to attend, go to the registration page to indicate your interest in health services research and health policy so that you may be contacted again in the future. Click here to register.

In addition, there is an effort to collect information on all HSR groups on campus for purposes of networking and for junior investigators or newcomers to U-M to find colleagues and collaborators. Preliminary information will be provided at the Symposium and later a Wiki website will be created. Please send the main research theme(s) of the group/center; rough idea about the investigators, divisions, departments, schools; website URL, if applicable; seminar information, if applicable; and contact information to Joe Zogaib at jwzogaib@umich.edu.

2nd Annual Bioethics Colloquium

CBDSM — Fri, 20 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Co-sponsored by the Center for Ethics in Public Life and the Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine, the 2nd annual Bioethics Colloquium took place on Friday, May 20, 8:30-3:30 pm, in the Alumni Center. The colloquium featured presentations of research in or about bioethics conducted by U-M faculty, fellows, and students.

The keynote speaker was Susan Dorr Goold, MD, MHSA, MA, who gave a talk entitled, "Market failures, moral failures, and health reform."

Nearly 70 people attended the event, which featured 10 presentations by faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students drawn from a variety of disciplines.

Inaugural Bishop Lecture in Bioethics

CBDSM — Thu, 19 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

On Thursday, May 19, at 4:30 pm in the Alumni Center, the Inaugural Bishop Lecture in Bioethics was held. Established by a generous gift from the estate of Ronald C. and Nancy V. Bishop, both graduates of the University of Michigan Medical School (Class of '44), the inaugural address was given by John D. Lantos, MD, in a talk entitled, "The Complex Ethical Mess Surrounding Genetic Testing in Children."

Dr. Lantos is the Director of the Children's Mercy Bioethics Center in Kansas City and is a leading voice in bioethics. He has authored or edited five books and numerous publications, including Do We Still Need Doctors?, The Lazarus Case, Neonatal Bioethics, and The Last Physician: Walter Percy and the Moral Life of Medicine. Lantos has discussed designer babies on Larry King Live, medical errors on Oprah, and ethics consultations on Nightline. The Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine co-sponsored the event. Over 75 people attended the lecture, which was followed by a reception.

John D. Lantos, MD

U-M Decision Consortium May Conference

CBDSM — Mon, 16 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The University of Michigan Decision Consortium Conference is scheduled for Monday, May 16, in Room R0320, Ross School of Business, 700 Tappan Street. Advance registration is required. Contact Mary Mohrbach at mohrbach@umich.edu.

Can statistics about vaccination risks and benefits ever be convincing?

CBDSM — Fri, 13 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Brian Zikmund-Fisher, PhD, gave a talk at the Small Group Meeting on Risk 2.0: Risk Perception and Communication Regarding Vaccination Decisions in the Age of Web 2.0 at Universitat Erfurt, Erfurt, Germany, on May 13, 2011.

Vroedvrouwen, verloskunde, vrees, vertrouwen: een vierstemmige invention (Midwives, obstetrics, fear and trust: A four-part invention)

CBDSM — Sun, 01 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Raymond G. De Vries, Ph.D., gave his inaugural lecture on the occasion of assuming professorship at Maastricht University in May 2011.

Moving reproductive ethics: From the laboratory and the clinic to the organization of maternity care

CBDSM — Sun, 01 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Raymond G. De Vries, Ph.D., together with M. Nieuwenhuijze, gave a talk at the 7th International Conference on Clinical Ethics and Consultation in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in May 2011.

Toward best ethical practices: An ethical framework for community-engaged research

CBDSM — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Kathryn Moseley, MD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases, will participate in a panel titled, "Toward best ethical practices: An ethical framework for community-engaged research" on April 29, 2011, at the Pediatric Academic Society's annual meeting in Denver, CO.

International Visiting Fellowships in Medical Ethics, Bochum, Germany

CBDSM — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The Institute for Medical Ethics and History of Medicine invites applications for Visiting Fellowships in Medical Ethics beginning in 2011 or later. The fellowships are awarded to doctoral or post-doctoral researchers under the Institute's newly established International Visiting Fellowship Programme in Medical Ethics. Applications are due by 1 June 2011. For more information, go to www.eacmeweb.com.

Where religion, policy, and bioethics meet: An interdisciplinary conference on Islamic bioethics and end-of-life care

CBDSM — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

This two-day conference took place on the UM campus and is presented by the University of Michigan Medical School. It was also supported by the Office of the Vice President for Research; the Center for Ethics and Public Life; Rackham Distinguished Faculty Grant; Greenwall Foundation; and Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. Click here for conference videos, course packets, and reference materials.

Iterative experiments to improve medical decisions: Bridging the science and practice of risk communication

CBDSM — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Brian Zikmund-Fisher, PhD, gave a presentation at the Methods of Analysis Program in the Social Sciences at Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, on April 8, 2011.

3rd Annual Community-Engaged Research Workshop: Conference and Call for Papers

CBDSM — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The third annual community-engaged research workshop, "Communication in Community-Engaged Research" is scheduled for October 27-28, 2011 and co-sponsored by the Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics (JERHRE), the Hobby Center for Public Policy, the University of Houston, Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R), and the Community-Campus Partnerships for Health.

For more information, see the conference announcement.

Transplanting bioethics into different societies -- Concerns of culture, religious values, and ethical frameworks

CBDSM — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Raymond G. De Vries, Ph.D., gave a talk at Where Religion, Policy, and Bioethics Meet: An Interdisciplinary Conference on Islamic Bioethics and End-of-Life Care, at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, MI, in April 2011.

Risk Science Center Blog

CBDSM — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Dr. Brian Zikmund-Fisher is an occasional contributor to U-M's Risk Science Center blog. Click here to read his latest posting and to view other contributions.

The ethics, art, and music of suffering

CBDSM — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Raymond G. De Vries, Ph.D., gave a talk at North Park University, Chicago, IL, in March 2011.

Hormonal responses to patient education materials and their relationship to HPV vaccination intention and behaviors

CBDSM — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Andrea Fuhrel-Forbis, Post-doctoral Research Fellow, is a co-investigator on a recent award from the Helen L. Kay Pediatric Cancer Research Award. The PI is Amanda Dempsey in Pediatrics, and the project is entitled, "Hormonal responses to patient education materials and their relationship to HPV vaccination intention and behaviors."

Off-label Use of Therapeutic Hypothermia in the Newborn Intensive Care Units

CBDSM — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Dr. Naomi Laventhal has received the Holden Research Fund Award for her research entitled, "Off-label use of therapeutic hypothermia in the newborn intensive care units: A survey of U.S. neonatologists."

Methods for Promoting Public Dialogue on the Use of Residual Newborn Screening Samples for Research

CBDSM — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Edward Goldman is a member of an NIH-funded working group focusing on promoting public dialogue regarding the creation of biorepositories and the use of residual newborn screening samples for research. In January 2011, Goldman will speak to this group at its national meeting at the University of Utah.

The Challenges and Necessity of International Midwifery Science

CBDSM — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

As part of the Knowledge at Work 2010 seminar series sponsored by Zuyd University (The Netherlands), Dr. Raymond de Vries (together with colleagues Marianne Nieuwenhuize and Lisa Kane Low) gave a presentation entitled, "The Challenges and Necessity of International Midwifery Science." Please click the link to view the presentation or copy and paste it into a new browser window (http://weblectures.hszuyd.nl/P2GTV/viewer.html?path=HEERLEN001/2010/11/19/2/video_post.wmv).

Public opinions on participating in medical research and about medical researchers: Findings from the Medical Marvels Interactive Translational Research Experience (MITRE) Project baseline survey in The Detroit Science Center

CBDSM — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Michael D. Fetters, MD, MPH, MA, Associate Professor, recently gave a talk at the 38th annual North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG) meeting, held November 13-17, 2010, in Seattle, WA.

Truth or fallacy? Three hour wait for three minutes with the doctor: Findings from a private clinic in rural Japan

CBDSM — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Michael D. Fetters, MD, MPH, MA, Associate Professor, was a co-presenter at the 38th annual North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG) meeting held November 13-17, 2010, in Seattle, WA.

Physicians' and nurse midwives' approach to weight gain during pregnancy

CBDSM — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Michael D. Fetters, MD, MPH, MA, Associate Professor, was a co-presenter at the 38th annual North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG) meeting, November 13-17, 2010, in Seattle, WA.

How do community practices view technological implementation to improve CRC screening?

CBDSM — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Michael D. Fetters, MD, MPH, MA, Associate Professor, was co-presenter at the 38th annual North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG) meeting, November 13-17, 2010, in Seattle, WA.

CBSSM Co-Sponsors Talk at Ford School of Public Policy

CBDSM — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

CBSSM is co-sponsoring a talk given by Dr. Sujatha Jesudason, Executive Director of Generations Ahead, as part of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program's Fall 2010 lecture series. The talk is titled, "Threading a Very Fine Needle: Race, Gender, and the Public Policy of Reproductive Genetic Technologies" and will be given on Monday, November 22, 4 pm, at 1110 Weill Hall, 735 S. State Street.

CBSSM Co-Sponsors Waggoner Bioethics Lecture

CBDSM — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

CBSSM co-sponsored the 15th Annual Waggoner Bioethics Lecture on November 3, 2010, hosting a breakfast in honor of the speaker, Dr. Bernard Lo, Director of the Program in Medical Ethics at UCSF. The Waggoner lecture is organized by the Department of Psychiatry in honor of Dr. Raymond Waggoner, chair of the department from 1937 to 1970.

Doctors as Stewards: Where are We and Where Do We Need to Go?

CBDSM — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Dr. Susan Goold is the recipient of a Greenwall Foundation grant for her research, "Doctors as Stewards: Where are We and Where Do We Need to Go?" The Greenwall Foundation was established in 1949 and is known for its interdisciplinary program in bioethics.

Colostomy is Better than Death

CBDSM — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0000

CBSSM investigators Holly Witteman, Andrea Fuhrel-Forbis, Angela Fagerlin, and Brian Zikmund-Fisher, along with CBSSM alumni Peter Ubel and Andrea Angott will give a plenary talk at the Society for Medical Decision Making's 32nd Annual Meeting in Toronto on Monday, October 25. The talk is titled, "Colostomy is Better than Death, but a 4% Chance of Death Might Be Better Than a 4% Chance of Colostomy: Why People Make Choices Seemingly At Odds With Their Stated Preferences."

Abstract:

Purpose: When asked for their preference between death and colostomy, most people say that they prefer colostomy. However, when given the choice of two hypothetical treatments that differ only in that one has four percent chance of colostomy while the other has four percent additional chance of death, approximately 25% of people who say that they prefer colostomy actually opt for the additional chance of death. This study examined whether probability-sensitive preference weighting may help to explain why people make these types of treatment choices that are inconsistent with their stated preferences.

Method: 1656 participants in a demographically diverse online survey were randomly assigned to indicate their preference by answering either, “If you had to choose, would you rather die, or would you rather have a colostomy?” or, “If you had to choose, would you rather have a 4% chance of dying, or would you rather have a 4% chance of having a colostomy?” They were then asked to imagine that they had been diagnosed with colon cancer and were faced with a choice between two treatments, one with an uncomplicated cure rate of 80% and a 20% death rate, and another with an uncomplicated cure rate of 80%, a 16% death rate, and a 4% rate of colostomy.

Result: Consistent with our prior research, most people whose preferences were elicited with the first question stated that they preferred colostomy (80% of participants) to death (20%), but many then made a choice inconsistent with that preference (59% chose the treatment with higher chance of colostomy; 41% chose the treatment with higher chance of death). Compared to the first group, participants whose preferences were elicited with the 4% question preferred death (31%) over colostomy (69%) more often (Chi-squared = 24.31, p<.001) and their treatment choices were more concordant with their stated preferences (64% chose the treatment with higher chance of colostomy; 36% chose the treatment with higher chance of death, Chi-squared for concordance = 36.92, p<.001).

Conclusion: Our experiment suggests that probability-sensitive preference weighting may help explain why people’s medical treatment choices are sometimes at odds with their stated preferences. These findings also suggest that preference elicitation methods may not necessarily assume independence of probability levels and preference weights.

Public Deliberation, Ethics and Health Policy Symposium

CBDSM — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0000

On September 10-11, 2010, the Public Deliberation, Ethics and Health Policy Symposium was held on the U-M campus in Ann Arbor. Jointly funded by a University of Michigan Center for Ethics in Public Life program grant and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the symposium was coordinated by Dr. Susan Goold, together with Julia Abelson at McMaster University and Erika Blacksher at the University of Washington.

The purpose of the inaugural symposium was to reflect on questions about the rationale, methods, and use of public deliberation for addressing complex and morally challenging health policy problems. Invited participants included CBSSM co-director Scott Kim and Raymond De Vries.

Improving the Self-Efficacy of African American Parents in Infant Supine Sleep

CBDSM — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Kathryn Moseley, MD, received a $2.16 million grant over 5 years from the NIH for a study designed to reduce the disparity in SIDS deaths between African American and White infants. Culturally appropriated tailored multi-media messages will be used to assist parents in overcoming identified barriers to infant supine sleep. Materials generated from the project will also demonstrate appropriate sleep techniques tailored to the infant's developmental age.

Risk Evaluation and Education for Alzheimer's Disease (REVEAL)

CBDSM — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0000

J. Scott Roberts, PhD, received an R01 award from NHGRI for a multi-site, randomized controlled clinical trial to examine the impact and efficacy of a genetic risk assessment program that educates people with mild cognitive impairment about their chances of developing Alzheimer's disease.

Impact of Direct to Consumer (DTC) Genetic Testing

CBDSM — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0000

J. Scott Roberts, PhD, received an R01 grant from NHGRI for a project that will describe the characteristics of consumers of DTC genetic services and to evaluate the psychological and behavioral impact of these services.

The DECISIONS Study Highlighted in MDM Supplement, Sept/Oct 2010

CBDSM — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Brian Zikmund-Fisher, PhD, is the featured guest editor for a special supplement to Medical Decision Making's September/October 2010 issue, highlighting the DECISIONS study, a nationwide survey of adults in the US regarding common medical decisions. Lead author on the main paper of the supplement, Zikmund-Fisher and co-authors (including CBSSM faculty Angela Fagerlin, PhD and Mick Couper, PhD) describe the DECISIONS study, a telephone interview of a nationally representative sample of 3010 adults age 40 and over faced with making a medical decision in the past two years. Researchers defined medical decisions as the patient having initiated medications, been screened, or had surgery within the past 2 years or having discussed these actions with a health care provider during the same interval. Key findings from the study:

Although patients frequently receive information about the benefits of a procedure or medication, they don't always learn about the disadvantages.

Healthcare providers don't always ask patients what they want to do.

Most patients don't use the Internet to help them make common medical decisions; healthcare professionals remain the most important source of information.

Patients often don't know as much as they think they do. Many patients feel well informed even when they don't know key facts that would help them make a better decision.

African-Americans and Hispanics were less knowledgeable than other patients about medications to treat high cholesterol. In addition, they were more likely to say their doctor made decisions about cholesterol medications for them.

Most patients think they are more likely to get cancer than they really are, and tend to view cancer screenings as more accurate than they are.

Men and women think about cancer risks differently. Women are more active participants in cancer screening decisions regardless of their perception of risk, whereas men tended to get involved only if they felt at higher risk.

Bioethics Program and CBDSM Merger Creates New Center

CBDSM — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine (CBSSM) is a new center in the Medical School, created by the recent merger of the Bioethics Program with the Center for Behavioral and Decision Sciences in Medicine (CBDSM). The new Center represents a unique opportunity for the University of Michigan to integrate bioethics with key social science disciplines and brings together in one entity research, clinical service, and education. CBSSM is co-directed by Drs. Angela Fagerlin and Scott Kim. Please explore the website to learn more about this unique and innovative unit.

The DECISIONS Study: A Portrait of How Americans Make Common Medical Decisions

CBDSM — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Brian Zikmund-Fisher gave an oral presentation at The Forum 10 hosted by DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance, Washington, DC.

DECISIONS Article Most Downloaded

CBDSM — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The article, "The DECISIONS Study: A Nationwide Survey of United States Adults Regarding 9 Common Medical Decisions," authored by Brian Zikmund-Fisher et al. in Medical Decision Making (September-October 2010) was recently identified as the most downloaded article in the journal of all articles published in 2009 and 2010.

Throwing health sciences into the mixed methods mix

CBDSM — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Michael D. Fetters, MD, MPH, MA, Associate Professor, presented at the 6th Mixed Methods International Conference, Baltimore, MD, in July 2010.

Personalized learning network conceptual model for new media medical research and education

CBDSM — Sat, 01 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Michael D. Fetters, MD, MPH, MA, Associate Professor, was co-presenter at the Annual Michigan Family Medicine Research Day XXXIII Conference, Howell, Michigan, in May 2010.

Traditional Arabic and Islamic medicine: Development of a conceptual model

CBDSM — Sat, 01 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Michael D. Fetters, MD, MPH, MA, Associate Professor, was co-presenter at the Annual Michigan Family Medicine Research Day XXXIII Conference, Howell, MI, in May 2010.

Physicians' and nurse midwives' approach to weight gain in pregnancy

CBDSM — Sat, 01 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Michael D. Fetters, MD, MPH, MA, Associate Professor, was co-presenter at the Annual Michigan Family Medicine Research Day XXXIII Conference, Howell, MI, in May 2010.

Providing culturally competent care in a changing world: Lessons learned from caring for overseas Japanese

CBDSM — Sat, 01 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Michael D. Fetters, MD, MPH, MA, Associate Professor, presented at Grand Rounds, St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, Ypsilanti, MI, in May 2010.

Making Decisions about Care at the End of Life

CBDSM — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Maria Silveira, MD, MPH, is the lead author on an article in the New England Journal of Medicine (April 1, 2010) on end-of-life decision making. Silveira and her colleagues found in a large-scale study that more than a quarter of the elderly lacked decision-making capacity as they approached death. Those who had advance directives were very likely to get the care that they wanted. Co-authors on the study are Kenneth Langa, MD, PhD, and Scott Y.H. Kim, MD, PhD. Read a press release about the article here.

CBSSM Staff Member Awarded NSF Fellowship

CBDSM — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Ian Wall, former CBSSM Research Associate, has been awarded a prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship for his upcoming doctoral work in sociology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. The three-year award includes an annual stipend, tuition allowance, and travel allowance. Ian, who works with Scott Kim, MD, PhD, and Ray DeVries, PhD, will be starting his program at Madison in fall 2010.

Family medicine in the United States

CBDSM — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Michael D. Fetters, MD, MPH, MA, Associate Professor, presented at the Shizuoka Family Medicine Training Program, Iwata City, Japan, in April 2010.

Pediatrics-lifestyles, developmental milestones, and well child care

CBDSM — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Michael D. Fetters, MD, MPH, MA, Associate Professor, presented at the Shizuoka Family Medicine Training Program in Iwata City, Japan, in April 2010.

Original projects for family medicine residents

CBDSM — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Michael D. Fetters, MD, MPH, MA, Associate Professor, presented at the Shizuoka Family Medicine Training Program in Kikugawa, Japan, in April 2010.

What will Shizuoka program residents study at the University of Michigan?

CBDSM — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Michael D. Fetters, MD, MPH, MA, Associate Professor, presented at the Shizuoka Family Medicine Training Program in Kikugawa, Japan, in April 2010.

Basics of obstetric examination: Normal birth, prenatal health checkup

CBDSM — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Michael D. Fetters, MD, MPH, MA, Associate Professor, presented at the Shizuoka Family Medicine Training Program in Kikugawa, Japan, in April 2010.

Participatory physical examination, vaccines, and child abuse

CBDSM — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Michael D. Fetters, MD, MPH, MA, Associate Professor, presented at the Shizuoka Family Medicine Training Program in Iwata City, Japan, in April 2010.

Practical English in clinical care: The first step in thinking in English

CBDSM — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Michael D. Fetters, MD, MPH, MA, Associate Professor, presented at the Shizuoka Family Medicine Training Program in Iwata City, Japan, in April 2010.

Radiation after Mastectomy Underused

CBDSM — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Reshma Jagsi, MD, DPhil, is the lead author on a new study showing that breast cancer patients who have had mastectomies and need radiation are less likely to receive these treatments than patients who have had lumpectomies. The article appears in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (online March 29, 2010). Additional authors are Paul Abrahamse, Sarah T. Hawley, Jennifer J. Griggs, Steven J. Katz, Monica Morrow, John J. Graff, and Ann S. Hamilton. Read a press release about the research here.

Bioethics/CBDSM Seminar March 18

CBDSM — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Kathryn L. Moseley, MD, MPH, will present "African American and White Disparities in Pediatric Kidney Transplantation: Unfortunate or Unjust?"on Thursday, March 18, 2010, 3:30-4:45 pm, room 7C-09 North Ingalls Bldg, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor campus. Dr. Moseley is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases and the Bioethics Program. All are welcome!

Witteman Receives Funding from FIMDM

CBDSM — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Holly Witteman, Research Fellow at CBSSM, has been awarded a $25,000 Robert Derzon Post-Doctoral Grant from the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making for her project entitled "Development and Evaluation of Interactive Interfaces for Values Exploration and Clarification." Pending IRB approval, the project is slated to commence in April 2010. Witteman has been working since fall 2009 under the mentorship of Angela Fagerlin. CBSSM extends its congratulations!

Diabetes Disagreements

CBDSM — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Brian Zikmund-Fisher, PhD, is the senior author on a study led by Donna M. Zulman, MD, that reveals about a third of doctors and their patients with diabetes do not agree on which of the patient's health conditions is most important. In the study, 38% of physicians (compared to 18% of patients) ranked hypertension as the most important condition. Patients were more likely to prioritize symptoms such as pain and depression. Read the article, in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, here. Read a press release about the article here.

Cultural competence: Lessons learned, challenges coming

CBDSM — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Michael D. Fetters, MD, MPH, MA, Associate Professor, presented at Al Hagar Auditorium at HMC, Doha, QA; and at the Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Doha, QA, in February 2010.

The Cost of Cancer Treatments

CBDSM — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The vast majority of oncologists (84%) say that they consider costs to the patient when recommending cancer treatments. But fewer than half of oncologists frequently discuss cost issues with their patients. These are some of the results of a national survey conducted by Peter Neuman, ScD (Tufts Medical Center) and CBSSM's former Director Peter A. Ubel, MD, funded by the California HealthCare Foundation. Results were published in the January 2010 Health Affairs. Ubel comments: "Oncologists understand, from up close, that cancer diagnoses and treatment leave many people bankrupt. They want to do what is medically right for their patients, but they are struggling to figure out what, at the same time, is economically right for them." Read the article here.

New Bioethics Book by Scott Kim

CBDSM — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Oxford University Press has published Evaluation of Capacity to Consent to Treatment and Research, by CBSSM's Co-director Scott Kim, MD, PhD. The book is part of the series Best Practices in Forensic Mental Health Assessment. For further information about this volume, click here.

Women Researchers Less LIkely to Receive Major Funding

CBDSM — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000

CBSSM's Reshma Jagsi, MD, DPhil, is the lead author on a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine showing that women are less likely than men to receive major funding for scientific research. The study also found that only a quarter of all researchers (men and women) who received major early-career awards received further federal funding within five years. Additional authors are Amy Motomura, Kent Griffith, and Soumya Rangarajan. Read a press release about the article here.

Communicating H1N1 Health Risks

CBDSM — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Brian Zikmund-Fisher, PhD, is one of three speakers in a recent public health webcast on strategies for conveying the health risks of the H1N1 virus. Zikmund-Fisher is an assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and CBSSM. To view the webcast, click here.

Article on Mastectomy in JAMA

CBDSM — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Several CBSSM faculty contributed to an article by lead author Monica Morrow, MD, that appeared recently in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The authors investigated the concern that mastectomy is overused in the US. In surveying 1,984 patients, they found that 75% had breast-conserving surgery as their initial surgical therapy. Of these, 38% required additional surgery. Although breast-conserving surgery was recommended by surgeons and attempted in the majority of patients evaluated, the mastectomy rate was affected by surgeon recommendation, patient decision, and failure of breast-conserving surgery. CBSSM faculty contributing to this article were Reshma Jagsi, MD, DPhil; Amy K. Alderman, MD; Jennifer J. Griggs, MD, MPH; and Sarah T. Hawley, PhD. Other authors included Ann A. Hamilton, PhD; John J. Graff, PhD; and Steven J. Katz, MD, MPH. Read the article at http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/vol302/issue14/index.dtl.

The Neglected Specialty of Mammology

CBDSM — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0000

CBSSM's Ray DeVries, PhD, along with Mark Pearlman, MD (UM professor of obstetrics and gynecology), and UM doctoral student Ann V. Bell recently published an op-ed column in the New York Times. They discuss the delayed diagnosis of breast cancer and how it is the most common and the second most costly medical claim against American doctors. Read the full article: NY Times

Fagerlin Receives Major APA Award

CBDSM — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Angela Fagerlin, PhD, has received the American Psychological Association's 2009 Award for Outstanding Contributions to Health Psychology (Division 38, Junior Category). The award was presented at the APA convention in Toronto in early August. CBSSM sends congratulations on this exceptional achievement by one of its Co-directors!

Using Newborn Screening Data for Research

CBDSM — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0000

A study by Beth Tarini, MD, has found that more than three-quarters of parents would be willing to permit use of their newborn's blood screening sample for research if their permission were obtained in advance. However, more than half of the parents said they would be "very unwilling" to permit this use of blood samples unless they were given a chance to grant or deny permission. For a discussion of this important article, go to http://www2.med.umich.edu/prmc/media/newsroom/details.cfm?ID=1217

"Bang for the Buck" . . .

CBDSM — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0000

is the title of a project assessing the impact of different features of a web-based decision aid to improve patient decision making for asymptomatic carotid disease. This project was recently funded by the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making. Ethan A. Halm, MD, MPH (Univerity of Texas Southwestern Medical Center) will be working with CBSSM's Brian Zikmund-Fisher, PhD, on this research that will compare two decision aids related to surgery to prevent stroke.

Conflicts of Interest in Cancer Studies

CBDSM — Mon, 11 May 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Reshma Jagsi, MD, DPhil, has found that 29% of cancer research published in high-impact journals disclosed a conflict of interest, including industry funding of the study or a study author who was an industry employee. "Given the frequency we observed for conflicts of interest and the fact that conflicts were associated with study outcomes, I would suggest that merely disclosing conflicts is probably not enough. It's becoming increasingly clear that we need to look more at how we can disentangle cancer research from industry ties," comments Jagsi. The study, which has received wide media attention, was published in the journal Cancer, online at http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122381054/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

Additional authors are Nathan Sheets, Aleksandra Jankovic, Amy R. Motomura, Sudha Amarnath, and Peter A. Ubel.

Weber Wins Staff Award

CBDSM — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Caitlin Weber has been presented the 2009 Laurie Kittl Luzynski Administrative Professional Award. This award honors a staff member in the Department of Internal Medicine who has particular commitment to continuing education and to wellness awareness, in addition to a positive attitude and team spirit. The Division of Hematology/Oncology at the University of Michigan presents the award annually in memory of a highly respected staff member in their unit. Weber, who was the Administrative Assistant for CBSSM, was nominated by CBSSM staff.

Bookmark This Blog

CBDSM — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Be sure to post a comment at peterubel.com, the blog of the former CBSSM director, Peter A. Ubel, MD. Dr. Ubel's commentaries range across science, policy, health, well-being, and ethics. Topics include bankruptcy, behavior, and building; nuances, nature, and neighborhoods; soccer, satire, and scientocracy.

Doctoral Fellow from the Netherlands at CBDSM

CBDSM — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000

During the winter term of 2009, CBSSM welcomed Yvette Peeters, a doctoral student in medical decision making at the University of Leiden Medical Center in the Netherlands. Yvette holds an MSc in clinical and health psychology plus psychometrics and research methodology. Her current interests include utility elicitation, quality of life, emotional adaptation, and survey methodology. During her stay at CBSSM, Yvette's academic mentor was Dylan Smith, PhD.

NIH Funding for Major Bioethics Project

CBDSM — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000

CBSSM Co-director Scott Kim, MD, PhD, has recently been funded by the NIH for a project on therapeutic misconception and the ethics of sham surgery. Ethicists have raised concerns that elderly patients with a progressively debilitating disease such as Parkinson’s disease (PD) may be too vulnerable for research that involves novel, invasive interventions that use a controversial masking design, i.e., sham neurosurgical controls. Are these subjects laboring under a therapeutic misconception, erroneously believing that research, rather than being an experimental procedure for the sake of creating knowledge to help future patients, is actually a novel form of treatment intended to help them? Dr. Kim’s project will study four actual PD clinical trials that involve a sham surgery control. Collaborators include R. DeVries, K. Kieburtz, R. Wilson, S. Frank, and H.M. Kim. Pilot funding came from the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

Post-Mastectomy Radiation Guidelines

CBDSM — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000

19% of women who should receive radiation after mastectomy are not getting this treatment, according to new research results now online in the journal Cancer. CBSSM's Reshma Jagsi, MD, DPhil, is the lead author on this study, which found that the most common reason that women in this high-risk group cited for not considering the treatment was that their doctors did not recommend it. See more information at the University of Michigan Health System Newsroom.

Pruning the Regulatory Tree

CBDSM — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 00:00:00 +0000

For human-subjects research, maximum regulation does not mean maximum protection. Stop regulating minimal risk research, say Scott Kim, Peter Ubel and Raymond De Vries in their new commentary in Nature.

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v457/n7229/pdf/457534a.pdf

"Free Market Madness" Published

CBDSM — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Free Market Madness: Why Human Nature Is at Odds with Economics--and Why It Matters is the third book by former CBSSM Peter Ubel, MD. Dr. Ubel explains that our free-market economy is based on the assumption that we always act in our own self-interest. But, using his understanding of psychology and behavior, he then shows that humans are not always rational, and he argues that in some cases government must regulate markets for our own health and well-being. Dr. Ubel's vivid stories bring his message home to anyone interested in improving the way American society works. This publication of Harvard Business Press can be ordered at amazon.com, borders.com, or barnesandnoble.com.

Dr. Stephanie Brown on the Psychology of Giving

CBDSM — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Caring for an ailing spouse may prolong your life. Stephanie Brown explains her research in a vodcast, featured on the University of Michigan website: http://www.ns.umich.edu/podcast/vodcast.php. This vodcast was, appropriately, the university's home page lead for the week of Thanksgiving.

Study by Drs. Volk and Ubel investigates allocation of donor livers

CBDSM — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0000

A study by CBSSM researcher Michael Volk, MD, and former CBSSM Director Peter Ubel, MD, has found that the Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) organ allocation system has changed how high-risk organs are used--patients lower on the waiting list are receiving more high-risk or poor-quality organs, which has reduced post-transplant survival rates. Dr. Volk and his colleagues are interested in finding ways to provide better decision making tools for patients who need organ transplants.
To read more about this study, please visit http://www2.med.umich.edu/prmc/media/newsroom/details.cfm?ID=807
Their findings are published in the November issue of Gastroenterology (Vol. 135, No. 5)

Center of Excellence Funding Renewed by NIH

CBDSM — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

The University of Michigan's Center of Excellence in Cancer Communications Research has been renewed for another five years, through August 2013, by the National Institutes of Health. The purpose of the $8.8 million award is to develop an efficient, theory-driven model for generating health behavior interventions that is generalizable across health behaviors and sociodemographic populations. The UM Center for Health Communicaitons Research, under principal investigator Victor Strecher, MPH, PhD, coordinates the core of this Center of Excellence. Former CBSSM Director Peter A. Ubel, MD, and current CBSSM Co-director Angela Fagerlin, PhD, are leading Project 3, in which they will conduct Internet studies to test several movel ways of tailoring a prostate cancer decision aid, with the goal of identifying interventions that increase the perceived salience of patient preferences. After they have determined the best interventions, they will modify the current prostate cancer decision aid and then test it in men with newly diagnosed localized prostate cancer. Co-investigators on Project 3 are John T. Wei, MD, and Brian Zikmund-Fisher, PhD, at the University of Michigan and James Tulsky, MD, and Stewart Alexander, PhD, at Duke University.

Brian Zikmund-Fisher Receives Foundation Grant to Develop Interactive Risk Graphics

CBDSM — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Brian Zikmund-Fisher, PhD, a CBSSM investigator and Director of the CBSSM Internet Survey lab, is the principal investigator on an Investigator Initiated Research award from the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making that began in October 2008. The grant, entitled "Learning by Doing: Improving Risk Communication Through Active Processing of Interactive Pictographs," will fund the development and testing of of Flash-based interactive risk graphics that research participants or patients can use to visually demonstrate how likely they believe some event is to occur. Dr. Zikmund-Fisher hopes that people who create risk graphics themselves will have a better intuitive understanding of risk than people who just view static images. Co-investigators on the award include Angela Fagerlin, Peter A. Ubel, and Amanda Dillard.

Ubel Receives Health Policy Research Award

CBDSM — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Peter A. Ubel has been selected by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as a recipient of a prestigious Investigator Award in Health Policy Research for 2008. Dr. Ubel, who was director of the Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine, plans to examine how beliefs about quality of life affect the choices made when patients seek treatment, when payers determine coverage policies, and when policy-makers weigh programmatic or financial options. His project, Emotional Adaptation and the Goals of Health Care Policy, will introduce insights from well-being research, which studies how physical illness and emotional well-being are intertwined, to debates about cost-effectiveness of medical treatments, coverage decisions by payers, and discussions about health care priorities.

National Survey of Medical Decisions Update

CBDSM — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Mick Couper, PhD, and Brian Zikmund-Fisher, PhD, have received additional funding from the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making for continuing analysis of their groundbreaking National Survey of Medical Decisions. This telephone survey of 3,010 English-speaking adults over the age of 40 targeted decisions related to nine issues: hypertension medication, hypercholesterolemia medication, depression medication, colorectal cancer screening, breast cancer screening, prostate cancer screening, knee/hip replacement surgery, cataract surgery, and surgery for lower back pain. Drs.Couper and Zikmund-Fisher seek to clarify how details of patients' decision-making processes might vary across a variety of conditions.

Decisions on Prescribing Cancer Drugs

CBDSM — Wed, 14 May 2008 00:00:00 +0000

New medications offer promise to millions of Americans diagnosed with cancer each year. Yet many of these new drugs are expensive; a single medication regimen can cost upwards of $50,000 per person per year on top of other medical expenses. Our society is struggling to find ways to target resources for such technologies. Peter A. Ubel, MD,and colleague Peter J. Neumann, MD (Tufts Medical Center) have been funded by the California Health Care Foundation to conduct a national survey of oncologists about new cancer therapies. Assisting with the project is CBSSM research staff member Julie Tobi.

International Doctoral Fellow at CBSSM

CBDSM — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0000

In early April 2008, CBSSM welcomed its first doctoral fellow, Teresa Gavaruzzi. Ms. Gavaruzzi holds degrees in cognitive psychology and experimental psychology and is currently a doctoral student in cognitive psychology at the University of Padua in Italy. Under the mentorship of Angela Fagerlin, PhD, Teresa is participating especially in CBDSM research groups related to patient decision making. For her doctoral dissertation, she’s examining factors affecting the perception and understanding of risks in medical choices and the implications for informed consent, especially in screening for colorectal cancer and prostate cancer. An important part of her work is studying the effects of message framing and format on behaviors.

NIH Grant Awarded to Dylan Smith

CBDSM — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Former CBSSM faculty member Dylan Smith, PhD, is the principal investigator on an NIH R-21 grant beginning in spring 2008. Dr. Smith will be measuring health-related quality of life in older adults with chronic illnesses, evaluating existing recall-based approaches against two new tools that are designed to be robust to memory biases. Co-investigators with Dr. Smith are Peter A. Ubel, Norbert Schwarz, and Susan Murphy.

Peter A. Ubel Named to Collegiate Professorship

CBDSM — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0000

The Regents of the University of Michigan have named Peter A. Ubel, MD, the George Dock Collegiate Professor of Internal Medicine, effective December 13, 2007, through August 31, 2012. Collegiate professorships recognize faculty members whose work is of the highest quality. The titles honor prominent faculty members—in this case, Dr. George Dock (1860-1951), a professor at the University of Michigan Medical School.

Becoming a doctor, starting a family?

CBDSM — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Reshma Jagsi, MD, PhD, is lead author on an article in the November 8, 2007, New England Journal of Medicine about leaves of absence during graduate medical education, specifically leaves for childbirth and infant care. Physicians in residency programs face limitations on leave time designed to ensure adequate training as well as stability of the care-delivery system. But how can these limitations be reconciled with federal mandates-and reasonable societal expectations-for childbearing leave? Click here to see the article.

CBSSM investigators present pioneering survey to the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making

CBDSM — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 00:00:00 +0000

CBSSM researcher Brian J. Zikmund-Fisher, PhD, and collaborator Mick Couper, PhD, from the UM Institute for Social Research spoke to the Medical Editors’ Meeting of the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Drs. Couper and Zikmund-Fisher reported on "Methods and Early Results from the National Survey of Medical Decisions." This pioneering survey reveals surprising information about the epidemiology of ten common medical decisions that are made by older Americans. Discussion of the presentation was lively!

The Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making, which funded this CBSSM research, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to assuring that people understand their choices and have the information they need to make sound decisions affecting their health and well being.
Learn more at www.fimdm.org

Amanda Dillard awarded grant by the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making

CBDSM — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Amanda Dillard, PhD, was awarded a $25,000 George Bennett Postdoctoral Grant by the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making. With this funding, Dr. Dillard will conduct surveys to examine whether certain types of patient testimonials have a beneficial influence on knowledge, satisfaction, and interest in shared health care decision making, specifically in the context of a decision aid related to colon cancer screening. She will use social cognitive theory, social comparison theory, and risk processing perspectives to guide her hypotheses about testimonials.

Dr. Dillard’s postdoctoral position at CBSSM was funded by VA Health Services Research and Development, Ann Arbor, Michigan.