PCPH Seed Grants Research Funding
The Fall 2024 Cycle is Open!
About Seed Grants
Are you a Clinical Educator (or similar) interested in developing basic quality improvement and/or research skills to enhance your career development, and have an idea for a small project? If so, please consider applying for a $5,000 seed grant sponsored by the division of Primary Care and Population Health. The intent of these seed grants is to support PCPH CEs in designing and conducting small pilot projects that lead to academic products; consultative support is provided for all applicants. Application cycles happen twice a year – in the spring and fall quarters. Applications for Seed Grants are reviewed and awarded by the faculty leaders of the Evaluation Sciences Unit (ESU). To get started, email evaluationsciencesu@stanford.edu.
The deadline for the pre-application is November 22, 2024. The deadline for the full application is January 8, 2025.
Please download and use the template "Full Seed Grant Proposal Template" (available below) for both of these steps.
Up to $5,000 may be requested for research or project related fees. Because of the small size of the grants, PI salaries, professional memberships, equipment, etc. are not permissible uses of seed grants.
Please note that no research assistants may conduct work on the project without a formal plan to hire or committment to one-time payment.
Seed Grant Awardees
Demographic and symptomatic characteristics of initial COVID cases at Stanford
Laura Vaughan, MD
Laura Vaughan received a seed grant to do a retrospective chart review of the first month of Stanford’s positive COVID-19 cases which focused on the relationship of socio-demographics, comorbidities, symptoms, and health care access as well as disease severity. The ESU provided crucial direction with IRB process, study design, data analysis and poster and manuscript writing.
PPE Portraits in Outpatient COVID Care
Lucy Kalanithi, MD
Provider warmth and competency are positively associated with patient health. During the COVID-19 pandemic, personal protective equipment (PPE) provides necessary protection to providers, yet poses a barrier to human connection in patient-provider interactions. PPE Portraits are a form of adaptation whereby health workers affix a portrait of themselves to the front of their PPE in order to foster human connection. This PCPH Seed Grant supports an evaluation of providers' experience of PPE portraits and systematic assessment of adaptations in contexts outside of Stanford, and includes creation of best practices for different environments.
Using virtual technology to enhance the lives of home bound elderly PEP (Positive experience project)
Nancy Morioka-Douglas, MD
The seed grant made possible the novel collaboration between Dr. Morioka-Douglas, Dr. Gallagher-Thompson(Psychiatry) and Dr. Fogg(Computer Science) in which they developed, piloted and evaluated an intervention designed to reduce depression in persons 65 to 85 years. Using Dr. Fogg's "Tiny Habits" behavioral technique and Dr. Gallagher-Thompson's expertise in behavioral activation as an effective treatment for depression in the elderly, Dr. Morioka led the proof of concept pilot in which 7 patients participated in a tightly scripted set of four 30-minute Zoom based group sessions. These were facilitated through the help of Dr. Nancy Cuan and Dr. Silvia Tee, who recruited "technology concierges" from among their trainees to help the patients use Zoom. All the investigators volunteered their time and efforts. Funding was used to hire project assistants who identified patients, recruited them, and completed pre and post intervention assessments. ESU assisted with study design help and evaluation. Based on the success of the pilot, the researchers are now applying for funding to spread the model.
Virtual rooming evaluation seed grant
Jesse Rokicki-Parashar, MD
Jesse Rokicki-Parashar received a seed grant to examine the rapid and unique shift of medical assistants in their roles and responsibilities upon the transition to virtual visits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her study conducted semi-structured interviews with medical assistants. The ESU provided support with study design, and data analysis.
A Quality Improvement Assessment of factors affecting engagement in the Diabetes Prevention Program in the Employer Based Clinic setting
Sandra Tsai, MD
Dr. Tsai received a seed grant to study patient engagement in the Stanford Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) launched in the Stanford Employer Based Clinic (EBC) at Qualcomm September 2019. She is interested in factors related to participation, attrition, and satisfaction with the DPP after the program transitioned from in-person group classes to virtual classes in March 2020 due to COVID-19. Her study will include participants questionnaires, focus groups, and interviews of participants and facilitators in the DPP at QualComm San Diego and Bay Area. The seed grant will fund the qualitative work and data analysis. ESU helped with the study design, instrument development, and implementation of the study.
Evaluation of Mental Health Group Video Visits in Primary Care
Maria Juarez-Reyes, MD
Dr. Juarez-Reyes received a seed grant to evaluate the effectiveness of a behavioral health medical group visit in primary care. Her study evaluated a 6-week educational and mindfulness intervention she developed. Pre and post anxiety and depression scores were the outcome measures. The seed grant funded RA support to abstract clinical data from EPIC into excel for data analysis. It also funded the intervention to be translated into Spanish which will be used in a study evaluating the same intervention in Spanish speaking cancer patients.
Understanding our rapid transition to video visits in primary care, who might be left behind?
Ian Nelligan, MD
Dr. Ian Nelligan received a seed grant to assess whether there are gaps in access to Stanford primary care in order to develop targeted interventions for specific populations as needed. He will compare the demographic characteristics of interest of in-person and video visits pre and post the start of the COVID epidemic to assess whether vulnerable patients are less likely to access Stanford primary care via video visits than other patient groups. The ESU assisted with study direction, and instrument development.
Investigation of presentation of cases tested for COVID-19 in Occupational Health: Chart Review
Mehdi Skhiri, MD
Dr. Mehdi Skhiri received a seed grant to determine the characteristics, symptoms, and duration of positivity of COVID-positive healthcare workers who were seen at occupational health. Data was analyzed from a chart review in occupational health, with a focus on the initial COVID-19 outbreak in March and April of 2020. The ESU helped with study design, IRB submission, and manuscript preparation.