• Conducts practice-based research in primary care clinical settings throughout Alabama
  
  
• Includes family medicine faculty from all three University of Alabama campuses (Birmingham, Huntsville and Tuscaloosa)
  
  
• Is managed by a coordinating center located in the UAB Department of Family and Community Medicine
  
  
• Is guided by a 10-member advisory board of practicing and academic physicians
  
  
• Was organized in December 2000
  
  
• Is a full member of the Federation of Practice-Based Research Networks (FPBRN)
  
  
• Has been supported by grants from the US Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ), Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), US Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), and Alabama Family Practice Rural Health Board (AFPHRB).

Accomplishments:

Development & testing of a unique system of electronic data collection and transfer from multiple remote sites

The creation of PDA-based interventions for smoking and obesity – and delivery of those interventions to over 1,000 patients

Demonstration of the APBRN’s ability to conduct practice-based studies that meet or exceed national standards

Contributions to publications and presentations that have informed other practice-based studies and networks

Interest from other PBRNs in developing PDA- and web-based interventions

Selection to participate in testing of the national Electronic Primary Care Research Network (EPCRN) under the NIH ‘roadmap’ initiative

Bibliography:

PRESENTATIONS

National and International

Using a practice-based research network to assess smoking counseling among family physicians. National Rural Health Association 25th Annual Conference, Kansas City, MO, May 2002

Smoking cessation and counseling practices among family physicians. North American Primary Care Research Group 30^th Annual Meeting: Building Research Capacity, New Orleans, LA, November 2002

Smoking cessation and counseling practices among Alabama Primary Care Physicians. Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco 9^th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, February 2003

Testing PDA based interventions for smoking and unhealthy diet. North American Primary Care Research Group 31^st Annual Meeting: "Linkages: Collaboration With Researchers, Communities and Funders." Banff, Alberta, Canada, October 2003

Smoking cessation training for healthcare providers: Alabama tobacco free families. American Public Health Association 131^st Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, November 2003

Translating national tobacco use and obesity guidelines into a PDA program. American Academy of Family Physicians 2004 Convocation of Practices, Kansas City, MO, March 2004

Practice Extenders and PDA-based Assessment and Counseling for Smoking and Healthy Diet. North American Primary Care Research Group 32^nd Annual Meeting: "Making a Difference in Research and Clinical Practice." Orlando, FL, October 2004

Practice Extenders and PDA-based Assessment and Counseling for Smoking and Healthy Diet. American Academy of Family Physicians 2005 Convocation of Practices, Colorado Springs, CO, March 2005

PDAs and Practice Extenders: Integration of 5-A Tobacco Use Intervention. Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco 11^th Annual Meeting and 7^th Annual European Conference, Prague, Czech Republic, March 2005

Translating Tobacco Use Clinical Practice Guidelines Into a PDA Program for Use in Routine Care. Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco 11^th Annual Meeting and 7^th Annual European Conference, Prague, Czech Republic, March 2005

PDAs and Practice Extenders: Integration of 5-A Tobacco Use Intervention. 2005 National Conference on Tobacco or Health, Chicago, IL, May 2005.

PDAs and Practice Extenders: Integration of 5-A Tobacco Use and Obesity Interventions. 2005 Translating Research Into Practice Conference, Washington, DC, July 2005.

PBRNs and PDAs: Creating an Electronic Network. 2005 AHRQ PBRN Meeting: Putting Research into Practice and Practice into Research, Washington, DC, July 2005.

PDAs and Practice Extenders: The Prescription for Health project. North American Primary Care Research Group 33^rd Annual Meeting, Quebec, Canada, October 2005

Regional, State, Local

Data collection and wireless PDAs: A conceptual research architecture for rural physicians. International Biometric Society Eastern North American Region Annual Meeting, Charlotte, NC, March 2001

Applications of PDAs for data collection in physician practices: The Alabama practice based research network. UAB Information and Technology Day, Birmingham, AL, May 2001

PDA Workshop. Alabama Academy of Family Physicians Annual Meeting, Destin, FL, June 2003

PDA-based obesity studies. UAB Clinical Nutrition Research Center Grand

      Rounds, Birmingham, AL, January 2005

PUBLICATIONS

Practice extenders and PDA-based counseling for smoking and unhealthy

      diet. Annals of Family Medicine, "Prescription for Health: Changing

      Primary Care Practice to Foster Healthy Behaviors,” 3:S41-S43, 2005

Tobacco use assessment and counseling practices among Alabama primary

      care physicians. Quality in Primary Care. 13:163-170, 2005