Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery Assistant Professor Abhisek Parmar, M.D., FACS, was awarded the 2020 Americas Hernia Society and America's Hernia Society Quality Collaborative (AHSQC) Foundation Research Grant.

The Americas Hernia Society one-year $10,000 Research Grant funds Parmar's study "Surgeon Perspectives on the STITCH Trial: A Mixed Methods Analysis." Parmar's study is designed to specifically understand how surgeons view the STITCH trial for abdominal wall fascial closure but also, globally seeks to explore the mechanisms through which surgeons adopt new techniques into their practice. Using focus group interviews with surgeons and residents at UAB and surveys at academic centers across the country, he hopes to develop a novel understanding of surgeon thought processes when it comes to technical skill acquisition and practice change.

"I'm honored to have received this funding support from the Americas Hernia Society. For hernia surgeons, we accept the STITCH trial findings as dogma for hernia prevention. However, we don't understand how most other surgeons view the trial and the reasons why they choose to accept or not accept the study findings,” said Parmar.” In addition, we don't have a framework in general to understand how surgeons adopt new techniques into their practice. In the modern era where surgical technique and technology are rapidly changing, I hope this study will offer new insight into how surgeons think."