search articles:     from the issue of July 26, 2007         UNL, Madonna researchers partner for rehabilitation study  BY SARA PIPHER, UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS Psychology professor Will Spaulding has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to collaborate with Madonna Rehabilitation Center and a number of other partners in research on the links between psychiatric and physical rehabilitation methods. The grant will enable researchers to study clinical decision-making in community and hospital settings. "This partnership is important, because as we study clinical decision-making processes - for example how to design computer systems to assist clinicians making decisions - it's very helpful to be able to look at two types of rehabilitation in two different settings," Spaulding said. "Part of our research question is, 'How specialized does a clinical information system have to be to a particular setting? Can you essentially use the same kind of system in a physical rehab setting as in a psychiatric one, or must you make special changes or modifications from one to the other?'" The three-year, $877,652 project involves collaborators from the University of Southern California, Yale University and the Mental Health Center of Lancaster County. It will bring together researchers in psychiatric rehabilitation, experts in mathematical modeling, computer science and psychology, a psychologist researcher in physical rehabilitation, an experimental psychologist, and an expert in consumer interests and perspectives. Researchers will examine data from approximately 10,000 patients. They will explore how to design modeling analyses and develop clinical data management and decision support systems. Physical rehabilitation experts are far ahead of psychiatric rehabilitation practitioners in terms of utilizing sophisticated computer management of clinical data, Spaulding said. He believes that he and other psychiatric professionals have a great deal to gain from this collaboration. "This is an extension of the work that Will has been doing at the Regional Center (with rehabilitation for individuals living with chronic mental illness)," said Bill Shuart, director of Madonna's Institute for Rehabilitation Science and Engineering. "Madonna's role is to serve as a second site; in our domain here we work primarily with individuals with physical disabilities. This project offers us an opportunity to see whether some of Will's approaches work equally well in rehabilitation settings that focus on other types of illnesses and injuries." GO TO: ISSUE OF JULY 26 NEWS HEADLINES FOR JULY 26 Campus housing in high demand Art project reaches out to area youth Construction begins on Meier Commons and Plaza Lied expands discount for faculty, staff Agroecosystems analysis course pairs students, farmers for practical learning Crickets research outlines mating habits, benefits Ducey takes Cather, Sandoz, Shakespeare on Panhandle tour Ferraro turns passion into life of teaching Fire prevention trailer tours state Scientists, activists comprise Thompson Forum schedule University rises in national R&D rankings UNL, Campus Rec forge partnership with mtvU UNL, Madonna researchers partner for rehabilitation study 732883S37127X