ABOUT MVANG MVANG NEWS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

JOIN NOW TASK FORCES POSTER AWARDS

 

 

The new ACRM Military / Veterans Affairs Networking Group (MVANG) offers networking opportunities between non-government ACRM members and VA personnel, and functions as an advisory group to the ACRM Board of Governors and CEO to maximize VA participation in ACRM.  Please contact the networking group co-chairs to learn ore and get involved.

 

MISSION

The MVANG fosters collaboration among researchers, clinicians and organizations (both public and private) and  provides high quality evidence-based education and training to rehabilitation  professionals to promote and advance the science and practice of rehabilitation appropriate for military and Veteran populations and their family members.

This is accomplished primarily through Annual Conference offerings and other product development including web-based content, fact sheets, articles for publication in the ACRM journal, as well as dynamic and committed leadership of and participation in the MVANG task forces.

 

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MVANG NEWS

Seeking Collaborators to Develop Information/Education Page on Pain

The MVANG Community Reintegration Task Force is seeking collaborators to assist with development of an Information /Education Page (I/EP) on pain and associated co-morbidities. The Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation publishes I/EPs as tear-out sheets designed for practitioners to copy or download to provide consumer-friendly information to people with disabilities, their caregivers and/or clinicians. The purpose of this I/EP is to begin reconceptualizing co-morbidities so that they are more meaningful in rehabilitation outcomes research.

If you’re interested in collaborating, please contact task force Co-Chair, Christina (Tina) Dillahunt-Aspillaga, PhD, CRC.

Summary of proposed I/EP

Co-morbidities are typically medical diagnoses. The traditional way to examine co-morbidities in research is to sum them, weighted by risk of dying with each one. The problem with mental health diagnoses and co-morbid disabilities is that they may rank low in risk of dying, yet could rank high if classified by disability factors that are meaningful to individuals, such as ability to live independently.

Using a mortality risk index could underestimate the effect of functioning, a primary outcome in rehabilitation research.  In addition, psychological diagnoses often have overlapping symptoms such as fatigue, pain, headache, poor concentration and difficulty making decisions and may not clearly differentiate diagnoses such as traumatic brain injury, depression, anxiety, and substance use disorder.  The purpose of this informational sheet is to begin to reconceptualizing co-morbidities so that they are more meaningful in rehabilitation outcomes research.

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Work Group Collaboration Opportunity

Introducing a new work group in the MVANG community, the Brain Injury-Focus on Behavioral Health (BI-FoBH) Work Group. Our mission is:

1. The education of stakeholders about the negative impact of co-occurring behavioral health conditions on rehabilitation outcomes
2. The promotion of evidence-based assessment and treatment of these co-occurring behavioral health conditions in the rehabilitation setting

CO-CHAIRS

Catie Johnston-Brooks, PhD, ABPP-CN
Marcus Institute for Brain Health
Assistant Professor, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus

Lisa Brenner, PhD
Director
Rocky Mountain MIRECC

We meet the second Tuesday of the month at 9:00 AM MST/ 7:00 AM EST.

Please reach out to Catie Johnston-Brooks if you are interested in joining the work group.

 

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MVANG MEMBER RECEIVES PAUL B MAGNUSON AWARD

ACRM member, Linda Resnik, PT, PhD, FAPTA, received the prestigious Paul B. Magnuson Award in recognition of her extraordinary commitment to veterans with limb loss, contributions to the design and evaluation of prosthetic devices and controls, and her pioneering developments in the measurement and evaluation of rehabilitation care delivery. It is the highest honor awarded by the VA Rehabilitation Research and Development (RR&D) service. The award was presented at the ACRM Annual Conference Awards Gala on 27 October 2017 in Atlanta.

Dr. Resnik is a research career scientist with the Providence VA Medical Center in Rhode Island and an active member of the ACRM Military/VA Networking Group.

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EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

 

	Co-Chair:  Joel D. Scholten, MD Director, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Washington DC VA Medical Center LinkedIn Profile
	Co-Chair:  Risa Nakase-Richardson, PhD, FACRM Clinical Neuropsychologist James A. Haley Veterans Hospital LinkedIn Profile
	Secretary:  Linda M. Picon, MCD, CCC-SLP VA Senior Consultant Department of Veterans Affairs

One of the most valuable benefits of ACRM membership is the opportunity to participate in the many interdisciplinary special interest groups (ISIG) and networking groups.

Click the JOIN NOW button to learn more or contact Member Services at +1.703.435.5335 for personal assistance.

 

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TASK FORCES

Co-Chair: Christina (Tina) Dillahunt-Aspillaga, PhD, CRC
Associate Professor, Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling Program
University of South Florida
LinkedIn Profile

Co-Chair: Gail Powell-Cope, PhD
Co-Director, HSR&D, Center of Innovation on Disability and Rehabilitation Research  (CINDRR)
James A. Haley Veterans Hospital, Tampa
LinkedIn Profile

 

Mission

• Connecting military, veteran and civilian researchers who study community reintegration
• Participation in community life: employment or other productive activity, such as volunteering, work, or school; independent living; and social relationships and activities.
• Members contribute to dissemination products, e.g., ACRM conference symposia, workshops, fact sheets, manuscripts.
• We welcome researchers from academia, private institutions, government (DOD, VA)
• Open-membership task force – We encourage members to invite colleagues’ participation.

Goals for 2018

1. Identify five new dissemination/implementation products and leads, two of which are in collaboration with other ACRM communities.
2. Mentor two individuals who have never led development of a product
3. Submit two to three symposia to 2018 ACRM conference and four posters
4. Increase collaboration among Members by facilitating partnerships through networking at conferences and during quarterly calls.

Accomplishments

• • Archives Information/Education Page In Press: Treating Military Service Members and Veterans in the Private Sector: Information and Resources for Clinicians
    Authors: Alison Cogan, Larry Cervelli, Tina Dillahunt-Aspillaga, Alicia Gill Rossiter
  • Archives Supplement: Community Reintegration, Participation, and Employment Issues in Veterans and Service Members With Traumatic Brain Injury
    Supplement Editors: Christina Dillahunt-Aspillaga, Gail Powell-Cope

 

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Military Caregiver Task Force

Co-Chair: Lillian Flores Stevens, PhD
Research Psychologist
Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center

Co-Chair: Angelle Sander, PhD, FACRM
Associate Professor
Baylor College of Medicine
LinkedIn Profile

Mission

• To promote collaboration and translation of research toward improving the quality of life of caregivers of Veterans and Service Members
• To develop research and dissemination materials to improve the lives of caregivers of Veterans and Service Members

Please contact the co-chairs if you are interested in joining this new task force!

 

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Co-Chair: Maheen Mausoof Adamson, PhD
Senior Scientific and Research Director, Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC), VA Palo Alto Health Care System
Clinical Associate Professor, Neurosurgery/Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford Medical School
LinkedIn Profile

Co-Chair: Karen Besterman-Dahan, PhD, RD
Research Health Science Specialist, Center of Innovation On Disability & Rehabilitation Research
James A. Haley Veterans Hospital
LinkedIn Profile

Mission

The ACRM Novel Research Methods Task Force focuses on bringing together Veteran and Military research groups from various research backgrounds, such as those that utilize either qualitative and quantitative assessment methodologies. Members contribute to ACRM conference, develop workshops and other products of interest and provide networking opportunities for researchers from diverse backgrounds.

Ideas for Future Panels or Symposia

• Qualitative Comparative Analysis:
• ATLAS.ti v.8: A focus of a symposium could be the ways people use it and what features they use (because researchers use it differently)
• GIS mapping for implementation research

 

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