171 Ashley Ave.
Charleston, SC 29425
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May 2008
Bringing research to the front lines of the community
Paul Darden, MD, often draws a parallel between his work and a quote attributed to infamous bank robber Willie Sutton.
When a reporter asked Sutton why he robbed banks, he supposedly answered: "Because that's where the money is."
"Likewise, we need to study medical care in the community because that's where the practice of medicine is," explains Dr. Darden.
As director of South Carolina's Pediatric Practice Research Network (SCPPRN), Dr. Darden strives to be on the "front line" of community-based research. SCPPRN is a nine-practice network focused on research relevant to South Carolina pediatricians and the children they treat. Established by local primary care physicians, the network works to implement and coordinate research to improve the health of South Carolina's children.
SCPRRN is based at MUSC but includes independent practices and their clinicians throughout the Lowcountry and Midlands.
"There was a great necessity for MUSC to sponsor a practice-based network," says Dr. Darden. "There is lots of research here and nationally, but the time it takes for new medical discoveries to make it out into practice is 20 years or more. We must disseminate what we know faster."
The research network is representative of pediatric practices throughout the state and beyond, and the patient information it provides is invaluable, says Dr. Darden. "The practices in our network provide an accurate cross-section of the practice of medicine in the community that we couldn't get at the medical center."
Since it was formed in 2005, SCPPRN has initiated and been actively involved in several significant studies, one of which is soon to be published in the medical journal, Clinical Pediatrics.
The study, which included 700 children, examined the height and weight of children to determine how often they're too big for current card seat recommendations. Suggested and led by SCPPRN member Dr. Paul Hletko, associate clinical professor in the Department of Pediatrics and a private practitioner in Georgetown, SC, the study found that a significant number of area children are too heavy for age-appropriate child passenger safety seats.
The network also researched the prevalence of obesity in SC, finding that the state differed little from the rest of country. More than 1,400 community children participated in the study.
Other projects the network has made possible include a study to determine the prevalence of headache diagnosis in school-age children. Suggested by MUSC sub-specialist Dr. Bernard Maria, this study compared SCPPRN data to a national database, finding headache diagnosis occurred 1.9 percent in the SCPPRN compared to 1.2 percent nationwide.
Because there are discrepancies between actual diagnosis and physician and parent reports of headache occurrence, the network will next survey parents.
"The research network provides us with a better idea of what's going on with pediatric practice and the problems our children face," explains Dr. Darden. "It's important because with that knowledge we, as pediatricians, can then make changes that will improve the care of our children."
Though busy practicing medicine in the community, these pediatricians have volunteered to be a part of the network because it allows them to improve the care of their young patients, says Dr. Darden.
"They want to contribute to our fund of knowledge, they seek the intellectual stimulation of the network and its research efforts, and they want to bring it all back to their practice and the children they treat."
The network recently received a grant from the Centers for Disease Control to look at improving immunization rates during the first two years of a child's life.
"We're currently collecting baseline data and about to start intervention," says Dr. Darden. "This study will also help our network practices implement a plan of quality improvement within each practice."
Ongoing SCPPRN projects include efforts to implement a method to better screen children for developmental disorders. In the near future is a study to look at the relationship between Vitamin D and infection and obesity, initiated by MUSC basic scientist Dr. Bruce Hollis and neonatologist Dr. Carol Wagner.
Dr. Paul Darden likes to quote Sir James McKenzie, a private rural practitioner in England who published one of the first cardiac medical cardiac textbooks in 1916. "The progress of medicine will be hampered and delayed," Sir McKenzie wrote, "until the general practitioner becomes an investigator."
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Inderjit Singh, PhD
Scientific Director
Darby Children's Research Inst. |
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Bernard L. Maria, MD, MBA
Executive Director
Darby Children's Research Inst. |
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