Request for Information: Soliciting Input on Current Needs in Emergency Medicine Research

Notice Number: NOT-NS-08-021 - (See Notice NOT-NS-08-023 Notice of Deadline Extension for Request for Information)

Key Dates
Release Date: June 25, 2008
Response Due By: August 8, 2008

Issued by
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) http://www.ninds.nih.gov
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) http://www.nigms.nih.gov/
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) http://www.nimh.nih.gov/
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) http://www.niaid.nih.gov
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) http://www.niddk.nih.gov
The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) http://www.nichd.nih.gov/

Purpose

This is a time-sensitive Request for Information (RFI) issued by the NIH Emergency Medicine Roundtable Steering Committee on behalf of the NIH Task Force on Research in the Emergency Setting. The information requested, meant to ascertain the needs of the field of Emergency Medicine Research, will be collected by various Institute/Center staff in preparation for a series of Roundtables on Emergency Medicine Research.

Background

In response to a set of 2006 reports from the Institute of Medicine's Committee on the Future of Emergency Care in the United States Health Care System, NIH began to review its research and research training opportunities relevant to acute illness in the pre-hospital and Emergency Department (ED) setting. The NIH Task Force on Research in the Emergency Setting, created to facilitate the coordination of emergency care research across the NIH, felt that discussions between pertinent Institutes/Centers and key individuals in the emergency medicine and related medical research communities would help to delineate both barriers to and opportunities for research in this area. To this end, the NIH is planning a series of roundtable meetings with experts in the field of emergency medicine research for the summer and early fall of 2008. Specifically, the roundtables will focus on three broadly defined areas: trauma (including spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury), neurological and psychiatric emergencies (including stroke, epilepsy, suicidality, psychosis, etc.), and surgical and medical emergencies (including non-traumatic emergencies that require surgery, sepsis and septicemia, infectious diseases, anaphylaxis, organ failure, etc). The participation of special populations (such as children, pregnant women, the elderly, individuals unable to provide consent, etc.) in emergency medicine research and their specific needs and considerations will be addressed within the framework of each roundtable.

This RFI is meant to solicit input from the greater extramural research community, scientific and medical organizations, Federal Agencies, and other interested parties well-versed in the areas of emergency medicine to help identify crucial needs, gaps, and roadblocks in emergency medicine research. Responses to this RFI will be provided in advance to roundtable participants and will help inform and complement their assessment of the field and the identification of specific, achievable goals that have the potential to advance and transform the field overall. This RFI is for planning purposes only, and should not be construed as a solicitation for applications or proposals and/or as an obligation in any way on the part of the United States Federal Government.

Information Requested

The mission of NIH is to support biomedical discoveries that will improve health and save lives. The NIH seeks input about challenges and opportunities in emergency medicine that fall within this general research mission. The scope of emergency medicine being considered is defined as beginning with an event, disease, or condition that causes an individual to seek care in an ED setting and ending with departure from the ED (either by admission to another hospital department or through discharge from the ED).

The NIH Emergency Medicine Roundtable Steering Committee would like input on the following questions:

Research and Research Infrastructure:

  1. Given current scientific advances and opportunities, what mechanistic, clinical, and/or translational research questions are of highest priority to advance emergency medicine treatments and care (please list in order of importance)? Please tailor your answer to respond to each or a subset of the following research areas:

    1. For trauma research (including spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury)
    2. For research into neurological and psychiatric emergencies (including stroke, epilepsy, suicidality, psychosis, etc.)
    3. For research into surgical or medical emergencies (including non-traumatic emergencies that require surgery, sepsis and septicemia, infectious diseases, anaphylaxis, organ failure, etc.)
    4. For research into any other conditions which might present in emergency settings, not captured by any of the areas above.

  2. Independent of the actual disease process, what do you feel are the most important cross-cutting barriers that must be overcome to enhance research in the emergency setting e.g. informed consent, clinical pharmacology, etc.) Please list in order of importance. How do you feel these can be overcome?

  3. What existing tools or resources do you consider critical to a successful emergency medicine research program?

  4. What new tools or resources would be most powerful to advance research in the emergency setting?

Special Populations:

  1. What research questions are of highest priority for pediatric emergency medicine (please list in order of importance)?

  2. What do you see as the unique challenges facing emergency medicine research for special populations (these might include minorities, the elderly, children, pregnant women, and individuals unable to provide consent)? How do you think these would best be overcome?

  3. How should research findings in adult acute and trauma care be translated to advance the care of children?

  4. Conversely, how should the results of pediatric acute care, trauma research and unique pediatric emergencies, be disseminated to the adult acute care community?

Training and Collaboration:

  1. How should physicians, other healthcare providers, and/or Ph.D.s be trained to perform research in the emergency medicine setting?

  2. Many individuals with organ-specific, multi-system, or chronic disease use the emergency department as a point of access for specialty and subspecialty care. What are the research support and training needs for specialists to engage effectively in research within the emergency department setting?

  3. What interdisciplinary and collaborative models can advance research in the emergency setting? How can investigators and the NIH foster productive collaborations?

General Information:

  1. Please identify the nature of your interest in the area of Emergency Medicine Research (i.e. are you a biomedical or clinical researcher, an emergency medicine doctor, other type of physician, emergency medical technician, nurse, patient, a member of an advocacy or community group, or other).
  2. If you are a member of a particular advocacy or professional organization, please indicate the name of the organization.

  3. Within emergency medicine research, please indicate your main area of interest (i.e. trauma, neurological emergencies and/or psychiatric emergencies, surgical and/or medical emergencies, or another area).

Responses

Responses must be submitted electronically using the web-based form at: http://messageboards.ninds.nih.gov/rfi/rfi.aspx, and will be accepted through August 8th, 2008. Replies to individual questions are optional, and the site will permit anonymous responses. The information provided will be analyzed and may appear in various reports.

Inquiries

Specific questions about this RFI should be directed to the contact listed below:

Trauma Roundtable:

Scott D. Somers, Ph.D. (trauma)
Phone: 301-594-3827
Email: somerss@nigms.nih.gov

Ramona Hicks, Ph.D. (neurotrauma)
Phone: 301-496-1447
Email: hicksra@ninds.nih.gov

Neurological and Psychiatric Emergencies Roundtable:

Walter J. Koroshetz, M.D. (neurological emergencies)
Phone: 301-496-3167
Email: koroshetzw@ninds.nih.gov

Jane Pearson, Ph.D. (psychiatric emergencies)
Phone: 301-443-3598
Email: jpearson@mail.nih.gov

Surgical and Medical Emergencies Roundtable:

Jukka Korpela, M.D., Ph.D.
Phone: 301-496-7728
Email: jkorpela@niaid.nih.gov

Jeffrey Kopp, M.D.
Phone: 301-594-3403
Email: jbkopp@nih.gov