Program Evaluation and Research
The Department of Program Evaluation and Research aims to provide efficient and strategic support to those interested in conducting research at UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC. In order to ensure effective alignment with our academic health center's mission and organizational policies, we consider each project and carefully assess each request. Please visit the Research Support Requests Portal for more information and to complete a research request form. A research representative will follow up with you within 5 business days after your request is submitted.
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Our vision is for UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC to become a leader in Western North Carolina health issues, policy, and data. We strive to achieve this vision by partnering with local, state, and national experts on issues relevant to health professions education and population health through collaborative, innovative, diverse, and community-driven research.
Please visit our Library Guide for a current listing of our research publications. If you are part of the MAHEC community and have a publication you would like to add to this list, please email Library Science.
Research is a core component of our clinical practices and our academic health center at UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC. Our scientists are focused on the unique health issues facing Western North Carolinians and our rural and underserved populations. We conduct research to guide and evaluate clinical and population health interventions and to inform workforce development initiatives and healthcare policy.
Our researchers work in interdisciplinary teams that include a wide range of clinicians, patients, public health professionals, teaching faculty, residents, medical and allied health students, local and regional community partners, other academic institutions, and state and national healthcare experts.
Currently, our research efforts are focused on several core areas:
All 16 counties in our region are federally designated as healthcare professional shortage areas. We're exploring the best ways to recruit, train and retain these professionals to meet these needs, including the role of inter-professional education and inter-professional care teams to understand which types of providers and in what combinations are needed to provide care in rural areas. And we're working with community partners to develop models to enhance resiliency in our healthcare workers to reduce turnover and improve the quality of care.
Our researchers provide ongoing support to our faculty, fellows, and residents as well as the students and preceptors of the Asheville campuses of the UNC School of Medicine, Gillings School of Global Public Health, and Eshelman School of Pharmacy, as well as those in MAHEC's Health Careers program. We know it is vital for providers and students to learn how to conduct research to deliver the right treatment to the right patient at the right time. This is what it means to practice evidence-based medicine. We further support academic research aimed at understanding the best ways to deliver medical education and support medical education learners.
Western North Carolina has been particularly hard hit by the opioid epidemic. MAHEC has developed a number of substance misuse prevention and treatment initiatives to address this crisis, and preliminary research shows that our programs may be more effective than many others. We are conducting qualitative and quantitative research to identify what makes our programs successful so we can help others replicate our models.
We are committed to involving patients and community partners in the earliest stages of research to ensure we are addressing our community's needs. We have collaborated with patients and partners on women's health screening tools, substance use treatment programs, community health improvement programs, and shared decision making tools. We strive to include the voices of those from vulnerable populations in all of our research efforts.
