Call for Submissions

The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) and the Research Institute (RI) of the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) announce the sixth cycle of their jointly sponsored grants program supporting research on the physician assistant (PA) profession. Awards of up to $20,000 will be made. The deadline for submission of proposals is February 27, 2010.

Mission
The AAPA/PAEA Research Grants Program encourages research on the PA profession, particularly in the areas of the profession's contribution to the health care workforce, the linkages between education and practice, the characteristics of PA practice, and how PAs can be more effectively utilized to improve patient care outcomes.

Objectives
1. To promote quality research on the PA profession, particularly in the area of PA utilization in the health care workforce.
2. To increase the quality and quantity of evidence to support the PA profession's policy decisions.

Guidelines

Funding
Grant requests may be made for any amount up to $20,000. Proposed budgets exceeding this amount must specify sources of additional funding. Several smaller awards may be made, depending on the quality and quantity of proposals received.

Priorities
Priority will be given to proposals that address PA practice characteristics, workforce issues, cost-effectiveness, connections between education and practice trends, and contributions to patient safety and health outcomes.

Quality of the research design will also be considered. A good research design includes an introduction well grounded in the literature; specific, answerable research questions and/or hypotheses; a study design that minimizes alternative explanations of the results; research subjects of sufficient number to ensure that a predicted outcome will be found, if it exists; and an accurate choice of analytic methods for processing information from the study.

Eligibility Criteria
1. The principal investigator (PI) must be employed at an educational, medical, research, or governmental institution. The PI must have appropriate credentials and is responsible for completing the project and for submitting a one-year status report. The PI is also responsible for submitting any required final reports, conference presentations,and publications. Students in health professions programs are not eligible to serve as PIs. No member serving on the RI Institute or Subcommittee having oversight for this grant cycle can be a named participant on a PAEA grant; members of the Institute without oversight responsibilities are welcome to submit proposals.
2. A research question or research project should be the focus of the study. Funds will not be disbursed for development of new programs, new curricular materials, or other development-oriented projects.
3. Grant funds may be used for material and operations, as well as labor, personnel, and/or consulting costs. Institutional support is encouraged. Indirect costs will not be allowed. Personal expenses for educational advancement, such as tuition or books; equipment or software; ongoing projects to improve classroom or research facilities; disseminating the research results, such as poster preparation; attending meetings or conferences; and manuscript preparation will not be allowed.
4. Proposals must include a time line adequate to conduct the study, but should be no longer than two years in length.
5. A final study report must be submitted to the AAPA/PAEA Research Grants Program within 90 days of the end of the study. A publication manuscript or presentation abstract may be submitted as a final study report. The project will be deemed complete when the final report has been approved by the AAPA/PAEA Research Grants Program.
6. The AAPA/PAEA Research Grants Program encourages dissemination of study results in professional forums; but the AAPA/PAEA Research Grants Program and its sponsoring groups will not review, direct, or limit publication or other dissemination of results of a study receiving financial support.
7. All submitted projects must have Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval prior to disbursement of funds. PIs must include evidence of IRB submission to their institutions in the proposal appendices.

Proposal Format and Specific Requirements
Proposals will undergo a blinded review process. Requirements for submitting a proposal to the AAPA/PAEA Research Grants Program include the following:
1. The title page, abstract, background or rationale, research question, objectives, methods or evaluation, and personnel cannot exceed seven pages in length (not including references; budget; time line; any proposed survey instrument; abridged CVs, not to exceed two pages each; and evidence of IRB submission).
2. Proposals and attachments must be in Microsoft Word 97 or higher format (Mac or PC) (with the exception of IRB documentation). Documents in formats other than Word will be returned to the authors for reformatting. Documents showing evidence of IRB submission or approval will be accepted in any format.
3. Proposals must be left margin justified, in 12-point type, with 1.5 line spacing, and 1-inch left and right margins.
4. The proposal must be submitted electronically (paper submissions will not be accepted) no later than midnight, February 27, 2010.

Format

Page 1

• Title of research proposal (bold capital letters, 16-point type)
  near the top
• PI's name
• Date
• PI's institution
• PI's address, phone number, e-mail (bottom)

Page 2

• Title of research proposal
• Abstract (500 words maximum)

Pages 3 through 7

• Background or rationale, research question, objectives, methods or evaluation, and personnel (5 pages maximum), in the author's choice of format
  

Appendices: The following items must be submitted but are not included in the seven pages outlined above:

• References
• Budget (with justification for specific items)*
• Time line (no longer than two years in length)*
• Sample of proposed survey instrument(s)**
• Abridged CV for all individuals involved in the project. Individual CVs should not exceed two pages in length and should be submitted as separate attachments.
• Evidence of IRB submission to the PI's institution. Note: all submitted projects must have IRB approval prior to disbursement of funds.

*  Budget and time line to complete the study. The first line of the budget should include time commitment, activity, and other PI-related costs; other project personnel should follow in the same manner. The budget should be sufficiently detailed to account for how personnel will be used, as well as to explain and justify any other requested expenses.
**If the project involves an existing survey instrument, a copy of the instrument should be attached as a separate document. This must be a Word document that may be blinded.
Proposals should be e-mailed as Microsoft Word attachments by February 27 directly to Eileen Evans, at eevans@PAEAonline.org. If you do not receive a confirmation within two days of submission, please call (703) 548-5538, ext. 307, to confirm that your submission has been received. Questions concerning this grants program should be addressed to the AAPA/PAEA Research Grants Program Co-chairs. Jim Cawley, at purljfc@aol.com; or Mary Warner, at mary.warner@yale.edu.