Nursing Health Services and Policy Research HUB

Health services and policy research (HSPR) is a multidisciplinary field that studies the finance, organization, and delivery of health care services. Well-constructed health services and policy research (HSPR) is necessary to help ensure access to high-quality, affordable health care and to promote the health and well-being of the population. The nursing discipline has a rich tradition of theory and practice within an interdisciplinary framework and can make valuable contributions to addressing the most vexing health care problems through HSPR.

The long-term goal of the HUB is to establish the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing as an epicenter of NHSPR by extending and supporting the work of researchers currently performing HSPR within the School of Nursing and to develop new HSPR capabilities within the school. The HUB would build on the resources and expertise of faculty at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing; our early efforts will focus on understanding and improving the quality, cost, and access to care delivered to individuals with chronic conditions, especially major behavioral health conditions. We also will focus specifically on the role of advanced practice providers within primary care and specialty practices toward addressing the needs of patients with chronic conditions.

This HUB will focus in Year 1 on achieving five specific goals.

  1. Increase awareness and interest in HSPR across Pitt Nursing.
  2. Provide mentorship to new and emerging nursing HSPR researchers through use of ongoing and newly funded research studies.
  3. Enhance HSPR infrastructure at Pitt Nursing.
  4. Increase collaborations among HUB investigators and the broader Pitt HSPR community.
  5. Develop a plan to actively pursue funding to enhance the activities of the Hub with long-term goals of converting the HUB to a self-sustaining Center within Pitt Nursing.

These goals are supported through three specific HUB activities:

  1. Bi-weekly research colloquium. Current schedule and confirmed speakers can be found here. Please email Grant Martsolf if you are interested in presenting at the colloquium. Past recorded presentations are available here.
  2. Research cores The HUB will work to develop three content-specific cores focusing on research related to 1) nurse practitioners in primary care, 2) behavioral health services, 3) nurse practitioners in specialty practice.
  3. Develop infrastructure to oversee and coordinate long term planning of HSPR in Pitt Nursing and administration of the HUB

For more information about this research HUB, contact:

Grant R. Martsolf, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN
Professor, UPMC Health Systems Chair in Nursing Science
Acute & Tertiary Care
grm32@pitt.edu