PHYS THER
Vol. 86, No. 2, February 2006, pp. 282-284
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Special Articles

Prologue to "Rehabilitation Medicine Summit: Building Research Capacity—Executive Summary"

Walter R Frontera and R Scott Ward

WR Frontera, MD, PhD, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School/Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Boston, Mass
RS Ward, PT, PhD, Division of Physical Therapy, College of Health, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah

(wfrontera{at}partners.org) Address all correspondence to: Walter R Frontera, MD, PhD, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, 125 Nashua St, Boston, MA 02114



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Introduction
 
The Rehabilitation Medicine Summit: Building Research Capacity (Summit) was held in Washington, DC, on April 28–29, 2005, with the general objective of advancing and promoting research in rehabilitation by making recommendations to expand research capacity. The idea of convening a research summit was conceived in 2002 by the Foundation for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R). Under the leadership of Dr Gail Gamble, the Foundation invited the American Academy of PM&R, the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, and the Association of Academic Physiatrists to meet and discuss the concept of a national research summit to address issues related to building research capacity in rehabilitation. The group established a Summit Steering Committee composed of the leaders of the 4 organizations. The Summit Steering Committee then appointed a multidisciplinary Summit Program Committee (Program Committee), which included Walter Frontera (Chair, Harvard Medical School/Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital), Leighton Chan (University of Washington), Rory Cooper (University of Pittsburgh), Pamela Duncan (University of Florida), Marcus Fuhrer (National Institutes of Health), Alan Jette (Boston University), John Kemp (Powers, Pyles, Sutter & Verville, PC), Kenneth Ottenbacher (University of Texas Medical Branch/Galveston), P Hunter Peckham (Case Western Reserve University), Elliot Roth (Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago), and Denise Tate (University of Michigan). The Program Committee wrote the executive summary that begins on page 285.


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Participants
 
The Program Committee recommended the participation of leaders and representatives of all disciplines related to the field of rehabilitation, including new and experienced researchers, professional organizations, consumer groups, and funding agencies. Seventeen professional organizations and medical specialties sent official representatives: American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists, American Dietetic Association, American Occupational Therapy Association, American Physical Therapy Association, American Psychological Association, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association,

American Rehabilitation Nurses Association, American Society of Neurorehabilitation, Institute of Medicine, Kaiser Permanente, National Academy of Engineering, and the Physiatric Association of Spine, Sports, and Occupational Rehabilitation, American Academy of Neurology, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Rheumatology, and American College of Anesthesiologists. The 7 consumer groups and foundations that sent official representatives were the: National Spinal Cord Injury Association, Brain Injury Association, Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, National Council on Independent Living, National Stroke Association, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and United Cerebral Palsy. Several funding agencies also were represented, including the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Defense, National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at NIH, National Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering at NIH, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research of the Department of Education, Office on Disability of the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Veterans Administration.

Approximately 110 individuals from these organizations were invited. It was necessary to limit the number of participants to make the Summit manageable because the design of the program included small-group discussions and deliberation sessions for relatively small audiences. Budgetary constraints also limited the number of people who could be invited. In addition to professional organizations, government agencies, and consumer groups, a total of 12 new researchers, 12 experienced researchers, 41 leaders in rehabilitation, 5 research directors, 5 department chairs, and 2 deans (some individuals with dual functions were included on the list) were invited. Only 4 people declined to participate, and a total of 106 attended. A list of attendees is available from the authors.


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Representing the Profession of Physical Therapy and the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA)
 
Several leaders and researchers in physical therapy were present. Two were members of the Program Committee (Dr Jette and Dr Duncan). The official representative of APTA was R Scott Ward, PT, PhD. In addition, Stephen Haley, PT, PhD (Boston University), Carol Oatis, PT, PhD (American College of Rheumatology), and Carolee Winstein, PT, PhD, FAPTA (University of Southern California) attended.


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In Preparation for the Summit
 
In order to address the issue of building research capacity, the Program Committee adopted an operational definition proposed by Trostle, which was "a process of individual and institutional development which leads to higher levels of skills and greater ability to perform useful research."1 This definition helped to frame discussion throughout the Summit. In addition, a special article on the history of the rehabilitation research was written by Cole and colleagues.2 Further, the Research Committee of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPM&R) conducted a survey of researchers in the field to identify problems related to the conduct of rehabilitation research. A total of 2,123 individual members of AAPM&R, the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, and the Association of Academic Physiatrists, along with individuals known to be involved in publicly funded rehabilitation research, were invited to participate in the survey.3

All Summit participants were given access to a Web site where all key Summit materials were posted (http://www.foundationforpmr.org/summit/index.html).


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Summit Recommendations
 
The participants were divided into small groups for discussions of specific elements of research capacity by the Program Committee. Special effort was made to ensure that different professions and points of view were represented in each group. The groups discussed the problems that are associated with building research capacity and made recommendations. The TableGo presents the 9 main recommended actions.


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  		Table. A Précis of the Recommendations From the Rehabilitation Medicine Summit on Building Research Capacity


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Summary
 
It is important to understand the rationale behind the Summit to better recognize the implication for the recommendations of the article "Rehabilitation Medicine Summit: Building Research Capacity—Executive Summary." The Summit served a useful purpose because of the need to continually work to enhance the science of rehabilitation, improve methods of studying rehabilitation, train new investigators in this area, and advocate for this important research. "Rehabilitation Medicine Summit: Building Research Capacity—Executive Summary" is being published in a number of other professional journals to demonstrate mutual support for the value of rehabilitation research. The collaborative effort evoked by the Summit was a continuation of the efforts over the years of many researchers who have a passion for rehabilitation (many of whom are physical therapists) to improve the care and outcomes for patients and clients who can benefit from rehabilitation services.


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Footnotes
 
No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit upon the authors or upon any organization with which the authors are associated.

[Frontera WR, Ward RS. Prologue to "Rehabilitation Medicine Summit: Building Research Capacity—Executive Summary." Phys Ther. 2006;86:282–284.]


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References
 
  1. Trostle J. Research capacity building in international health: definitions, evaluations, and strategies for success. Soc Sci Med 1992;35:1321–1324[Web of Science][Medline]
  2. Cole TM, Kewman D, Boninger ML. Development of medical rehabilitation research in 20th-century America. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2005;84:940–954[Web of Science][Medline]
  3. Wagner AK, McElligott J, Wagner EP II, Gerber LH. Measuring rehabilitation research capacity: report from the AAPM&R Research Advisory Committee. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2005;84:955–968[Web of Science][Medline]

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This Article
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