Rita kukafka, DrPH, MA
 
My projects are listed below in two broad, but related categories. The categories are related by the use of social software to develop and strengthen communities and people-networks, and use of participatory action methods for re engineering, system design and evaluation. Health Communication and Informatics Creating Digital Partnerships for Health Centers for Disease Control Multi-level research project being conducted in Harlem to determine current sources of health-information seeking among consumers, the availability of computer and internet resources (both home and community-based). Subsequently, using a participatory model, consumers will be involved in creating a community health information website portal, which will be used to enhance health promotion activities. Patient Centered Electronic Health Record, Centers for Disease Control In partnership with the Harlem Health Promotion Center, this project is to formulate the process, design, technical architecture and plan for developing a low cost, patient focused interoperable, easy to deploy Electronic Health Record (EHR). Project objectives are to identify a model to extend an existing EMR to include behavioral and psycho-social data elements that are needed for tailored chronic disease management. Communicating Probabilities through Interactive Computer Graphics, Agency for Health Care Quality This research is to improve comprehension and alter the effect on perceived risk by animating graphical displays to create virtual experiences of probabilities, and by encouraging users to interact with the displays and manipulate them. The interactive displays developed in this project have the potential to be applied to more comprehensive programs for health literacy education, tailored health and risk communication, shared medical decision-making, and patient decision support. Participatory Action Methods for Re Engineering and System Design Re-Engineering the Clinical Research Enterprise (the Intertrial Project) This research is to establish an information infrastructure for clinical research designed to enhance information flow and promote data sharing across a network of 30 community based practices; develop a behavioral model of information technology use in clinical research, based on empirical study of information needs of users, and barriers to technology use in these sites. Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (Clinical and Translational Science Award(CTSA)), Co-Investigator in the Biomedical Informatics Core The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical and Translational Science Award initiative to transform how clinical and translational research is conducted across the nation.