Characteristics of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design Programs in Institutions with Clinical and Translational Science Awards

• Activity Number: 360
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Tuesday, August 2, 2016 : 10:30 AM to 12:20 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Statistical Consulting
• Author(s): Mohammad H. Rahbar* and Aisha S. Dickerson and Chul Ahn and Rickey E. Carter and Manouchehr Hessabi and Christopher J. Lindsell and Paul J. Nietert and Robert A. Oster and Brad H. Pollock and Leah J. Welty
• Companies: The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and The University of Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and Mayo Clinic and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and University of Cincinnati and Medical University of South Carolina and University of Alabama at Birmingham and University of California at Davis and Northwestern University
• Keywords: Biostatistics ; Clinical and Translational Science ; Epidemiology ; NIH-CTSA ; Research Design ; Consulting

Abstract

Limited information is available regarding the structure and scholarly output of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design (BERD) units in the U.S. academic health centers (AHCs), presenting a barrier to understanding common practices. Using four years of survey data from AHCs that were members of the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Consortium during 2010-2013, we describe the size, composition, and scholarly output of CTSA BERD units. Overall, the size of BERD units ranged from 3-86 individuals. The median Full Time Equivalent (FTE) in BERD units ranged from 3.0 to 3.5 FTEs over the years. BERD units reported more availability of doctoral-level biostatisticians than doctoral-level epidemiologists. In 2011, 2012, and 2013, more than a third of BERD units provided consulting support on 101 to 200 projects. A majority of BERD units reported that between 25% and 75% (in 2011) and 31%-70% (in 2012) of their consulting was provided to junior investigators. This characterization provides a benchmark against which to compare BERD resources and may be particularly useful for those institutions planning to develop new units in support of programs such as the CTSA.