Pilot Project Core

PROJECT SUMMARY: PILOT PROJECTS CORE The goal of the Precision in Symptom Self-Management (PriSSM) Center is to advance the science of symptom self-management for the Latino population through a social ecological lens that takes into account variability in individual, interpersonal, organizational, and environmental factors across the life course. Within the context of the overall specific aims of the PriSSM Center, the aims of the Pilot Projects Core are to: 1. Establish, refine, and maintain the Pilot Projects Core sociotechnical infrastructure for the development, selection, and implementation of six symptom self-management pilot projects, 2. Enhance the competence of pilot project investigators and other Center investigators in biobehavioral research for symptom self-management, 3. Provide expertise and guidance to pilot project investigators and other Center investigators on symptom self-management, interdisciplinary collaboration, biobehavioral approaches, study design and implementation, and selection of measures and data sources, and 4. Support the implementation of the pilot project components of the formative and summative evaluation plan. The Pilot Projects Core is designed to function in synchrony with the Administrative and Precision Medicine Cores. Together they provide the guidance and resources required by eligible nurse scientists to develop and lead the six proposed pilot projects, to conduct these studies efficiently, and to use the results to yield a foundation for an evolving body of knowledge and programs of biobehavioral research in symptom self- management for Latinos. To address the learning needs of Pilot Project Principal Investigators, the Pilot Projects Core will support the creation of tailored learning plans and identification of relevant training resources for symptom science, precision approaches, cultural awareness of Latino health needs, and translating and disseminating findings to the range of stakeholders represented by investigators, study participants, funders, and the Latino community. These efforts will be enabled by use of infrastructure, including the management and regulatory processes in the Administrative Core, and scientific expertise of PriSSM Center investigators, as well as the Precision Medicine Resource of Columbia's Clinical and Translational Science Award, the Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research. The expertise and coordinated efforts of the Pilot Projects Core will ensure the building of increased biobehavioral research capacity in symptom self-management in a manner consistent with the National Institutes of Health Symptom Science Model. This increase in research capacity will advance the science of symptom self-management for Latinos.