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Community Health ​​​​​​Research​​​​​​​

The Biostatistical Consulting Unit (BSCU) is committed to advancing Community Health (CH) research and supporting Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC) clinician researche​rs. In partnership with our Central Research Committee*​ (CRC) and Kaiser Permanente Community Health program, we he​​​​lp our clinicians develop competitive research proposals and implement impactful studies aligned with community health priorities. This funding opportunity runs in a one-year cycle, with the announcement coming out in late fall each year.  For more information about the CRCs funding opportunity, please visit their​ New Appli​cants* page​. 

If invited by the CRC, please review our guidance document and request a BSCU consultation here.​



​​Scholarly​ Im​pact

In 2024, the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Central Research Committee provided over $1.4 million Community Health dollars to support research aligned with community health priorities. Over 100 scholarly projects and 30 scholarly products were produced with support from the Division of Research BSCU. ​​ ​​Read more…​​​​​ 

Projects Supported by PI Clinical Specialty
N=120


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2024 Annual Report

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2024 Executive Summary
Community Health

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2023 Annual Report
Community Health

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​​Consult​ation Requests​

​We offer the following services to CH applicants:​​​​

Every grant cycle, the CRC invites a select number of promising preliminary CH proposals to craft full applications with support from our team.  Our team will work with selected applicants for about 30 hours for 8-12​ weeks to develop their proposals in the following ways​:​
  • Help clinicians understand which KPNC data and data sources are available and best suited for this funding mechanism.
  • Conduct a feasibility analysis to understand if proposed data can be feasibly extracted from available electronic records or chart reviewed by a clinician within timeline and budget limits.
  • Inform appropriate study design and analytical plan based on research questions and aims.
  • Conduct a statistical power assessment to understand if sample size and analyses are aligned with proposed study design and level of evidence.
  • Provide advice on human subjects and data-sharing regulatory oversight of the proposed project.
  • Develop and justify projected biostatistician and programmer effort in the application budget.
  • Conduct a quality assurance review prior to final submission to the Central Research Committee.
​​For the most recent application forms, timelines, and instructions, please visit the CRCs New Applica​nts*.

Community Health applications developed by our team and funded by the CRC are typically implemented with our support . . You will be assigned an analyst who will become part of your team. Funded teams have one calendar year to collect and analyze proposed data). Our team helps CH grant recipients implement their projects in the following ways:​:

  • Finalize study design and timeline based on feedback from CRC reviewers.
  • Extract and assemble the study cohort based on appropriate diagnostic, procedural, pharmaceutical, or healthcare utilization codes.
  • Construct a structured data collection tool to help clinicians chart review in a standardized way and to minimize selection and information bias.
  • Extract, clean, and merge exposure, covariate, and outcome data into an analyzable dataset.
  • Conduct statistical analyses in foundational stages, typically starting with descriptive statistics, then conducting bivariate and multivariable analyses, if appropriate.
  • Provide insight into the interpretation of statistical results.

After analysis is completed, teams are expected to create presentations and manuscripts to broadly disseminate their research findings​. Teams supported by the BSCU have two additional years following the project implementation year to receive up to 24 hours of scholarly outcomes support. Our team helps CH recipients create scholarly outcomes in the following ways:​

  • Co-create tables and figures with clinical investigators based on authorship guidelines.
  • Summarize how electronic data were extracted from our data sources.
  • Craft the analysis section with details on how statistical tests were performed and multivariable models were assembled.
  • Help clinicians frame findings based on the level of evidence and study design.
  • Assist in addressing peer reviewer feedback. Significant revision requests should be sent to BSCU leadership and will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Manuscripts supported by the ​BSCU need to go through two rounds of review before external journal submission. For details on that process, please consult with your assigned BSCU programmer and our Scholarly Outcomes Guidance​​.

For comprehensive guidance on developing, implementing, and publishing your idea, explore our available ​Re​​so​urces.

*KP network required
Biostatistical Consulting Unit
Kaiser Permanente Division of Research
4480 Hacienda Drive, Pleasanton, CA 94588
Email us at bscu@kp.org
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