Mission
The mission of the Wisconsin Research and Education Network (WREN) is to improve health outcomes for the people of Wisconsin through education, and through promoting and conducting primary care research in partnership with primary care clinicians and the communities they serve.
Size and Scope
WREN presently consists of 15 practices and over 87 individual clinicians in 35 communities, from 21 different healthcare organizations distributed across Wisconsin in an array very similar to the distribution of Wisconsin’s population.
Including two Aurora Health Care clinics:
- Aurora Sinai Family Care Center
- Aurora UW Medical Group Family
Future Directions
Dissemination of translational research results will be blended into quality enhancement projects resulting in improved health care processes and practices. These process improvements, in turn, can result in improved patient safety, patient satisfaction and health outcomes.
Future network development will include targeted recruiting of additional WREN practices to increase the participation of underserved populations. WREN is poised to become an agent of change in how medicine is practiced in Wisconsin and beyond.
Funding source
UW School of Medicine and Public Health Clinical Translational Science Award federal grant and additional funds for several research and quality improvement projects.
History
Founded in 1987 by Dr. John Beasley, WREN is one of the oldest and most respected practice-based research networks in the United States.
Current WREN Projects
- Problem Density, Mental Workload and Medical Errors in Primary Care Practices
- Educating Physicians and Patients in the Value and Use of Body Mass Index to Reduce Overweight and Obesity – Phase 2
- AZMATICS: Azithromycin/Asthma: Trial in Community Settings*
- Quality Improvement/Practice-Based Research Pilot Project
- What are Important Health Issues For Low Literate Adults? A Focus Group Evaluation of Health Literacy Issues
- Wisconsin Initiative on Promoting Healthy Lifestyles (WIPHL)*
- Quality of Life and Depression as Determinants of Treatment Adherence in Hypertensive Patients
- Proactive Risk Assessment of Primary Care of the Elderly*
- Assessing Risk in Ambulatory Medication Use after Hospital Transitions
To date, WREN has participated in or supported more than 45 research projects resulting in more than 28 publications.
WREN Leadership
- Paul Smith, MD, WREN Director
- Mike Grasmick, PhD, WREN Coordinator
Research and Practice Support Specialists
- Cynthia Colombo, BA (Madison, WI)
- Lisa Kietzer, BA (Madison, WI)
- Peggy OHalloran, MPH (Eau Claire, WI)
- Katherine Pronschinske, BS (Milwaukee, WI)
Center for Urban Population Health
- Jennifer Evertsen, MS, Assistant Researcher
Aurora UW Medical Group Local Investigators
- Dennis Baumgardner, MD
- Elizabeth Bade, MD
*Projects in which the Center for Urban Population Health is actively involved.
Distribution of WREN Clinicians
n = 87
Legend
- Single WREN Clinician
- Multiple clinicians in a metropolitan area
