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Introduction to Health Services Research : A Self-Study Course
Module 3: Selected Players (Federal and Private) (Page 24 of 27)
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's (http://www.rwjf.org/) mission is to improve the health and health care of all Americans. In its first 25 years, it has provided more than $2.6 billion to organizations and institutions across the country that are working on finding solutions to our nation's health and health care problems. It was founded in 1936.
The Foundation funds its grantees through both multi-site "national programs" and single-site projects. National programs are typically directed from institutions outside the Foundation by small staffs of experts supported by grant funds. Grantees are selected from among applicants responding to the Calls for Proposals -- some representing new programs, some recurring ones -- that are issued annually.
Areas of Interest
Current areas of research interest include:
Research
The Research Center section of the site is particularly rich in content especially for those who plan to apply for Foundation funding. For example, junior researchers may find the Tools link useful with its linked tools and tips for conducting research and evaluation. The Health and Medical Care Archive (public-use data files and documentation, and a complete list of RWJF-sponsored data collections) collected since 1982 are available through the University of Michigan's Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research.
The Research, Evaluation and Learning section links to articles that either review or implement unique research methods. The Policy Synthesis initiative produces "concise and thought-provoking briefs and reports that translate research findings on perennial health policy questions. By synthesizing what is known, while weighing the strength of the evidence and exposing gaps in current knowledge, the project seeks to give decision-makers reliable information and new insights to inform complex policy decisions." Examine Evidence for Action for articles dealing with evaluations of projects funded by the Foundation.
Notification Services
 Register your email address with the Foundation to get put into their email alerting service database and to select the topics you want to see information about.
The Foundation's quarterly newsletter, Advances, reports on the key work of the Foundation through articles and interviews, lists of recent grants, reports on closed grants, summaries of RWJF-funded research and other news from the Foundation. The email alerts notify you when the current issue of Advances is available.
Discussion Questions
- Visit the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Web site and spend some time examining its content. How many different types of resources can you identify on the site?
- Which of these resources would be of use to health services researchers? Explain.
- Which resources would you as an information professional serving health services researchers want to keep in the back of your mind? Why?
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