AAFP Foundation Selects 2021 Scholars for Game-Changing Rapid Research Program

Studies explore gun violence among youth and an innovative approach to pain relief

Can a primary care physician predict – and potentially reduce – the risk that an adolescent will be involved in gun violence? Can group acupuncture, performed in a doctor’s office, help patients manage pain without opioids?

We’ll find out. Gun violence and group auricular (ear) acupuncture are focal points for the scholars and research projects the AAFP Foundation has selected for the 2021 Family Medicine Discovers Rapid Cycle Scientific Discovery and Innovation Initiative (FMD RapSDI).

“Our goal for this program is to help practicing family physicians thoughtfully try to solve issues they see in their office,” says Dr. Rebecca Jaffe, president of the AAFP Foundation Board of Trustees. “FMD RapSDI allows doctors who don’t typically do research to explore and scale great ideas, quickly.”

FMD RapSDI, a collaboration between the AAFP Foundation and the AAFP National Research Network, provides the infrastructure and support needed for physicians to explore small projects that can yield results in a 12-month timeframe. The scholars selected for the 2021 program and their topics are:

• Dr. Sanjay Batish, founder of Batish Family Medicine in Leland, N.C., will explore the potential for primary care practices to use an established survey tool to predict incidents of gun violence among adolescents and young adults in a non-urban setting.  “I have experienced the epidemic of gun violence personally and professionally, and want to have some impact in a positive way,” says Dr. Batish. “In my small practice, I see someone with a direct connection to gun violence once a month and someone with an indirect connection every day, or every few days. If the research reveals helpful data, my hope is that someone can take it to the next level.”
• Dr. Iman Majd, a physician, licensed acupuncturist and faculty member at the University of Washington School of Medicine, will examine the feasibility of implementing and evaluating ear acupuncture for chronic pain management in a group setting, a step that could reduce patients’ lengthy wait for an appointment. “The mindset has been to prescribe pills, so the decision to fund this project indicates an important shift,” says Dr. Majd. “We need more tools and more innovation to care for our patients. The fact that allopathic medicine is embracing non-conventional modalities like yoga, tai chi and acupuncture is very helpful: This knowledge has been gifted to humans so we can take care of ourselves.”

Results from the initial FMD RapSDI studies – covering domestic violence intervention and a new approach to providing patients with nutritional support – will be released soon. The 2022 FMD RapSDI application period opens July 1. Click on the button below for more information.