Learn about the C-TRaP Investigators' ongoing research projects.
From necessity to norm: Longitudinal and temporal trends analysis of telehealth utilization
Principal Investigator: Sue Boren, PhD, MHA, FACMI, FAMIA
Project funded: September 2025
Anticipated completion date: August 2026
This project analyzes pre- and post-COVID-19 telehealth use among rural Medicaid beneficiaries to assess how pandemic-era policy changes shaped long-term adoption. Findings will inform sustainable, evidence-based strategies to expand access through telehealth.
The ECHO Effect: Measuring Tele-Mentoring Exposure Required for Sustainable Clinical Practice Transformation
Principal Investigator: Mirna Becevic, PhD, MHA, FAMIA
Project funded: September 2025
Anticipated completion date: August 2026
This study will assess the impact of the Project ECHO model on clinical decision-making and prescribing behavior change among healthcare providers managing patients with chronic pain. By analyzing administrative claims data and ECHO participant attendance records, alongside applying generative AI techniques to evaluate behavioral changes in recorded ECHO sessions, this research aims to determine the threshold of participation required to drive meaningful and sustained improvements in clinical decision-making and patient care.
Decision Analysis of Factors Associated with Telehealth Adoption
Principal Investigator: Jim Dearing, PhD
Project funded: September 2025
Anticipated completion date: August 2026
This study explores factors influencing telehealth adoption among healthcare leaders, with a focus on the ECHO model, social influence, organizational context, and partnerships. Analysis of transcripts from 90 interviews and 160 providers and administrators across 34 North American sites and 62 ECHO programs will offer insights into adoption dynamics.
Privacy-preserving data repository for Project ECHO networks using federated learning
Principal Investigators: Mirna Becevic, PhD, MHA, FAMIA, Praveen Rao, PhD,
Project funded: September 2025
Anticipated completion date: August 2026
Although telehealth is now integral to care delivery, challenges in data sharing, interoperability, and security limit its impact. To address this, we will develop and test federated learning-based data repository for Project ECHO, enabling secure, privacy-preserving, and decentralized data sharing platform to strengthen tele-mentoring effectiveness.
