# HSR&D Senior Research Career Scientist Award

> **NIH VA IK6** · VETERANS ADMIN PALO ALTO HEALTH CARE SYS · 2020 · —

## Abstract

Dr. Sox-Harris has three major health services research areas, all with high relevance to VA
healthcare. 1) Developing, validating, and implementing predictive models for surgical
treatments and their alternatives. Dr. Sox-Harris is leading a HSR&D-funded project (IIR 13-051-3)
to develop and validate predictive models of short-term complications and long-term outcomes of
patients receiving total hip or knee arthroplasty. This project has produced the most accurate
predictive models of surgical complications following total joint arthroplasty and the team is in the
process of producing models to predict which patients will experience the most and least
improvements from this common treatment for osteoarthritis. The next step in this program of
research is to test methods to integrate these predictions into informed consent, shared decision
making, and risk stratification, as well as the identification and management of modifiable risk factors
to improve the outcomes of patients. He is also submitting two new grants in the fall of 2018 to
develop and validate prediction models for (a) candidate treatments for non-specific low back pain
and (b) persistent postoperative pain. 2) Developing, validating, and evaluating the effects of
health care quality measures for diverse medical conditions. Dr. Sox-Harris has led several
projects (e.g., 07-092-1, IIR10-370-2) focused on the validity and effects of existing addiction
treatment quality measures. Results from this research has generated wide interest and debate in the
addiction field and contributed to the methodological literature by increasing awareness of the
ecological fallacy (i.e., misleading conclusions about individuals from analyses of aggregated data) as
it pertains to quality measure validation and interpretation. Overall, his work changed the landscape
of addiction treatment quality measurement within VA and beyond, and has been recognized with
several national awards. He has expanded the impact of this line of research in a mentoring role (e.g.,
IIR 15-436-2, IIR 16-239), and his program of quality measurement research continues with a shift in
clinical focus to conditions for which surgery is a major treatment option (e.g., carpal tunnel
syndrome, total joint arthroplasty); 3) Implementation and de-implementation research. Dr. Sox-
Harris has two VA-funded projects (SDP 11-411 recently completed, IIR 16-216) focused on
implementation of evidence-supported treatments (e.g., medication treatment of alcohol use disorder)
and de-implementation of unsafe, ineffective, or low value treatments and practices (e.g., low value
preoperative testing for low risk procedures). His current and planned work in this area is primarily
focused on targets relevant to surgical procedures (e.g., low value testing after surgery, routine use of
general anesthesia when less risky/costly options exist) and conditions for which surgery is a major
treatment option (e.g., chronic low back pain).
The unifying theme b...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10194479
- **Project number:** 5IK6HX002840-02
- **Recipient organization:** VETERANS ADMIN PALO ALTO HEALTH CARE SYS
- **Principal Investigator:** Alex Sox-Harris
- **Activity code:** IK6 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2014-10-01 → 2024-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10194479

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10194479, HSR&D Senior Research Career Scientist Award (5IK6HX002840-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10194479. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*