# Understanding practical alcohol measures in primary care to prepare for measurement-based care: Scaled EHR measures of alcohol use and DSM-5 AUD symptoms

> **NIH NIH R33** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2022 · $46,142

## Abstract

SUMMARY. This Diversity Supplement would support Robert Ellis, MHA, a talented PhD student in the Health
Systems and Population Health program at the University of Washington, who has outstanding potential as an
independent NIAAA investigator. Mr. Ellis’ research focuses on how overlapping marginalized identities impact
care for AUD. He has designed an innovative dissertation and recruited a strong committee of mentors. Kevin
Hallgren, PhD, principal investigator (PI) of the Parent R33 Study (2021-2024) will be Mr. Ellis’s primary
mentor; Katharine Bradley, MD, MPH, Site PI of the Parent R33 at Kaiser Permanente Washington, and Chair
of Mr. Ellis’ Dissertation Committee, will be co-mentor. The Parent R33 aims to improve measures of unhealthy
alcohol use and alcohol use disorders (AUD) documented in electronic health records (EHRs) as part of
routine medical care. The R33 uses secondary data from over 700,000 adult primary care patients to evaluate
the association of two scaled measures—the AUDIT-C alcohol screen and a validated DSM-5 Alcohol
Symptom Checklist—with 5 health outcomes. Specific Aims of the Parent R33 are to evaluate: 1) the
associations of AUDIT-C scores with blood pressure, depression, hospitalizations for alcohol-attributable
conditions, all-cause hospitalizations, and death, 2) the associations between AUD symptoms and the 5
outcomes after accounting for AUDIT-C scores, and 3) the associations between changes in repeated AUDIT-
C measures and changes in risk of the 5 health outcomes. The Parent R33 does not evaluate AUD diagnoses
or use of stigmatized labels for AUD; nor does it evaluate outcomes across subgroups based on overlapping
identities of sex, race/ethnicity, or socioeconomic status (SES). The proposed Diversity Supplement addresses
these issues by evaluating factors associated with medical providers’ documentation of AUD diagnoses in the
EHR during routine clinical care. The Specific Aims of the Proposed Diversity Supplement Research are: 1) to
describe the probability of adult patients being diagnosed with AUD at primary care visits across subgroups
based on the intersections of sex, race/ethnicity, and SES; 2) to describe the probability of being diagnosed
with AUD across intersections of sex and race/ethnicity at similar levels of alcohol consumption and AUD
symptoms; and 3) to describe the probability of providers selecting a stigmatized label in the EHR when
diagnosing AUD based on the intersection of sex and race/ethnicity. Mr. Ellis’ Career Development and
Mentoring Plan will support Mr. Ellis as he develops: 1) expertise and skills in alcohol-related health services
research and applied disparities research; 2) progressive independence as an investigator, demonstrated by at
least 5 publications (3 first-authored); and 3) applies for and obtains a competitive post-doctoral fellowship or
an F32 individual fellowship. Mr. Ellis will achieve these objectives via structured and applied training, hands-
on mentoring (...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10516949
- **Project number:** 3R33AA028073-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Kevin A. Hallgren
- **Activity code:** R33 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $46,142
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2021-09-10 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10516949

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10516949, Understanding practical alcohol measures in primary care to prepare for measurement-based care: Scaled EHR measures of alcohol use and DSM-5 AUD symptoms (3R33AA028073-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-29 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10516949. Licensed CC0.

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