BACKGROUND

The West Virginia University Office of Health Services Research (WVU OHSR) has a thirty-year history of involvement in health-related research activities. The unit was founded in 1975 as a branch of the Regional Medical Program to meet the need for technical assistance in primary health and health planning. For several years it was a part of the WVU Office of Rural Health, and today is a division of the WVU Department of Community Medicine (CMED).

OHSR is a broad-based organization serving the threefold mission of a land-grant university -- service, research, and education. OHSR's primary goal is to facilitate improvement in the health and health care of West Virginians by providing applied research, planning and resource development, analytical data management, and other consultative services for health and related agencies throughout the State.