Spotlight on a Researcher – Raymond Ownby, MD, PhD, MBA (KPCOM)

 

Raymond Ownby, MD, PhD, MBA, is Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine within the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine at Nova Southeastern University (NSU), where he is also a Professor in the Public Health and Medical Informatics Programs.

Dr. Ownby completed his undergraduate education at Ohio University and received his medical education at Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED). Prior to joining NSU, Dr. Ownby served as the Director of the Memory Disorders Program at the University of Miami and is currently head of the Center for Brain Health at NSU. The mission of the Center is to support research on brain health in older adults and provide educational programs for members of the South Florida community.

His recent research includes two projects funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). These included the development of a mobile app targeting older individuals with low health literacy and was designed to help them improve their ability to manage chronic health conditions. The other project investigated whether the use of neuromodulation in combination with computer-based cognitive training can improve cognitive problems in persons 50 years of age and older with HIV infection.

One of Dr. Ownby’s projects which is titled “Health Literacy Assessment and Intervention to Reduce Disparities: FLIGHT/VIDAS II” applies computer-delivered health literacy methods to customize medical content related to chronic disease self-management skills for persons with low health literacy. This project also aims to tailor the content to language, racial, and ethnic relevance while providing it in a mobile application.

Providing patients with healthcare information associated with chronic health conditions is essential for their health and well-being. Multiple studies show that a substantial proportion of the U.S. population lacks the healthcare knowledge necessary to understand therapeutic procedures, manage their health issues and efficiently interact with healthcare professionals. Currently, most Large Electronic Healthcare Record (EHR) providers do not take patients’ level of health literacy into account and offer their subjects/patients healthcare related educational material in the form of generic simple printable handouts. Studies have shown this approach has minimal positive effect on the patients’ ability to comprehend and act on healthcare information. The health literacy project being conducted by Dr. Ownby and his research collaborators at NSU aims to tackle this problem by developing a series of questions, the responses to which offer an estimate of patients’ ability to read and understand medical information and allows the app to give them individually tailored medical information.

Researchers in Dr. Ownby’s lab in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at NSU have designed a computer-administered test consisting of an array of questions that will enable health care providers to determine the subjects’/patients’ ability to read and comprehend health care related information. The automated system is designed to determine each individual’s level of health literacy according to one of the 4 following groups: Proficient, Intermediate, Basic and Below Basic. The findings of this test will enable healthcare professionals and the mobile app to offer information tailored to each individual’s literacy, needs, and ability to understand and use the information.

Implementing this tailored approach of delivering personalized healthcare information will be a major improvement over the practice of offering only generic information, currently implemented by the EHRs. Preliminary studies conducted by Dr. Ownby’s research team indicated that a system that will make it possible to electronically offer personalized healthcare information based on the patient’s level of health literacy results in substantial increase in patients’ comprehension of the information. Results of the studies show that patient activation, self-efficacy, and quality of life improved after working with the system.

This system of delivering individually tailored medical information has multiple potential applications. It can be applied to any healthcare setting such as hospitals and extended care facilities that cater to patients from diverse backgrounds. It will also enable clinical research organizations to offer relevant medical information to subjects registered in their clinical studies. This electronic system can also serve as a useful tool for medical insurance providers who can apply it to provide better targeted/ tailored healthcare information to their clients from diverse backgrounds.

NSU’s Office of Technology Transfer and Commercialization worked with Dr. Ownby to protect the intellectual property associated with this novel technology and it is currently available for licensing so that it can be utilized by organizations who need to disseminate healthcare information to a diverse audience.

Dr. Ownby and his research collaborators reported the findings of their research in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Neurobehavioral HIV Medicine in 2012. The data published in this paper demonstrated how adherence to medication in patients being treated for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) can be enhanced through electronically delivered health literacy intervention. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23293544/

One of the research projects in Dr. Ownby’s lab is focused on evaluating the acceptability and potential efficacy of computer-based cognitive training, with and without transcranial direct current stimulation, in individuals with HIV-related mild neurocognitive disorder. This project titled “Cognitive Training and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Cognition” applies a high-interest car racing game rather than specially developed cognitive training software to train and assess transcranial direct current stimulation as a strategy to enhance cognitive training effects and mood in patients suffering from HIV infection.

Dr. Ownby developed a computer-delivered intervention by using the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills model as a conceptual framework for understanding patients’ information needs. Assessment of 118 HIV patients over a period of one month before and after they completed the intervention revealed that individuals with adherence less than 95% showed significant increases in adherence over time. Participants’ self-reported knowledge and behavioral skills increased over the course of the study.

In a recent project his research team used a mixed method study design to gain insight into the long-term post infection complications experienced by individuals who contract acute coronavirus disease (COVID-19). These post infection symptoms are known as Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) and is characterized by cognitive issues, fatigue, sleep disturbances and other varying symptomatology. The study included 19 individuals, aged 40 years and older, recruited from NSU’s research participant database, NSU clinics, and community locations. Analysis of the data demonstrated that participants experienced high levels of fatigue, negative mood, cognitive problems, and overall reduction in health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Findings of this study, which was published in a peer-reviewed article in the journal Clinical Interventions in Aging, indicate that self-report questionnaires may reflect the experience of individuals with PASC and its impact. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37082741/

Dr. Ownby’s ongoing research focuses on digital therapeutics to address social determinants of health and issues of health equity and access. Building on previous work on electronic interventions to support chronic disease self-management and brain health, he is currently investigating the integration of generative AI apps with existing apps to enhance patient learning and skill development.

Dr. Ownby’s research has resulted in the publication of more than 200 research papers in prestigious peer-reviewed journals and led to the development of novel intellectual property. He has also been recipient of NIH research grants totaling more than $8 million and received multiple awards including the NSU’s Provost Research Award in 2014. He has also authored an e-book titled “Sharper Minds, Better Lives: A Step-by-Step Guide with the Cogstim Model”. As a medical professional he has been selected for inclusion in Best Doctors in America and is board certified in Adult Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine, Clinical Neuropsychology, and Neuropsychiatry. In addition to being a successful researcher, inventor and author, Dr. Ownby’s mission at NSU includes offering mentorship to students at the Department of Psychiatry at various levels of training. Recent students’ projects have resulted in presentations at scientific conferences as well as publication of research articles in the fields of digital therapeutics for older adults, those with chronic health conditions, and persons with low health literacy. As an important member of the NSU community he continues to serve students, conduct research, and develop new innovations that will positively impact the lives of patients.