The APA Practice Research Network (PRN) will significantly expand its membership this month to enhance the network's research capacity and strengthen the value of PRN research findings.

The current membership of 151 psychiatrists will be supplemented by 149 new volunteers as well as 200 randomly selected members this fall, said APA Deputy Medical Director Deborah A. Zarin, M.D., codirector of the PRN, who noted that the expansion to 500 members this year will more than triple the network's current membership. Ultimately, the PRN expects to develop a network of 1,000 psychiatrists.

The expansion will be coordinated by the PRN's Area and district branch liaisons.

The PRN was established by APA to generate psychiatric research that is relevant to day-to-day clinical decision making and to gather data to inform critical policy issues. It consists of a nationwide network of psychiatrists who cooperate to collect data and conduct research studies.

These studies examine a variety of clinical and health services delivery issues, including psychiatric treatment patterns and outcomes in the United States. PRN psychiatrists are APA members and spend a minimum of 15 hours per week providing direct patient care.

Zarin said that the PRN's inclusion of randomly selected members breaks new ground in practice-based network research, as other networks include only volunteers and are therefore more subject to bias.

"This rigorous scientific approach will minimize potential sources of bias in the PRN, thereby increasing confidence that findings from the network actually reflect psychiatric practice in the United States," she said.

"When the network is fully developed, the majority of the PRN's 1,000 members will be randomly selected," she added. The PRN sampling design will combine volunteers who may have a particularly strong long-term commitment to the success of the network with randomly selected members who agree to participate for a three-year term, creating a membership that represents clinicians in the full range of practice settings, she said.

Each year, a new group of randomly selected members will be recruited, ensuring that the PRN membership remains representative and keeps pace with changes in American psychiatry.

"By the end of this year, the network will have the capacity to collect data on approximately 48,000 individuals receiving psychiatric care," Zarin said. "This capability is particularly important for gathering information regarding groups who are commonly excluded from traditional clinical trials, such as children, the elderly, and individuals with comorbid conditions."

A high response rate will be crucial during the random recruitment period, and Zarin urged APA members contacted by PRN liaisons to consider becoming part of the national research initiative.

"Psychiatrists asked to join the PRN will be able to participate in research with minimal administrative burden, allowing them to study research issues of vital importance to their practices, patients, and to policy makers while preserving their commitment to clinical practice," she said.

(Psychiatric News, September 6, 1996)