Wisconsin Exploratory Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Benign Urology

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OVERALL PROJECT SUMMARY Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) represent a heterogeneous set of symptoms with high economic and social costs and significant effects on patients' quality of life. The prevalence of LUTS in the United States ranges between 45% and 70% and increases with age. Medical expenditures for certain LUTS have been reported to be as high as $65 billion per year. The guiding premise of the Wisconsin Exploratory Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Benign Urology is that LUTS can be better managed though improved collaboration between primary and specialty care. Specifically, the Wisconsin Exploratory Center investigators intend to investigate innovative strategies to target effective treatments to appropriate patients. One particularly bothersome LUTS is urinary incontinence, or the involuntary loss of urine, which is a common chronic condition affecting nearly half of adult women. While there are effective treatments for the two main types of urinary incontinence (namely, stress and urgency incontinence), there is evidence that most patients do not receive any treatment, and for those who do, treatment is often inadequate, and symptoms remain. The first research project of the Wisconsin Exploratory Center will bring together 5 Center investigators with the necessary expertise to develop, implement, and evaluate a novel health system care pathway for treating women with incontinence. With improved identification of symptomatic patients using patient-reported outcome measures, and subsequent, stepwise initiation of available therapies, we hope to better manage incontinence, improve patients' symptoms, and reduce inappropriate referrals. The Wisconsin Exploratory Center's Administrative Core will provide oversight for all activities related to the research project and the Educational Enrichment Program. The Educational Enrichment Program will support medical student summer research experiences and a seminar series that brings invited speakers from backgrounds that are non-traditional in benign genitourinary conditions. The Administrative Core will facilitate coordination with the NIDDK and other NIDDK- funded Programs and Centers. It will ensure regulatory compliance for human subjects research. The Wisconsin Exploratory Center will solicit outside perspectives on progress and strategy from a Patient Advisory Panel and from an Advisory Committee comprising institutional leadership. By bringing together members of our local community of scientists already investigating benign genitourinary diseases and recruiting experienced scientists investigating other conditions to apply their expertise and techniques to the study of benign genitourinary diseases, the Wisconsin Exploratory Center will enhance the intellectual infrastructure of the benign genitourinary research community and foster scientific research that advances the field.