The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) https://www.pcori.org, an independent nonprofit nongovernmental organization authorized by Congress, has approved $70 million for a number of studies and related projects. The projects are designed to improve care for health conditions that impose high burdens on patients, families, and the healthcare system.
PCORI is funding 18 studies totaling about $65 million:
- Three of the studies will focus on health issues of concern to older adults, to include two studies on hearing loss and one study on producing safer prescribing for glucose-lowering drugs in people with type 2 diabetes
- Three other studies will focus on children’s health issues. Two studies will seek to improve treatment of anxiety in children and adolescents and one study will work to prevent obesity among preschoolers in rural underserved areas
The Board approved $5 million for three “Dissemination and Implementation” projects to move the results of PCORI funded research into practice:
- Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia project will use tested strategies to improve antibiotic prescribing in outpatient settings for children with acute upper respiratory infections
- University of California at Irvine project will help clinicians and families improve the management of type 1 diabetes
- The University of Utah will expand the use of an effective asthma control intervention to improve the tracking of asthma symptoms and care coordination
Two PCORI awards will focus on opioid use across the spectrum of care:
- University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus received $5 million to study whether in-office or at-home medication-assisted treatment for OUD is more effective
- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center received $3.7 million to study whether acupuncture can reduce the need for opioids to manage pain in patients who have received high dose chemotherapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplants
Several awards approved by the Board to focus on older adults’ health includes three designed to improve care for those with hearing problems:
- Northwestern University was approved for $2.5 million to compare two self-guided models for helping people select and be fitted for hearing aids with the regular audiology-based method of care
- University of Pittsburgh was approved for $2.2 million to assess assisted living facilities to help decide whether monthly visits by an audiologist along with trained personnel to provide ongoing health care support is effective in helping aging adults address their hearing loss
- Kaiser Foundation Hospitals in Oakland California was approved for $1.1 million to study how to safely prescribe glucose-lowering drugs in older adults with type 2 diabetes. The drugs are effective but can have side effects as people age, so the goal is to understand how and when to reduce therapy
Other awards approved by the Board include:
- The Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago was approved for $7 million to study strategies to improve treatments for children and adolescents diagnosed with anxiety disorders. The study will compare cognitive behavioral therapy with and without medication
- Children’s Hospital Los Angeles was approved for a $6.5 million award to compare ways to improve treatment of anxiety disorders in children and teens, predominantly from ethnic minorities and underserved communities experiencing anxiety
- Geisinger Clinic was approved for $3.8 million to compare methods for integrating obesity prevention information in well-child visits among pre-school aged children in rural Pennsylvania
Also, PCORI has invested nearly $2.4 billion to fund more than 750 patient-centered comparative CER studies and other projects designed to enhance CER methods, plus study the infrastructure necessary to conduct CER rigorously and efficiently.
Go to http://www.pcori.org//research-results for details on all the projects approved for funding by the Board.