WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 17, 2020) -- The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Board of Governors today approved $34 million to fund seven comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER) studies designed to improve care for health conditions that impose high burdens on patients, their families and the health care system. They also acknowledged its newest seven board members, appointed by the US Government Accountability Office in late September, at their first public meeting.
"We warmly welcome our new Board members," said PCORI Executive Director Nakela L. Cook, MD, MPH. "I look forward to working with them to achieve PCORI's mission of generating evidence to improve clinical practice and patient well-being through funding research and disseminating study results for uptake into practice."
The newly approved awards include:
- $7.6 million for a University of Alabama-Birmingham real-world pragmatic study to compare the effectiveness of treatment strategies for people with rheumatoid arthritis. The study will assess two different drug classes that treat disease activity, tumor necrosis factor inhibitor biologics and targeted synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, focusing on how the drugs affect patient-reported outcomes such as physical function, sleep, fatigue, treatment satisfaction, function and work productivity.
- $6.3 million for a University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine study comparing a psychological intervention, drug treatment and the combination of these two strategies for treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Researchers will look at a psychotherapy approach known as prolonged exposure therapy delivered both with and without the use of antidepressants to determine which approach is more effective for improving PTSD symptoms, mood and quality of life.
- $6 million for a University of Washington study that will be the first national randomized trial on improving outcomes for African-American women with endometrial cancer. African-American women with endometrial cancer have higher mortality rates due to factors including social isolation during treatment, which can affect whether they complete treatment. This trial will compare how well two virtual interventions, group-based and one-on-one peer support, reduce social isolation and if they improve treatment completion as well as patients' experiences.
- $3.7 million for a University of Pittsburgh Medical Center study looking at whether different strategies for maternity case management (MCM) can improve the mental health of low-income pregnant and postpartum women with anxiety and/or depression. The project will compare a traditional MCM program to MCM supplemented with a digital behavioral health tool, as well as MCM plus the digital behavioral health tool combined with coaching from health/wellness coaches.
"These latest studies reflect invaluable research on critical topics and questions," Cook added. "Their results will provide practical information that patients, clinicians and other stakeholders can use to make better-informed health care decisions."
Details of all projects approved for funding by the Board are on PCORI's website. All PCORI-funded projects were approved pending a business and programmatic review by PCORI staff and issuance of formal award contracts. With these latest awards, PCORI has invested nearly $2.8 billion to fund patient-centered CER studies and to support other projects designed to enhance CER methods and the infrastructure necessary to conduct CER rigorously and efficiently.
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About PCORI
The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) is an independent nonprofit organization authorized by Congress in 2010. Its mission is to fund research that will provide patients, their caregivers and clinicians with the evidence-based information they need to make better-informed health care decisions. PCORI is committed to continuously seeking input from a broad range of stakeholders to guide its work.