UNC Researchers Receive PCORI Pilot Awards

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) has announced the approval of 50 research funding awards, totaling $30 million over two years, through its Pilot Projects Program, which will address a broad range of questions about methods for engaging patients in the health research and dissemination process. Two University of North Carolina researchers, who are also members of the North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences (NC TraCS) Institute, are recipients.

Til Stürmer, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., will receive an award for $690,502 to lead a project titled, “Methods to Increase Validity of Comparative Effectiveness Research in the Elderly.” He is a professor of epidemiology at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and director of the UNC-GlaxoSmithKline Center of Excellence in Pharmacoepidemiology and Public Health. The interdisciplinary research team proposes to address four major methodological issues assessing the comparative effectiveness of post myocardial infarction treatments with respect to the risk for re-infarction and hospitalization for heart failure in elderly patients.

Kathleen Thomas, M.P.H., Ph.D., will receive an award for $692,735 to lead a project titled, “An Approach to Capture Divergent Stakeholder Views on Future Research Needs.” She is a research associate in the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research. Her team will research and compare the utility of different methods for collecting stakeholder input by developing a better understanding of how stakeholders value future research using autism as an indicator condition.

“These projects will improve our understanding of how to conduct research and disseminate research findings in ways that are more responsive to the needs of patients and the health care community,” said PCORI executive director Joe Selby, M.D., M.P.H. “Their work will help us establish a foundation for patient-centered research that will give patients, caregivers and clinicians the information and tools they need every day.”

The Pilot Projects were selected by PCORI‘s Board of Governors through a competitive, multi-stage review process. Proposals were evaluated for their scientific merit and rigor and fit within the eight areas of interest outlined in the pilot projects announcement and reported on previously on this news site. All awards have been approved pending completion of a business review and a formal award agreement with PCORI.

The awards, approved for research institutions in 24 states and the District of Columbia, include those for projects designed to develop a range of tools and techniques aimed at improving patient-centered care and decision-making; create new patient-centered care measures; and improve delivery of patient-centered counseling and care in various health care settings.

Details on all awards, including the project name, primary investigator, research institution, funding amount and an abstract, are provided on the PCORI website, www.pcori.org.

PCORI is an independent, non-profit organization authorized by Congress. Its mission is to fund research that will provide patients, their caregivers and clinicians with the evidence-based information needed to make better-informed health care decisions.