PCORI approves $254 million to fund 28 new research studies addressing urgent health problems

WASHINGTON, July 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Board of Governors today approved $254 million in funding for 28 new research studies aimed at eliminating disparities in maternal and infant health, preventing suicide among young people, and improving behavioral health, cancer care, surgical care and outcomes for people with chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

"These awards present significant opportunities to address pressing health challenges and empower patients and their families with actionable information about their healthcare choices," said PCORI Executive Director Nakela L. Cook, M.D., M.P.H. "We are pleased to fund several studies that confront critical evidence needs to reduce disparities in maternal morbidity and mortality and improve outcomes for people living with intellectual and developmental disabilities, two of PCORI's priority areas for research."

Four studies approved for a total of $33 million will assess interventions to improve care during pregnancy and after childbirth to reduce the higher rates of health problems among Black women and Latinas and their infants. The largest will compare approaches to reducing the risk of low birth weight among Black infants.

Five studies totaling $58 million will assess interventions to reduce suicide among adolescents and young adults, which is the second leading cause of death among U.S. youth ages 15-24. Three of these will compare whether tailoring prevention strategies leads to better outcomes among autistic youth, Alaska Native youth, and sexual and gender diverse young adults respectively.

Several funding awards support large, multiphase comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER) studies. The studies include:  

• A study comparing two approaches to suicide prevention among 9,800 teens.
• A study comparing recovery and incidence of awareness during operations among 12,500 patients who either receive intravenous anesthesia or inhale anesthetic agents.
• A study comparing approaches using telemedicine and in-person care to control blood pressure following a stroke among 3,200 patients.
• A study comparing the effectiveness of two new classes of diabetes medications among 9,000 adults with Type 2 diabetes.
• A study comparing palliative care delivered either by specialists or oncology clinicians trained to provide palliative care involving 1,150 patients with acute myelogenous leukemia.

Two awards totaling $12 million will support studies assessing ways to deliver mental health care to young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, who have higher rates of need and use of emergency care.

Details of these and other studies approved for funding by PCORI's Board today are on the website. All funding awards were approved pending a business and programmatic review by PCORI staff and issuance of formal award contracts. With these latest awards, PCORI has invested about $3.2 billion to fund patient-centered CER and to support other projects designed to enhance CER methods and the infrastructure necessary to conduct CER rigorously and efficiently.

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 needed to make better-informed health care decisions. PCORI is committed to continuously seeking input from a broad range of stakeholders to guide its work.

SOURCE Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute