The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) on Monday announced funding totaling $88.6 million for 51 projects across the country for patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research.
“PCORI and our merit reviewers believe that patients and those who care for them will greatly benefit from the comparative information these projects will provide,” said Joe Selby, MD, PCORI executive director in a press release announcing the awards. “We’re very pleased that we were able to double the amount of research awarded in our inaugural funding cycle thanks to the number of high-quality proposals we received."
The Cycle II grants will address the first four areas of its National Priorities for Research and Research Agenda and includes studies aimed at discovering the best way to care for people with kidney disease, certain cancers, obesity, asthma, diabetes and various mental health conditions. In addition to awards for the study of the treatment of specific medical conditions, PCORI is also funding research exploring ways to support patient decision-making, reduce specific health disparities and improve healthcare delivery systems.
The 51 awards for this funding cycle were chosen from more than 400 applications. All applications are subjected to a competitive review by scientists, patients, caregivers and other stakeholders with selection for awards based on the proposal’s scientific merit, engagement of patients and other stakeholders, study methodology as well as how well each fits into the PCORI’s stated national research priorities.
The four research areas addressed by this cycle of awards includes:
- 20 for assessment of prevention, diagnosis
- 13 for improving healthcare systems
- 8 for communication and dissemination research
- 10 for addressing disparities
The new awards will go to research organizations in 21 states. To date, PCORI has made awards for 126 projects in 33 states and Washington, D.C. totaling more than $129 million.
[See also: PCORI grants $40 million for comparative effectiveness research]