The VCU Center on Society and Health is delighted to announce it has been approved for a $1.04 million funding award by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to test a new framework, the SEED method, for conceptualizing and prioritizing research questions on health related topics through collaborative, participatory, and consultative stakeholder engagement. These stakeholders represent a range of lay persons – including patients, caregivers, and advocates – and professionals. The study is one of 10 proposals PCORI approved for funding on July 29 in the category of Improving Methods for Conducting Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (PCOR), which seek to address gaps in methodological research relevant to conducting PCOR. PCORI has funded only two awards in Virginia, both of which were to Virginia Commonwealth University.
Dr. Emily Zimmerman will lead the research project at the VCU Center on Society and Health. The long-term objective of the study is to test a framework that future researchers might use to develop robust conceptual models and to collaboratively generate and prioritize research questions relevant to diverse stakeholders.
The award has been approved pending completion of a “business and programmatic review” by PCORI staff and issuance of a formal award contract to the VCU Center on Society and Health.
“We are thrilled to be given the opportunity through this award to advance stakeholder engagement in developing and prioritizing research questions and to continue strengthening our academic-community partnerships,” said Dr. Zimmerman.
PCORI is an independent, non-profit organization authorized by Congress in 2010 to fund CER that will provide patients, their caregivers, and clinicians with the evidence-based information needed to make better-informed health and healthcare decisions. PCORI is committed to seeking input from a broad range of stakeholders to guide its work.
“This project was selected for PCORI funding not only for its scientific merit, but also for its potential to fill an important gap in our ability to conduct high-quality patient-centered comparative effectiveness research using rigorous methods,” said PCORI Executive Director Joe Selby, MD, MPH. “We look forward to following the study’s progress and working with the VCU Center on Society and Health to share the results.”
The VCU Center on Society and Health study and the other projects approved for funding by PCORI’s Board of Governors on July 29 were selected from 325 applications submitted to PCORI’s funding announcements issued in September 2013. They were selected through a highly competitive review process in which patients, clinicians, and other stakeholders joined clinical scientists to evaluate the proposals. Applications were assessed for scientific merit, how well they will engage patients and other stakeholders, and their methodological rigor among other criteria.
PCORI has awarded nearly $549 million to support 313 studies and initiatives since it began funding research in 2012.For more information about PCORI funding, visit http://pcori.org.