On April 19 - 20, 2013, we convened the Advisory Panel on Addressing Disparities for training and initial discussions about research prioritization. The panel reviewed 12 research topics against PCORI’s research criteria and selected five topics for further consideration:

• Health communication associated with competing treatments—Compare the effectiveness of clinician/patient health communication models on improving outcomes in minority populations, patients with low literacy and numeracy, people with limited English proficiency, underserved populations, and people with disabilities. (Based on Topic 1)
• Heart attacks among racial and ethnic minorities—Compare the effectiveness of health interventions (including place-based interventions in community health centers) to enhance the “Million Hearts” program and reduce major vascular events among the economically disadvantaged, including racial and ethnic minorities and rural populations. (Topic 5)
• Hypertension in minorities—Compare the effectiveness of different delivery models (e.g., home blood pressure monitors, utilization of pharmacists or other allied health providers) for controlling hypertension in racial minorities. (Topic 11)
• Interventions for improving perinatal outcomes—Compare the effectiveness of multilevel interventions (e.g., community-based, health education, usual care) on reducing disparities in perinatal outcomes. (Based on Topic 4)
• Reduce lower-extremity amputations in minorities—Compare the effectiveness of interventions on reducing disparities in lower-extremity amputations in racial and ethnic minorities (Based on Topic 8)

The selection of topics was supported by a review of research prioritization briefs.

Below is a full list of these briefs. Download the full set of briefs.

Topic 1 “Communicating Risks for Minorities or Low-Literacy Patients” Compare the effectiveness of physician/patient communication models on improving risk communication in racial and ethnic minorities, patients with low literacy, or medically underserved populations.

Topic 2 “Care Coordination for Special Needs Patients” Compare the effectiveness of care coordination and clinical decision supports in producing better health outcomes for children with disabilities and special healthcare needs.

Topic 3 “Care Coordination in Primary Care” Compare the effectiveness of enhanced care coordination, including multicultural approaches on improving the health care process and outcomes in primary care settings.

Topic 4 “Interventions for Improving Birth Outcomes” Compare the effectiveness of multilevel interventions (e.g., community-based, health education, usual care) on reducing disparities in birth outcomes.

Topic 5 “Heart Attacks among Racial and Ethnic Minorities” Compare the effectiveness of health center interventions to enhance the "Million Hearts" program and reduce major vascular events among the economically disadvantaged, including racial and ethnic minorities and rural populations.

Topic 6 “Telemedicine for Rural Cardiovascular Care” Compare the effectiveness of telemedicine and/or expanding practice to non physician practitioners (i.e. nurse practitioners, physician assistants) on improving cardiovascular disease outcomes in rural populations.

Topic 7 “Telemedicine for Rural Mental Health Care” Compare the effectiveness of telemedicine and/or expanding practice to non physician practitioners (i.e. nurse practitioners, physician assistants) on improving mental health disease outcomes in rural populations.

Topic 8 “Reduce Foot Amputations in Minorities” Compare the effectiveness of interventions on reducing disparities in revascularization efforts to prevent foot amputation in racial and ethnic minorities.

Topic 9 “Breast Cancer Screening for High-Risk Women” Compare the effectiveness of film-screen or digital mammography alone and mammography plus magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in community practice based screening for breast cancer in high-risk women of different ages, risk factors, and race or ethnicity.

Topic 10 “Rural Trauma Care” Compare the effectiveness of care delivery (e.g., local hospital care, trauma center care) on improving outcomes in patients living in rural communities that experience trauma.

Topic 11 “Hypertension in Minorities” Compare the effectiveness of different delivery models (e.g., home blood pressure monitors, utilization of pharmacists or other allied health providers) for controlling hypertension in racial minorities.

Topic 12 “Complementary Medicine for Juvenile Cancer Patients” Compare the effectiveness of complementary and alternative interventions on reducing symptoms related to treatment of childhood cancers in racial and ethnic minorities.