Blog

Keeping Our Research Standards Up to Date

Failure to follow good research practices can result in studies that don’t provide findings useful for informing clinical decisions. To avoid such wasted effort, PCORI’s authorizing law required that our research program be based on rigorous scientific methods and that we develop a set of standards...
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Achieving Results: An Update

Published: 
July 21, 2017
Author(s): 
Joe V. Selby, MD, MPH
Blog Topics: 
Research
Evaluating Our Work
Executive Director's Blog
I’ve reported to you on occasion about results emerging from PCORI’s earliest funded studies. Most recently, in April , I called your attention to a number of articles that appeared in leading medical journals. At the time, I predicted a steady stream of additional publications reporting findings...
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Implementing Shared Decision Making: A New PCORI Initiative

Published: 
July 19, 2017
Author(s): 
Joanna Siegel, SM, ScD,
Christopher Gayer, PhD
Blog Topics: 
Research
Application Process
Funding Awards
Helping patients use evidence to make informed healthcare decisions that best match their values and preferences is one of PCORI’s major goals. This is an important focus because even with evidence from comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER) studies, choosing between treatments or other...
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Engagement Project Yields Unexpected Dividends

Published: 
June 9, 2017
Author(s): 
Lia Hotchkiss, MPH
Blog Topics: 
Research
Engagement Blogs
Funding Awards
When she applied for a Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Award, Sharron Close, PhD, of Atlanta never dreamed it would lead her all the way to the Georgia capitol and Governor Nathan Deal. Close, a researcher at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University, was leading a PCORI-...
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Updates to the Engagement Awards Program

Published: 
June 7, 2017
Author(s): 
Lia Hotchkiss, MPH,
Ivey Wohlfeld
Blog Topics: 
Research
Engagement Blogs
Funding Awards
Since our establishment, PCORI has been committed to meaningful involvement by patients, caregivers, clinicians, and other healthcare stakeholders throughout the research process. As part of our Engagement program, the Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Awards have supported more than 200 projects...
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Research to Aid Decisions about Prostate Cancer Treatment

Published: 
June 6, 2017
Author(s): 
Ronald C. Chen, MD, MPH,
David F. Penson, MD, MPH
Blog Topics: 
Research
Guest Blogs
This spring, the US Preventive Services Task Force updated its recommendations for prostate cancer screening , saying that men age 55 to 69 years should consult their doctors to make individual decisions about whether to undergo this screening. They can take into account current evidence of its...
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New Drugs for Fighting Hepatitis C: Prioritizing Quality of Life as Well as Cure

Published: 
May 24, 2017
Author(s): 
David R. Nelson, MD,
Summer Wadsworth
Blog Topics: 
Research
Guest Blogs
Choosing the right treatment for hepatitis C virus infection can be difficult. Patients and doctors want to conquer the infection and prevent liver damage without introducing other problems. In the past decade, drug development has occurred so rapidly that patients and clinicians must base their...
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Patient Perspectives on Arthritis Research

Published: 
May 23, 2017
Author(s): 
Cindy Kimberly,
Anjie Vago
Blog Topics: 
Research
Guest Blogs
Nearly one-quarter of American adults have been told by a doctor that they have arthritis. The lived expertise of people with the condition informs PCORI research on arthritis, which includes patients at every step of the way—from topic generation to study design and conduct to dissemination of...
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PCORI Celebrates National Women's Health Week

Published: 
May 16, 2017
Blog Topics: 
Research
Note: In 2018, National Women's Health Week is observed from May 13 through May 19. Research that focuses on women’s health has been at the center of PCORI’s portfolio from the beginning. PCORI’s research is providing information that women need to make educated decisions about their health and...
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Comparing Treatments to Lower Cholesterol

Published: 
May 10, 2017
Author(s): 
Diane E. Bild, MD, MPH
Blog Topics: 
Research
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, the so-called bad form of cholesterol, is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death in the United States. Patients with high cholesterol that requires treatment usually receive prescriptions for statin drugs, which...
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