PCORI Stories
What does patient-centered research look like in the field? These short features provide a glimpse into the workings of the studies and projects we support. Hear from researchers what it’s like to partner with patients and other stakeholders, and from patients about being part of a research team.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 31 results
Enhancing the Delivery of Mental Health Services to Children in Underserved Areas
Study designed to address parents’ concerns demonstrated usefulness of mental health coordinators equipped with telehealth platforms.
'It's Nonjudgmental Support': Breathing Easier with the Healthy Lungs Program
Comparing approaches to help longtime smokers quit smoking for good.
'You Have to Meet People Where They Are to Help Them': Patient Advisors Guide Successful Diabetes Self-Management Study
Comparing individually tailored text messages with other approaches to encourage people with diabetes to take care of themselves.
Empowering the Marshallese Community in Managing Type 2 Diabetes
New research shows tailoring diabetes education to meet cultural needs can significantly improve blood sugar levels in Marshallese patients with type 2 diabetes.
Preventing Postpartum Depression Closer to Home
A PCORI-funded study compares the effectiveness of prevention programs led by lay home visitors and mental health professionals that teach mothers-to-be the skills to improve their moods and bond with their babies.
Spreading a Communication Plan to Improve Patient Safety in Hospitals
Engaging parents as active participants in pediatric hospital rounds slashed the rate of medical errors. Now, the research team is working to expand the program from seven to 21 hospitals.
Kentucky Community Fights Back against Cardiovascular Disease
In a region where cardiovascular disease risk is extremely high, a combination of self-management classes taught by trained community health workers and buy-in from community leaders led to a significant reduction in cardiovascular disease risk.
Engagement Awards Teams Ride Momentum to Research Projects
The Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Awards build communities to participate in patient-centered outcomes research. But three Engagement Awards teams are doing more than participating in research—they are conducting it.
Research to Help People with Serious Mental Illnesses Improve Their Health
People with serious mental illnesses often struggle to receive care to address common chronic physical health problems. PCORI-funded research projects are testing ways to help people with serious mental illness get the physical health care they need.
Coordinated Treatment Planning Shows Promise for Patients with Lung Cancer
People with lung cancer need several specialists for treatment. A PCORI-funded project found that with up-front treatment planning among the different specialists, patients get treatment that is more appropriate for their cancer’s severity.
Engaging Communities to Improve Depression Treatment
A coalition-based approach to care, bringing together clinicians and community members, helped people from low-income minority groups.
Engaging with Families Is Key to Addressing Childhood Obesity
Tailored coaching and educational text messages for families, as well as clinical decision support tools for pediatric providers, seemed to help children with obesity and those who are overweight lower their body mass indexes.
Can Telehealth Improve Care?
Telehealth has the potential to provide access to care for a wide variety of populations that are now underserved. Two PCORI-funded studies are using telehealth in different ways to test its potential.
Helping Men Decide on Prostate Cancer Treatment
Problems are more likely three years after surgery than after radiation or surveillance, a study finds.
Finding the Keys to a Longer, Better Life after Stroke
Patients who have a stroke often receive medications to prevent a recurrence. Researchers are using medical records and new patient-reported data to examine the benefits and risks of these treatments.
Fighting Weight Gain in Children and Teens Who Take Bipolar Disorder Medications
Can a diabetes drug, along with lifestyle changes, keep off extra pounds and improve quality of life?
Home-Based Care for Chronic Kidney Disease
Kidney disease is rampant among Zuni Indians. Researchers test a novel home-based care model to combat the epidemic.
Considering Patient Concerns during Trauma Care
Urgent treatment of serious injuries traditionally focuses on saving lives and limbs. Adding efforts to address individual patients’ needs may improve the experience and its outcomes.
Enlisting the Brain in the Fight against Pain
A project in Alabama takes a down-to-earth approach in teaching patients to think differently and cope more effectively with chronic pain. It may alleviate depression, too.
Using Mobile Technology to Increase Screening for Hepatitis B and C among Asian Americans
Americans of Asian ancestry have an increased risk of hepatitis B and, in some cases, hepatitis C, but many have not been screened for these illnesses. Researchers are testing an interactive app to see whether it encourages more people to be screened.
Choosing the Right Antibiotic for a Child's Respiratory Infection
A PCORI-funded study compares the outcomes of treatment with targeted versus broader-spectrum bacteria-killing medications.
To Stay at Home, Older Adults Should Plan Ahead
Many Americans fail to plan for the health events that commonly occur when they reach their 80s, 90s, or 100s. Researchers are working with older adults to develop a tool that helps them have a voice in what happens as their health needs grow.
Helping Families Make a Big Decision -- Fast -- about a Child's Appendicitis
While the traditional treatment is surgery to remove the appendix, antibiotics have emerged as an alternative. When both treatments are medically appropriate, an iPad app might help families quickly decide which option is best for their them.
Medication Choices Based on Data, Not Fear
Researchers are investigating how patients with inflammatory bowel disease weigh treatment benefits and risks—and then are using that information to consider differences between two types of drugs.
For Healthier Nights and Longer Lives
Experienced patients help those newly diagnosed with sleep apnea learn to use a challenging but effective treatment. Technology plays a supporting role.