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 32 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.
Health Risks for Each Individual, Not for the Average Patient
Study results often predict the benefit a treatment could have for the average patient. A PCORI-funded project is using personal health characteristics to move beyond averages and predict the benefit a treatment could have for individual patients.
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.
Bringing Older Adults' Voices to Research
An advisory board of residents of skilled nursing facilities and older adults who live at home provides input to studies.
A Less-Invasive Way to Replace a Heart Valve: Is Newer Better?
A nonsurgical method to replace the aortic valve turned out as safe as surgery and allowed more patients to go home from the hospital, rather than to a nursing home or rehabilitation facility.
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.
Tackling Chronic Pain While Reducing Opioid Use
A health system in Washington instituted a clinical plan that has succeeded in lowering patients’ opioid doses, according to a PCORI-funded study.
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.
Helping Patients with Chest Pain Make Decisions in the ER
Emergency physicians often recommend—or urge—monitoring and further testing when they see patients with chest pain, even if they haven’t had a heart attack. A study shows benefits of patients’ and doctors’ using a decision aid to guide next steps.
Can Virtual House Calls Provide More Patients with High-Quality Parkinson's Disease Care?
Patients with Parkinson's disease often have difficulty traveling to appointments with far-away specialists. Simple videoconferencing software may bring care into their homes.
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.
Between Clinicians and Patients, Trained Community Members May Provide a Key Link
Community health workers and patient navigators work to lower barriers patients may face in receiving care and following treatment plans. PCORI-funded studies are testing whether lay people on clinical teams make a measurable difference.
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.
Under One Roof: Pulling Specialists Together to Improve Lung Cancer Care
Treatment of lung cancer requires the services of several specialists. A Memphis project is examining whether patient outcomes improve when care providers come together in a coordinated program.
Using a Video to Empower Patients Facing Major Surgery
How can patients about to undergo major surgery effectively communicate their wishes for postoperative care? Feedback from patients, family members, and surgeons led researchers to revise their plan for testing a tool to promote advance care planning.
