Highlights of PCORI-Funded Research Results
PCORI began funding research in 2012, and a growing number of the studies are now producing important results that are being published in peer-reviewed journals or presented at scientific meetings.
Explore Our Portfolio of Funded Projects
Find out about projects based on the health conditions they focus on, the state they are in, and if they have results.
Latest Results from PCORI-Funded Research
Treating Back Pain Using a Stratified Risk Approach
New results appearing in EClinicalMedicine from a study that tested risk-stratified treatments for patients with acute back pain found that among patients at high risk, half developed chronic back pain regardless of type of care, while 20 percent of low-risk and 33 percent of medium-risk patients developed chronic low back pain.
Surgical Treatments for Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy (CSM)
Reporting in JAMA, a PCORI-funded study on CSM found that patients whose treatment had a dorsal surgical approach experienced better physical function and were less likely to report using opioids for pain or needing ongoing physical therapy, compared with a ventral surgical approach.
A Risk-Based Approach for Triaging Breast Cancer Screenings
Findings from a PCORI-funded study, published in JAMA Network Open, suggest that a risk-based approach during periods of reduced capacity, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, could result in detecting the most cancers while performing the fewest examinations compared with a non-risk-based approach.
New Treatment for Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Offers Benefits
Reporting in Liver International, a PCORI-funded research team examined short- and long-term effects of the treatment and found that patients experienced improvements like less fatigue and better sleep quality three months after completing treatment, which held over 12 months.
Comparing Ways to Treat People with Obesity in Rural Areas
Recent results in JAMA from a PCORI-funded study, which compared three ways to treat obesity in rural populations, show that people averaged greater weight loss through in-person group sessions than in-person clinic and phone-based sessions.
A Self-Care Program for Patients with Acute Heart Failure
Findings from a PCORI-funded study appearing in JAMA Cardiology suggest that patients in a self-care program had fewer AHF-related events and improved quality of life than those who received usual care. However, these improvements often did not hold over a long term.
Addressing Fatigue in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis
Three commonly prescribed drugs for fatigue — one of the most common problems among patients living with MS — were no more effective in alleviating the issue than a placebo pill, according to results from a PCORI-funded study published in Lancet Neurology.
Daily Blood Sugar Tests May Not Be Beneficial for Some Patients
For many people with type 2 diabetes, their daily routines often includes checking their blood sugar to keep it at a healthy level. However, recent evidence shows that patients who don’t use insulin did not benefit from doing the regular finger stick tests.
Comparing Ways to Address Worry among Older Adults
As reported in Depression and Anxiety, a research team at Wake Forest University found that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and yoga were both effective at reducing worry and anxiety in older adults, while CBT improved sleep more than yoga.
