PCORI – The Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) – Potential for Funding Social Work Research – What is it, what are the research priorities, and what types of social work research fit with this funding mechanism?

The SSWR Special Interest Group (SIG) of Research Deans and Directors organized this panel to discuss available funding through the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).  The discussion will focus on PCORI funding areas, strategies for proposal submission, and overall significance for social work research. The panelists include a PCORI program officer, grant reviewer, and PCORI funded researchers.

PCORI is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization located in Washington, DC whose mandate is to improve the quality and relevance of evidence available to help patients, caregivers, clinicians, employers, insurers, and policy makers make informed health decisions. Congress authorized its funding through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010.

PCORI provides support for comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER) and Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (PCOR). CERs are used to determine the healthcare options available to patients and their caretakers, and under what circumstances. The PCOR framework is utilized where the research questions focus on concerns most relevant to patients, caregivers, clinicians, and other healthcare stakeholders, and the researchers involve these stakeholders in the research process.