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Broad Pragmatic Studies (Standing PFA) Applicant Town Hall PCORI Funding Announcement, Cycle 1 2024

Broad Pragmatic Studies (Standing PFA) Applicant Town Hall PCORI Funding Announcement, Cycle 1 2024

Call for Letters

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) held a town hall on January 24, 2024, to announce a call for letters of intent in PCORI’s “Broad Pragmatic Studies” program. The PCORI Funding Announcement (PFA) invites applications for high-quality comparative clinical effectiveness research projects. The purpose of the town hall was to provide an overview and information applicants may need to submit a responsive application and to address questions.

All applications must align the proposed research with at least one of the five National Priorities for Health described in the PFA. In addition, the applicant is encouraged to select one or more Topic Themes.

The Five National Priorities are:

  1. Increase evidence for existing interventions and emerging innovation in health.
  2. Enhance infrastructure to accelerate patient-centered outcomes research.
  3. Advance the science of dissemination, implementation, and health communication.
  4. Achieve health equity.
  5. Accelerate progress toward an integrated learning health system.

These priorities are discussed in detail in the webinar together with research examples.

Special Areas of Interest

Applicants are also encouraged, but not required, to submit research projects that address PCORI’s Special Areas of Emphasis (SAEs), which can fall under any of the five national priorities:

  • Long COVID
    Goals include testing the effectiveness of clinical interventions and health system strategies. Clinical outcomes must be included as part of the research.
  • Social Needs/Social Determinants of Health
    Examples include food insecurity, food as medicine, transportation, and housing security/stability. A plan for the sustainability of the intervention is required as well as measures of the impact of the intervention.
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
    The goal of this SAE is to compare treatment strategies for children, youth, Veterans, and civilian adults. Studies should compare interventions and enhance delivery of care outside of traditional mental health care settings.

Research designs of interest to PCORI include random control trials, well-designed observational studies, hybrid designs, and natural experiments.

Deadlines

Letter of Intent Deadline: February 6, 2024, by 5pm (ET)

Letter of Intent Status Notification: March 5, 2024

Application Deadline: May 7, 2024, by 5pm (ET)

Slides and the recorded presentation will be available shortly.

Work With Us, Work for Us

Econometrica specializes in research and management across numerous industries in both the public and private sectors. We are always looking to hire the best and brightest in data science, health, grants management, energy, homeland security, housing and community development, capital markets and finance, and transportation. We work as the lead service provider and also as a capable outsource partner to other consultancies. To work with us on your next project, visit us online and email a member of our executive staff in your preferred specialty. To explore the benefits of working for us, visit our careers page.

Alzheimer’s Awareness Month

Alzheimer’s Awareness Month

Alzheimers Awareness Month

Dementia is one of the most serious health and social care issues of our day. Approximately 50 million people around the world are living with dementia, and more than 6 million Americans have Alzheimer’s.[1] Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia among older adults and is currently ranked as the seventh leading cause of death in the United States.[2] One in three seniors dies with Alzheimer’s or another dementia.[3] As the world’s population ages, the serious implications of Alzheimer’s and other dementias on services and health systems will continue to grow. In fact, deaths from Alzheimer’s have more than doubled from 2000 to 2019,[4] and the number of people globally who have dementia is expected to triple by 2050.[5]

The Effects of Alzheimer’s and Dementia

The effects of Alzheimer’s and dementia are not limited to people living with these conditions; the demands of caring for a person with Alzheimer’s or dementia can significantly impact one’s physical and emotional wellbeing.[6] In the United States, more than 11 million people provide unpaid care for loved ones with Alzheimer’s or other dementias.[7] A strong support network and respite care may help caregivers cope with stress of caring for a loved one with dementia.[8]

Dementia also deals a significant blow to people’s financial wellbeing. In 2023, Alzheimer’s and other dementias will cost the United States $345 billion, and this number is projected to rise to nearly $1 trillion in 2050.[9]

“Never too Early, Never too Late.”

World Alzheimer’s Month gives a voice to people living with Alzheimer’s and dementia and their caregivers and family.[10] This year’s theme is “Never too early never too late.”[11] The hope is to raise awareness about the importance of identifying risk factors early on and what can be done to mitigate them.[12] Although scientists do not know what causes Alzheimer’s disease, they believe it could involve age-related changes in the brain, as well as genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors.[13] Because a nutritious diet, physical activity, social engagement, and mental stimulation have been associated with healthy aging, some scientists believe they might also help reduce the risk of cognitive decline.[14]

Econometrica’s Expertise

Econometrica’s experts have worked with Federal agencies, subject matter experts, and stakeholders on projects that support inclusive care for the elderly, falls prevention, prevention of chronic diseases, and Medication therapy management, as well as training to improve the outcomes of care and continuing medical education on topics such as age-friendly health systems and delirium in the elderly. We recognize that older persons are at higher risk of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, and we coordinate with agencies and funders to look for ways to support persons with elevated needs.

Resources:

September Is World Alzheimer’s Month

September Is World Alzheimer’s Month

World Alzheimers Month

Dementia is one of the most serious health and social care issues of our day. Approximately 50 million people around the world are living with dementia, and more than 6 million Americans have Alzheimer’s.[1] Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia among older adults and is currently ranked as the seventh leading cause of death in the United States.[2] One in three seniors dies with Alzheimer’s or another dementia.[3] As the world’s population ages, the serious implications of Alzheimer’s and other dementias on services and health systems will continue to grow. In fact, deaths from Alzheimer’s have more than doubled from 2000 to 2019,[4] and the number of people globally who have dementia is expected to triple by 2050.[5]

The Effects of Alzheimer’s and Dementia

The effects of Alzheimer’s and dementia are not limited to people living with these conditions; the demands of caring for a person with Alzheimer’s or dementia can significantly impact one’s physical and emotional wellbeing.[6] In the United States, more than 11 million people provide unpaid care for loved ones with Alzheimer’s or other dementias.[7] A strong support network and respite care may help caregivers cope with stress of caring for a loved one with dementia.[8]

Dementia also deals a significant blow to people’s financial wellbeing. In 2023, Alzheimer’s and other dementias will cost the United States $345 billion, and this number is projected to rise to nearly $1 trillion in 2050.[9]

“Never too Early, Never too Late.”

World Alzheimer’s Month gives a voice to people living with Alzheimer’s and dementia and their caregivers and family.[10] This year’s theme is “Never too early never too late.”[11] The hope is to raise awareness about the importance of identifying risk factors early on and what can be done to mitigate them.[12] Although scientists do not know what causes Alzheimer’s disease, they believe it could involve age-related changes in the brain, as well as genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors.[13] Because a nutritious diet, physical activity, social engagement, and mental stimulation have been associated with healthy aging, some scientists believe they might also help reduce the risk of cognitive decline.[14]

Econometrica’s Expertise

Econometrica’s experts have worked with Federal agencies, subject matter experts, and stakeholders on projects that support inclusive care for the elderly, falls prevention, prevention of chronic diseases, and Medication therapy management, as well as training to improve the outcomes of care and continuing medical education on topics such as age-friendly health systems and delirium in the elderly. We recognize that older persons are at higher risk of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, and we coordinate with agencies and funders to look for ways to support persons with elevated needs.

Resources:

Econometrica Celebrates 25 Years of Innovation

Econometrica Celebrates 25 Years of Innovation

Econometrica's 25th Anniversary

Message From Our President/CEO

“It is hard to believe a quarter century has passed since we founded Econometrica in 1998. Back then, we had simple goals in mind: provide outstanding work for our clients while offering a supportive and friendly workplace where team members could learn and thrive. 

We have evolved over the last 25 years, yet we hold steadfast to those same guiding principles today. Our team has grown to more than 90 employees, representing diversity in culture, age, gender, and expertise. Many of our specialists come from posts in the upper echelons of business, government, and science. Through conscientious account of our services, we are able to pass that knowledge on to our clients. 

We strive to connect with one another in meaningful ways, such as mentorship and training opportunities designed to advance our employees’ technical capabilities. Helping everyone succeed and stay passionate about their work is a cornerstone of our company culture. 

Our clients are part of the Econometrica family, too. Regardless of project size or value, we provide them with meticulous research, creative solutions, and strategic recommendations delivered with personalized and attentive service. 

Econometrica is a dynamic business continuously changing and growing to meet the needs of our clients and employees. I am proud of the company we created together, and I am excited to see what we accomplish in the next 25 years.”

Cyrus Baghelai, President/CEO

Unlocking Insights: Data Analytics Experts Driving Actionable Solutions for Clients

Our methodological experts and programmers collaborate with subject matter experts and researchers across Econometrica to successfully perform a variety of analytical projects. Through these collaborations, we offer dozens of professionals with a variety of quantitative and qualitative skill sets, including statisticians, economists, data scientists, biostatisticians, visual analysts, and programmers. Our team specializes in quantitative design and implementation, sampling, developing innovative statistical and econometric models, and translating technical results into clear findings and actionable reporting. Our data analytics team is dedicated to undertaking a collaborative approach to analytics in all our work, and building high-quality and impactful products by combining the complementary expertise of our technical staff, subject matter experts, partners, and clients.

Empowering Health Solutions: Health Group Experts Leading Policy and Research Innovations

Econometrica’s Health Group consists of public and clinical health researchers, analysts, instructional designers, and economists who provide expertise in training, information diffusion, health research, quality measure development, monitoring, evaluation, technical assistance, and data analytics. Econometrica is a two-time Measure and Instrument Development and Support (MIDS) Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity contract holder from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and a contractor on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Domain V contract vehicle. With healthcare and related industry trends constantly evolving, Econometrica’s experts use a variety of research and evaluation methods to provide innovative approaches for each client. In recent years, our team has developed tailored technical assistance plans for CMS. We have had more than 250,000 provider impacts based on trainings focused on understanding and complying with the IMPACT Act on the Post-Acute Care Training contracts, and we have had three quality measures endorsed by the National Quality Forum under our Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly contract.

Transforming Communities: Housing and Finance Group’s Expertise in Financial Solutions and Community Development

Key service areas include technical assistance and training, policy and program analysis, statistical surveys and research, market and feasibility analysis, and knowledge management. Our staff and business associates comprise a diverse mix of personnel, including former government employees with decades of experience in housing and community development programs, academic researchers from distinguished universities, and highly skilled housing professionals with hands-on experience in housing management, finance, grants monitoring, and other types of support. We are dedicated to supporting our clients in their diverse missions to expand and improve affordable housing, promote homeownership opportunities, stimulate community transformation, assist with disaster recovery, comply with reporting requirements, and enhance their performance. Since 2011, Econometrica has been providing technical assistance through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) OneCPD/Community Compass initiative, which has convened a community of technical assistance providers to serve the Office of Public and Indian Housing, Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD), and other HUD programs and customers. Through OneCPD/Community Compass, Econometrica has provided a variety of services, with a focus on housing, community development, economic development, and neighborhood stabilization.

The Long COVID Dilemma

The Long COVID Dilemma

The Long COVID Dilemma

SARS-CoV-2 Infection (COVID-19)

In 2022, SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19) was listed as an underlying or contributing cause of 244,986 (61.3 per 100,000) deaths in the United States.1Beyond the acute-phase severity of the disease, we have learned that symptoms can linger or recur over months or years, resulting in ongoing disability: the Kaiser Family Foundation reports that the “percentage of people who have had COVID and currently report long COVID symptoms declined from 19% in June 2022 to 11% in January 2023. Despite the decline, the rate of long COVID among people who have had COVID remains high.”2 For some groups, the numbers are even higher.3

Whole-Person Care with an Equity Focus

The long COVID journey can be protracted and especially difficult for persons with fewer healthcare resources. Important whole-person supports include non-medical factors such as access to transportation to get to healthcare appointments, as well as access to nutritious food, a safe home environment, educational opportunities, and financial resources. These can all impact health and well-being during the recovery period.

Trauma-Informed Care

Families and caregivers were traumatized as well. Implementing the principles of trauma-informed care: safety, choice, collaboration, trustworthiness and empowerment,4 can be reassuring to patients and caregivers living in fear of reinfection or relapse. The experience of contracting the virus was terrifying for many, whether or not the disease led to hospitalization. And for those who suffered long hospitalizations with respirator care, contracting COVID-19 was an especially traumatic event.

At Econometrica, our experts work extensively with Federal agencies, subject matter experts, and stakeholders to shape services that are inclusive for all persons’ healthcare needs. We understand that chronic disorders can carry a heavy burden for underserved communities, and we coordinate with agencies and funders to look for ways to support persons with elevated needs.

Resources

1 Ahmad FB, Cisewski JA, Xu J, Anderson RN. COVID-19 Mortality Update — United States, 2022. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2023;72:493–496. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7218a4 https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7218a4.htm

2 Kaiser Family Foundation. Long Covid: What do the latest data show? January 26, 2023. https://www.kff.org/policy-watch/long-covid-what-do-latest-datashow/#:~:text=As%20of%20January%2016%2C%202023%2C%2015%25%20of%20all%20adults,are%20no%20longer%20reporting%20symptoms.

3 Goldie PD, Chatterjee I. Examining the elevated risk of COVID-19 in transgender communities with an intersectional lens. SN Soc Sci. 2021;1(10):249. doi: 10.1007/s43545-021-00255-x. Epub 2021 Oct 6. PMID: 34693307; PMCID: PMC8492083. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8492083/

4 University of Buffalo, Buffalo Center for Social Research. What is Trauma-Informed Care? https://socialwork.buffalo.edu/social-research/institutes-centers/institute-on-trauma-and-trauma-informed-care/what-is-trauma-informedcare.html#:~:text=The%20Five%20Guiding%20Principles%20are,to%20providing%20Trauma%2DInformed%20Care

World Environment Day: Climate Change Implications for Human Health

World Environment Day earth and copy

Since June 5, 1973, the United Nations (UN) Environment Programme’s World Environment Day has provided a global platform for motivating research and action for a livable planet. According to the UN, “Climate change is the single biggest health threat facing humanity. The impacts are already harming health through air pollution, disease, extreme weather events, forced displacement, food insecurity and pressures on mental health. Every year, environmental factors take the lives of around 13 million people.”1

Environmental Factors

The environmental factors driving climate change arise from both naturally occurring changes as well as human activities, such as the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Regardless of the causes, however, the damaging effects of these changes are unequally distributed among the world’s population. Persons sensitive to heat because of age or illness and who cannot afford air-conditioned housing are at greater risk of adverse health effects from a warming planet, for example, while those living in increasingly flood-prone areas or who lack access to clean water may be disproportionately affected by water-borne illnesses.

Complex Systems

Local, regional, and national health systems are key to responding to these threats, but they are only one part of a complex system for promoting health. We are also beginning to understand how social determinants of health like housing, employment, education, and geography can significantly shape the health of populations. Researchers have begun to build a body of knowledge related to these determinants and to examine their effects in persons affected by climate change, and we can also use mapping and data analysis to look at specific instances of climatic effects on population health.

Resource Inequity

Reducing the health effects of climate change will require us to develop a solid understanding of three inter-related factors:

    • Direct effects of climate conditions on health, such as an increase in vector-borne diseases as temperature rise.
    • Underlying inequities in preventing, diagnosing, and treating health problems.
    • The distribution of available resources for improving the local, regional, and national environment and identification of areas with the greatest needs.

Econometrica’s Housing and Finance Group Is Looking at the Big Picture

In the past 2 years, Congress has passed two laws that provide hundreds of billions of dollars for new infrastructure projects. Together, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act (BIL) have funded more than 500 programs addressing important missions, including improving the with disaster and climate resilience of our Nation’s infrastructure, lowering carbon emissions, and providing cleaner air and water.

The challenge in such funding programs is to ensure that the money goes to the most important needs, not just the most aggressive grant applicants. Econometrica’s Economists and Data Analysts help agencies target their available funds in four ways.

  1. Data and analysis of needs. Although collecting data nationwide is expensive and requires specialized skills, it allows localities to fully understand their opportunities and saves the taxpayer money that would be wasted on ineffective projects.
  2. Program design. Early policy decisions are a powerful determinant of taxpayer return and environmental improvement, and one important policy driver is the method for spreading funds geographically. Econometrica provides optimization support for the main policy alternatives: formula allocations, competitive funding rounds, means tested programs, and disaster-based needs analysis.
  3. Agency outreach to communities. The neediest communities, and those with the greatest environmental challenges, are often those with the least ability to assess which of the 500+ programs they are even eligible for, let alone understand how to successfully navigate the application process. We build online eligibility screening systems and plain-language guidance materials to help these communities find and apply to the best programs for their needs.
  4. Program evaluation. This is the classic work of economists: cost–benefit analyses, market impact assessments, budget optimization, and the quantification of results. And it is the results that matter—finding the best social and environmental improvements for the fewest taxpayer dollars.

Work With Us, Contact Us

Need a partner in understanding the impact of climate change on the health of a population, or to help gauge the resources devoted to mitigating climate injustice? Our experts are here to help you. For a quick, direct response, visit us online and email a member of our executive staff in your preferred specialty.

Resources

https://www.worldenvironmentday.global/
https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/key-findings

1 https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/key-findings#health