The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) intends to reissue a Targeted PCORI Funding Announcement (PFA) on September 6, 2023, seeking to fund high-quality, comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER) projects that focus on optimizing physical and mental functioning for community-dwelling older adults and their caregivers. This preannouncement is provided to allow potential applicants additional time to identify collaborators; obtain patient and stakeholder input on potential studies; and develop responsive, high-quality proposals.
The Healthy Aging Targeted PFA will solicit applications for CER studies that focus on different phases of the aging continuum and aim to achieve one or more of the following four goals:
- maintaining function and independence
- facilitating chronic disease management
- supporting individuals with functional impairment
- reducing caregiving burden and improving caregiver quality of life
The different phases of the aging continuum include on one end the healthiest older adults who have no chronic conditions, followed by those who may have one or two well-managed conditions. Their main goal is to maintain function and independence. Next on the continuum are older adults with chronic or multiple chronic conditions whose primary health focus is to manage their conditions and slow or reverse progression, followed by those with significant functional impairment (physical and/or cognitive) who are at higher risk for adverse events, require more support and are likely to have higher health care utilization and expenditures. Finally, at the other end of the continuum are seriously ill older adults who may need end-of-life care.
Applications may focus on populations in different phases of the aging continuum except for those at the two extremes, i.e., the healthiest of older adults with no chronic health condition and those with serious/advanced illness who require end-of-life care.
For this reissuance, PCORI especially encourages applications focused on improving the health care and health outcomes for older adults with multiple chronic conditions and those with sensory impairments such as loss of vision or hearing, as well as care models for individuals living with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD). Applications of particular interest are those examining interventions that emphasize caregiver needs as well as those focusing on delivery models that integrate primary and specialty care as well as community-based services. PCORI further encourages applications focused on populations benefiting from a health equity approach, including those who are underserved, underrepresented or historically excluded.
Letter of Intent (LOI) Deadline: Oct. 3, 2023