The National Institutes of Health (NIH) made awards to three institutions as a first step toward creating a primary care clinical research network that will actively engage communities historically underrepresented in clinical research. This marks the kick-off of the pilot phase of the Communities Advancing Research Equity for Health™ - or CARE for Health™ program, which seeks to improve access to clinical research that informs medical care. These awards, totaling more than $5 million in funding for the first year will support three Network Research Hubs as part of the developing the program’s initial infrastructure.

“We eagerly anticipate collaborating with our local partners – primary care providers and patient communities – to tackle the health challenges they identify as most pressing,” said NIH Director Dr. Monica M. Bertagnolli. “These awards will lay the groundwork for primary care-focused clinical research, creating opportunities for people to engage in research that matters to them right where they receive their care.”

The awardees will engage their rural community partners, as part of the initial focus of the CARE for Health™ pilot. As NIH develops the infrastructure for CARE for Health™, future efforts will broaden the focus to additional populations that are underrepresented in clinical research. Initially, the awardees will participate in existing NIH funded studies and conduct robust engagement activities to understand and address the critical clinical questions of highest priority to the primary care providers and communities they serve. The awardees will also partner with NIH and their patient and practitioner communities to develop innovative studies that address these clinical questions.

The first awardee institutions of NIH CARE for Health™:

• Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) has established the Primary Care Rural and Frontier Clinical Trials Innovation Center to Advance Health Equity (PRaCTICE) Network Research Hub. PRaCTICE is a partnership between two rural-serving practice-based research networks, the Oregon Rural Practice-based Research Network and the WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho) region Practice and Research Network. Together, these networks engage over 308 primary care clinics across six predominantly rural and frontier states in the American West.
• University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) has established the Wisconsin Research and Education Network (WREN), which partners with 80 primary care clinics in 37 healthcare organizations throughout Wisconsin. WREN will collaborate with rural primary care clinics from UW Health and two Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) serving Western and Northern Wisconsin.
• West Virginia University (WVU), in partnership with the West Virginia Clinical and Translational Science Institute, has established the West Virginia Rural Roots to Research (WVR3) Network. WVR3 works with the West Virginia Practice Based Research Network to expand clinical research in rural primary care settings. WVR3 will initially engage six largely rural clinical sites in medically underserved areas across the state of West Virginia to participate in CARE for Health™.

The awardee institutions will participate in three ongoing NIH-funded clinical trials that cover a range of topics important to primary health care. OHSU will engage two FQHCs with eight clinics in rural locations to participate in a study evaluating a behavioral intervention for chronic, high-impact back pain. This study, Nonpharmacologic Pain Management in FQHC Primary Care Clinics, aims to improve pain management and reduce reliance on prescription pain medication.  

Both OHSU and UW will engage a total of three FQHCs and eight clinical locations to participate in a study to treat polysubstance abuse. The study, called Collaborative Care for Polysubstance Use in Primary Care Settings, is testing a collaborative treatment intervention to address opioid use and polysubstance use, which is the unhealthy use of more than one drug, or drug(s), with alcohol.  

WVU will conduct research and engage practitioners and communities at six locations across West Virginia to participate in a study for gout. The Treat-to-Target Serum Urate Versus Treat-to-Avoid Symptoms in Gout is a randomized-controlled trial evaluating interventions for gout flares prevention or treatment. 

The inaugural Network Research Hubs will serve as valuable partners to these three existing studies by bringing their unique expertise and communities into these established clinical trials. It will also allow the first awardees to efficiently kick off of the pilot phase of CARE for Health™ program.

For more details on the program and the individual awards, visit the CARE for Health™ Funded Research Page. To receive updates, join the CARE for Health™ program listserv.

CARE for Health™ is part of the NIH Common Fund. The NIH Common Fund supports cross-cutting programs expected to have exceptionally high impact. This is the first round of CARE for Health™ funding issued by NIH. For more information about NIH Common Fund opportunities, join the Common Fund Listserv or subscribe to the Weekly E-Mail with New NIH Guide Postings.

“Communities Advancing Research Equity for Health” and “CARE for Health” are trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).