The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) approved funding for the addition of 16 new sites to expand the reach of PCORnet®. What diverse populations and data insights might these new sites bring to clinical research and users of PCORnet? Find out in our “Meet the New PCORnet Sites” series, which offers a deeper look at these new additions, one site at a time. First up is DHR Health Institute for Research and Development in Edinburg, Texas.
Giving Network users a much-needed window into an underrepresented population
The addition of DHR Health to PCORnet opens new opportunities for more insights into people of Hispanic descent, who make up 19 percent of the U.S. population but less than 1 percent of U.S. clinical trial participation. The site is in Deep South Texas, about five miles from the Mexican border, and the population it serves is about 95 percent Hispanic. DHR Health was built to address the challenges that are specific to this population, and its expertise spans endocrinology, neurology, pediatrics, urology, and more. In fact, it has the largest group of specialty physicians in the Rio Grande Valley, and it offers more than 75 access points of care across South Texas.
“DHR Health’s participation will make the national-scale, patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER) powered by PCORnet more representative of the U.S. population, allowing us to better understand how diseases and their treatments impact the Hispanic community,” said Lisa Trevino, PhD, vice president of operations for the DHR Health Institute for Research and Development. “With greater representation in PCORnet, research teams can home in on the healthcare needs and gaps for different communities and ultimately provide better, more equitable care.”
A values-driven journey to PCORnet
When Dr. Trevino joined DHR Health 10 years ago, only one or two investigators were running clinical trials at the site. She helped establish the DHR Health Institute for Research and Development so it could serve as a conduit for all research within the health system with an aim to bring much-needed insights to the South Texas community. To make the Institute successful, Dr. Trevino understood that meaningful engagement of her site’s patients was critical. She needed to shift the perception of clinical trial participation to build trust and help DHR Health’s patients understand that research participation is essential to help patients, their families, and future generations live better lives.
“To truly bring impactful insights to our community, we needed to include their experiences in national-scale comparative clinical effectiveness research,” said Dr. Trevino. “We were drawn to PCORnet because of the clear emphasis on the value of embedding patient engagement across the research lifecycle.
“Now, as a site participating in PCORnet, we are able to connect our longitudinal data at DHR Health to millions of other data records in health systems across the nation. Participating in PCORnet also provides us access to some of the nation’s most preeminent thought leaders across a broad range of therapeutic areas, and their support for my research to date has been remarkable.”
Stay tuned for the next installment of our “Meet the New PCORnet Sites” series. Would you like to partner with the site you read about today? Reach out to the PCORnet® Front Door to start the conversation.