The HCSRN-OAICs AGING Initiative seeks an administrative supplement (PA-18-591/NOT-AG-20-022) to R33AG057806 to address pressing research questions related to prevention, control, management, and treatment of COVID-19 in nursing homes, such as: What are the characteristics of the small to modest-sized clusters of nursing homes that are associated with the AGING Initiative partners?; What COVID-19 related research questions, with direct applicability to the care and well-being of nursing home residents, would be of the highest priority and most amenable to study in the context of the ongoing pandemic?; What are the current barriers and challenges to conducting COVID-19 related research in nursing homes?; and What steps would be required to create a nursing home clinical trials network comprised of the small to modest-sized clusters of nursing homes that are associated with the AGING Initiative partners? The ?Advancing Geriatrics Infrastructure and Network Growth? (AGING) Initiative brings together the Health Care Systems Research Network (HCSRN) and the OAICs to advance an interdisciplinary research agenda focused on older adults with multiple chronic conditions (MCCs).
The specific aims under the AGING Initiative R33 are: (1) to expand on and further develop innovative methods related to measurement and analytics, observational research, and pragmatic clinical trial design and implementation, to inform the development and testing of novel interventions that improve the care and outcomes of older persons with MCCs; (2) to foster the career development and success of new and early- stage investigators, including underrepresented minorities; (3) to create a new core function as part of an elaborated infrastructure that promotes patient-centered research by engaging patients and care partners in all stages of the research process; and (4) to fund a series of ?P-2-R? (?Pilot-to-R award?) grants. The proposed administrative supplement builds on the parent project (R33AG057806) by: (1) addressing a research topic of vital relevance to older adults with multiple chronic conditions (MCCs) ? the devastating impact of novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) in nursing homes; (2) assessing new methods and approaches addressing research questions relevant to older adults with MCCs; (3) promoting new collaborations and partnerships to advance the science of MCCs; and (4) encouraging research that will ultimately translate into the delivery of higher quality care for vulnerable populations including residents of nursing homes.
The proposed supplemental project builds on the parent grant, ?Advancing Geriatrics Infrastructure and Network Growth,? which bridges the Health Care Systems Research Network and the Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Centers to create a national resource to nurture and advance an interdisciplinary research agenda focused on older adults with multiple chronic conditions. During the funding period of the supplement, we will convene a diverse group of stakeholders to facilitate the creation of an evidence and consensus-based roadmap for the development of a COVID-19 Nursing Home Research Network.
