Dr. Elizabeth Cox has received a $2 million dollar award to implement and evaluate a patient-centered approach to improving outcomes for kids with Type I diabetes. She was awarded $2 million over three years by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). Cox’s award was among 71 projects awarded from a total of 570 proposals.
Cox created Problem Recognition in Illness Self-Management (PRISM), a ten-minute survey to help identify the best resources to help families of children with type 1 diabetes, based on their specific needs. “Children with Type 1 diabetes and their families face many challenges to controlling diabetes and maintaining good quality of life,” said Cox. “Our preliminary work suggests taking good care of diabetes can be easier when healthcare providers offer resources tailored to each families’ specific needs.” Supported by the UW Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, the Department of Pediatrics and the Health Innovation Program, this early work was critical to developing the PRISM-based patient-centered approach to be tested with this new award.
Cox said that the study will examine whether families who use PRISM to select resources to improve diabetes management will have better blood sugar control as well as improved child and parent quality of life. To ensure the success of the project, her research team has partnered with the UW Children’s Diabetes Center, the Medical College of Wisconsin’s Pediatric Diabetes Program, and leaders from the Western Wisconsin Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).
PCORI evaluated the proposals based on scientific merit, how well they engage patients and other stakeholders, their methodological rigor and how well they fit within PCORI’S national research priorities. PCORI is an independent, non-profit organization authorized by Congress in 2010. Its mission is to fund research that will provide patients, caregivers and clinicians with evidence-based information needed to make better-informed health care decisions.