Building Sustainable PCOR and CER via Engagement

Effectively establishing PCOR at institutions is beneficial because it promotes a healthy relationship between institutions and communities and is a key contributor to shifting practices to advance health equity. Nynikka Palmer, DrPH, MPH, who led evaluation aspects of the ASPIRE project at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), has done PCOR in the past where the relationship lasted only as long as a single project.

'As an institution we should have stronger relationships with the community that are not dependent on one investigator. If we have the institutional infrastructure to support this, there is more of a relationship with the institution than just with individuals,' Palmer said.

Her team, which also included project lead Tung Nguyen, MD, and project manager Paula Fleisher, MA, leveraged PCORI funding to work with their patient and community stakeholder advisory board and university leaders to establish standards for systematic and equitable engagement. The ASPIRE advisory board, which included patient advisors from underrepresented communities, was especially crucial.