Institutional Development Award in Clinical and Translational Research (IDeA-CTR) Practice-Based Research Network Summit - Project Summary Practice-based research networks (PBRNs) are groups of ambulatory practices devoted principally to the primary care of patients and affiliated in their mission to investigate research questions related to the health of the communities they serve. Current national initiatives are increasing clinical studies in community settings to enhance recruitment of minority populations and other underserved groups that have historically been underrepresented in clinical trials; this has resulted in PBRNs now being critical to the conduct of clinical trials in the United States. The National Institute of General Medical Sciences Institutional Development Award for Clinical and Translational Research (IDeA-CTR) now requires PBRNs as a component of each IDeA-CTR, providing opportunities to collaborate nationally. In 2022, the West Virginia IDeA-CTR PBRN convened an IDeA- CTR PBRN Special Interest Group, designed to establish strong PBRN collaborations across IDeA-CTRs and provide guidance on PBRN development strategies to those IDeA-CTRs establishing their PBRNs. However, the IDeA-CTR Special Interest Group has not had the opportunity to meet face-to-face. We propose convening an in-person meeting, the IDeA-CTR PBRN Summit, for purposes of driving PBRN research and increasing clinical study participation of underrepresented populations, rural, and other underserved groups. The IDeA-CTR PBRN summit will provide a forum for IDeA-CTR PIs, PBRN directors, and community members to discuss relevant research, share best practices, and discuss solutions to common challenges experienced by primary care practices participating in clinical research. Output of the summit will provide the foundation for a strong national IDeA-CTR PBRN organization that will increase research among the populations served by member PBRNs through achievement of the following objectives: 1) identification of opportunities and challenges to clinical research implementation in PBRN sites, 2) exchange of ideas to maximize the resources and support provided by the parent IDeA-CTR programs; and 3) Create concrete plans to grow clinical studies among underrepresented minority, rural, and other underserved populations. We will identify strategies and best practices for conducting clinical studies in the rural and underrepresented populations served by the IDeA-CTR PBRNs as a means to address the numerous health disparities that are experienced by these underserved communities. We will collect findings of the summit into a Conference Proceedings document (available in English and Spanish) that will be distributed to all IDeA-CTRs.
