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.
