Friday, September 29, 2023
9/29/2023
Principal Investigator/Program Director (Last, first, middle): Ross, Judith, M.D. Project Summary/Abstract The overall mission of the Delaware Nemours DuPont Hospital for Children IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network site (DE-Nemours/AIDHC ISPCTN site) is to facilitate implementation of well-designed pediatric clinical trials, recruit underserved/rural children to participate in these clinical trials, and enhance pediatric clinical trial capacity within the IDeA state, DE. DE has notably high rates of infant prematurity and mortality, asthma, obesity, and infants born with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome. The opportunity and the potential impact of pediatric clinical advances are significant in DE, whose population (~1 million) serves as a microcosm of the US, demographically, in urban-to-rural citizen ratio and ethnic/racial diversity. It has one major children’s hospital (AIDHC with >90% of DE pediatric admissions), one major obstetric hospital (Christiana Hospital with >80% of DE deliveries, ~7000/year), and a statewide integrated pediatric primary care network (19 community practices). In this renewal application, we demonstrate our progress in creating and sustaining collaborative clinical trials that address strategic health issues and overcome barriers to inclusion of children residing in rural or impoverished areas of DE. The DE ISPCTN site will continue to harness key resources including 1) 19 DE pediatrics and primary care practice-based networks that cover over 65,000 children (23% in rural areas, 19% in poverty and 52% Medicaid), 2) access to historically underrepresented pediatric populations in DE, including rural, African-American and Hispanic/Latino populations, and 3) robust community engagement programs such as the Nemours children's health website KidsHealth, the most- visited pediatric health site (1 million hits/day). We have the human talent, with highly experienced clinical research teams (PI, Co-Is, junior and senior investigators, coordinators, data entry staff) and the clinical research infrastructure (Clinical research center, IRB processes, standard operating procedures). Nemours/ AIDHC has >15 years’ experience with system-wide use of electronic medical records (EPIC) in clinical trials research. These factors allow for highly effective recruitment and retention in current ISPCTN clinical trials and reach rural and underserved children in the state. The DE site will continue to synergize with robust DE IDeA state resources. Further, we delineate how our strengths in community engagement/patient recruitment, clinician and researcher engagement, and clinical research infrastructure capacity building have allowed us to engage in clinical trials in the focus areas in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program including Upper/lower airway disorders, Obesity, Pre-/peri-/postnatal outcomes, and Neurodevelop- ment. The DE site will continue to work closely with the ISPCTN Data Coordinating and Operations Center in development and implementation of clinical trials, will collaborate with the overall ECHO program and the NIH, and will expand capacity to engage rural/underserved populations in DE. Provision of this expertise and infra- structure will increase cutting edge clinical trial research aimed at improving public health in DE and the US. PHS 398/2590 (Rev. 05/01) Page _______ Continuation Format Page
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
