In a long-anticipated announcement, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute said it has approved $30 million in funding awards for comparative-effectiveness research. The funds will be divided among 50 projects in 24 states and the District of Columbia.

An independent, not-for-profit organization established by the healthcare reform law to promote comparative-effectiveness research, PCORI first announced its Pilot Projects Program in September. By the Dec. 1 deadline, the grant program had attracted more than 850 applicants.

That high degree of interest persuaded PCORI to expand the program, which was initially designed to award roughly $26 million to approximately 40 awardees, Christine Goertz, a member of PCORI's board of governors and vice-chancellor for research and health policy at Palmer College of Chiropractic, Davenport, Iowa, said in a PCORI news release.

The projects, which can run up to two years, will address a number of areas, including engaging patients in the research process, promoting patient-centered care and identifying gaps in existing comparative-effectiveness research, PCORI said.

For instance, researchers at University of California at Davis, received a $687,729 grant to examine whether patient-centered counseling can reduce inappropriate diagnostic tests. And researchers at Florida (Boca Raton) Atlantic University were awarded $682,686 to look at ways to involve nursing home resident and their families in acute-care transfer decisions.

“These projects will improve our understanding of how to conduct research and disseminate research findings in ways that are more responsive to the needs of patients and the health care community,” Dr. Joe Selby, PCORI's executive director, said in the release. “We are excited to have approved funding for 50 projects nationwide, led by creative and innovative researchers. Their work will help us establish a foundation for patient-centered research that will give patients, caregivers and clinicians the information and tools they need every day.”