# University of Michigan BACPAC Mechanistic Research Center

> **NIH NIH U19** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2021 · $583,491

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Increasing the racial/ethnic diversity of participants in clinical pain research and including stakeholders in the
design and conduct of research are intertwined goals that are essential to increasing the acceptability,
feasibility, rigor, and relevance of pain research. This proposed administrative supplement to the parent
BACPAC Mechanistic Research Center at the University of Michigan (UM) will support a robust effort to
enhance patient and other stakeholder engagement, particularly that of underrepresented minorities, and to
implement a sustained outreach effort to the historically underserved Black and Hispanic communities in and
around Detroit and Flint, Michigan. The goal of the parent research project is to conduct a sequential, multiple
assignment, randomized trial (SMART) to investigate behavioral and medical interventions in chronic low back
pain, and to conduct intervention response phenotyping. The BACPAC MRC is housed at the UM Chronic Pain
and Fatigue Research Center (CPFRC), a successful translational research group focused on identifying the
underlying mechanisms and most effective treatments for individuals with chronic pain. Supplement Aim 1 is to
hire two full-time Community Research Facilitators (CRFs) who will conduct outreach in the Detroit and Flint
areas. The CRFs will be community health workers or individuals with similar experience; that is, they will
possess deep knowledge of local resources and can serve as a bridge between research and diverse
communities. CRFs will lead outreach efforts in predominantly Black and Hispanic communities in the Detroit
and Flint areas to support study recruitment efforts and increase sample diversity; will facilitate bidirectional
communication and knowledge transmission between the CPFRC and community stakeholders; and will help
enrolled participants navigate the challenges of participating in clinical trials, thereby enhancing retention.
Supplement Aim 2 is to establish a Stakeholder Advisory Board for Clinical Research in Chronic Pain (StACC)
that will include people living with pain who are diverse in terms of race/ethnicity, age, gender, and rural/urban
location; as well as other stakeholders including providers, clinicians, and pain researchers. This group will be
governed using best practices for stakeholder engagement and will include formal training of patient advisors
in research fundamentals, and training of academics in community-engaged research. The StACC will provide
meaningful input on issues such as recruitment, data collection, analysis, and interpretation to ensure that the
BACPAC MRC research is maximally accessible to diverse participants and that data collected is valid and
relevant. We will conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the StACC process and outcomes. Completion of
these Aims will lay the foundation for a sustainable infrastructure within the CPFRC to enhance partnerships
with underserved communities of color and form long-lasting...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10398444
- **Project number:** 3U19AR076734-01S4
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** Daniel J Clauw
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $583,491
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-09-26 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10398444

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10398444, University of Michigan BACPAC Mechanistic Research Center (3U19AR076734-01S4). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10398444. Licensed CC0.

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