# Chicago Chronic Condition Equity Network (C3EN)

> **NIH NIH P50** · UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO · 2023 · $493,316

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
Traumatic stress and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are highly prevalent and lead to increases in
psychiatric and cardiovascular disease. Racial and ethnic minority people residing in sociocultural
environments entrenched in community violence or experiencing assault are at especially high risk of PTSD.
However, many people with PTSD are not diagnosed or treated. Current practices for identifying PTSD are
subject to bias because diagnosis depends on clinician- or patient-initiated discussion of trauma-related
symptoms, and stigma, knowledge, time, and access to resources are often barriers to these discussions.
System-level solutions are needed to increase diagnosis and treatment of PTSD. Systematic screening
protocols can help address bias in who is screened. A keystone to screening for PTSD could be to screen
patients when they are at clinic visits. While no formal recommendation exists for PTSD screening, clinics who
serve patients at a high risk for PTSD, for example, the Veterans Affairs, have implemented screening at clinic
visits. Use of patient portals may provide another promising strategy to address barriers to PTSD screening. In
our previous work, we used a population health approach to screen for and assess depression symptoms,
employing the patient portal as a tool to reach out to patients. We found that it resulted in a higher screening
rate and identified more patients with moderate-severe depression. After identifying patients with PTSD, the
next necessary step is to provide evidence-based treatments, like integrated primary-care behavioral health
(PCBH). Integrated primary care-behavioral health (PCBH) is a model of care in which the behavioral health
and primary care teams are collocated with the primary care clinic and work together to address the
biopsychosocial factors that are affecting a patient’s health. PCBH has been found to be less stigmatizing for
patients with PTSD and models of care that are proactive and provide telephonic care management have been
found to increase treatment engagement for PTSD. Thus, coupling screening for PTSD with a PCBH model
may be a highly effective strategy to improving PTSD outcomes. Therefore, our goal is to implement and
evaluate a novel strategy for screening and management of PTSD in a primary care setting with a high
prevalence of trauma, specifically the South Side of Chicago. In partnership with Chicago Family Health
Center, an FQHC with five clinical sites and PCBH, we aim to 1) Implement a system-level screening and
management strategy for PTSD. We will implement a process of clinic visit and population health screening for
PTSD leveraging the patient portal with linkage to care within a PCBH model and 2) Evaluate a system-level
screening and management strategy for PTSD. With these aims, this grant will lead to increased
understanding of the utility and feasibility of screening and managing PTSD in an FQHC that serves a
predominantly racial/ethnic minority ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10892590
- **Project number:** 3P50MD017349-03S3
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
- **Principal Investigator:** ELBERT S. HUANG
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $493,316
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2021-09-24 → 2026-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10892590

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10892590, Chicago Chronic Condition Equity Network (C3EN) (3P50MD017349-03S3). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-01 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10892590. Licensed CC0.

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