# Palliative Care Research Cooperative Group (PCRC): Refinement and Expansion

> **NIH NIH U2C** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · 2020 · $1,529,479

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
End of life and palliative care (EOLPC) seeks to enhance quality of life for those with serious illness and their
caregivers. The need for and delivery of EOLPC have far exceeded the research that provides evidence of
best practices. Small, single-site trials, unrepresentative study cohorts, and studies lacking sufficient rigor
hamper provision of high-quality EOLPC. While other fields have advanced their evidence through large,
diverse, multi-site trials, EOLPC research has been impeded by an insufficient infrastructure and scientific
workforce. The primary goals of this U2C application are to increase the productivity and impact of the
Palliative Care Research Cooperative Group (PCRC), its ability to facilitate the conduct of high-quality,
effective clinical research, and to expand the number and expertise of palliative care researchers in conducting
multi-site clinical trials. The PCRC strives to advance the science of EOLPC by providing investigators with the
broad range of support necessary to conduct large scale, multi-site clinical trials and other research studies.
This support includes training opportunities, pilot grant awards, access to a large, centralized repository of data
from EOLPC studies, methodologic consultation, administrative coordination of research activities, and access
to a large network of potential study enrollment sites. Structurally, the PCRC consists of six synergistic
components, each led by a senior EOLPC researcher. The Project Coordinating Center coordinates overall
administration of the PCRC. The Investigator Development Center builds the skills of EOLPC researchers.
Four Cores provide methodological expertise: Data, Informatics, and Statistics; Measurement; Caregiver
Research; and Clinical Studies/Methodology. The U2C PCRC application addresses Scientific, Operational,
Capacity-building, and Collaborative Aims. By accomplishing these aims, the PCRC will expand its ability to
support a robust community of interdisciplinary EOLPC researchers who address topics that guide the delivery
of palliative care with an ultimate goal of improving the lives of patients with serious illness and their
caregivers.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9970250
- **Project number:** 5U2CNR014637-08
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER
- **Principal Investigator:** JEAN S KUTNER
- **Activity code:** U2C (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $1,529,479
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2013-09-28 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9970250

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9970250, Palliative Care Research Cooperative Group (PCRC): Refinement and Expansion (5U2CNR014637-08). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9970250. Licensed CC0.

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