PROJECT SUMMARY Eligibility for the Institutional Development Award (IDeA) program is based on historically low levels of NIH funding. IDeA states differ from non-IDeA states with respect to the rural/urban distributions of the population and access to medical care. Compared to children in non-IDeA states, children in IDeA states are more likely to live in rural areas and are less likely to have access to or receive medical care. Since multi-center pediatric clinical trial networks are concentrated in centers in non-IDeA states, there are limited opportunities for children living in IDeA states to participate in clinical research activities. The ECHO IDeA States Clinical Trials Network (ISPCTN) was established in 2016 with 17 clinical awardee sites and the Data Coordinating and Operations Center (DCOC) at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in Little Rock, Arkansas. The objectives of the Network are to develop and implement clinical research in the IDeA states in the ECHO priority areas: upper and lower airway disease; obesity; neurodevelopment; pre-, peri-, and post-natal outcomes; and positive child health; and to develop capacity within the IDeA states to conduct clinical trial research. This proposal is for UAMS to continue to serve as the DCOC for the ECHO ISPCTN. The specific aims of the Data Coordination and Operations Center are to 1) Provide scientific, operational, administrative and logistical infrastructure support to the ECHO IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network (ISPCTN) to facilitate the development, implementation and dissemination of clinical research activities in the ISPCTN; and 2) Build pediatric clinical research capacity in the IDeA states to enhance the potential for conducting clinical trials that address health issues of relevance to children in IDeA states. We will work collaboratively with clinical investigators at the ISPCTN sites, Project Scientists and Project Officers at the NIH ECHO Office, and other participating NIH staff, and collaborating multicenter clinical trials groups to design and implement studies that will address health issues that disproportionately affect rural and medically underserved children.

2U24OD024957-03

2016-09-23

2025-08-31