New NIH grants to develop Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System

The National Institutes of Health announced today that it is awarding 15 new grants to further develop and test the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS). Managed by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), PROMIS aims to revolutionize the way patient reported outcome tools are selected and employed in clinical research and practice.

PROMIS utilizes advances in computer technology and modern measurement theory to assess outcomes such as pain, fatigue, and other aspects of quality of life in a standardized manner. An important goal of the initiative is to develop valid and reliable clinical instruments that will allow the measurement of patient-reported symptoms more efficiently and effectively.

"Due to the success of PROMIS and growing interest of various research and health care communities, the NIH Roadmap mechanism has allowed an additional four years of funding for this initiative," said Raynard S. Kington, M.D., Ph.D., deputy director, NIH. "The second phase of PROMIS will continue to advance the field of patient self-reporting by conducting large-scale validation studies in a variety of clinical populations."

"These outcomes have a major impact on quality of life across a variety of chronic diseases and are often the best way to judge the value of treatments," said NIAMS director Stephen I. Katz, M.D., Ph.D. "An important priority during the second funding phase of this initiative will be to strengthen assessment of patient-reported outcomes in all relevant population groups, including minorities, women, underserved individuals, and children."

The PROMIS network will support a comprehensive, integrated approach to data collection, storage, and management and will consist of three administrative centers and 12 research sites. The initiative is designed to be a vital resource for the clinical research community. According to Josephine P. Briggs, M.D., director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), "PROMIS holds potential to provide very valuable standardized measurement tools that will allow greater comparability of studies, and substantially reduce the burden on patients participating in research studies."