PBRNs: Past, Present, and Future: A NAPCRG Report on the Practice-Based Research Network Conference.

Alexander Singer; Natalie Gross; Leyla Haddad; Allison Cole

doi:10.1370/afm.3187

The annual Practice-Based Research Network (PBRN) Conference convened in Reston, Virginia from June 17-18, 2024. A total of 198 participants registered, including at least 94 first-time attendees. The conference theme and sessions were curated by the PBRN Conference Committee, consisting of 14 leaders from PBRNs in the United States and Canada and a patient advisor. The conference was preceded by a meeting of new practice-based research networks formed through NIH-supported Clinical and Translational Research Networks. The conference also coincided with the Fourth Starfield Summit, intended to engage family medicine thought leaders in addressing critical issues in primary care.

The conference featured 3 plenary sessions, 9 interactive workshop sessions, 43 oral presentations, and 44 poster presentations. Sessions were organized around 10 key themes: behavioral health/substance use disorder, chronic care management, community engaged research, dissemination and implementation research, PBRN infrastructure/network operations, study design and methods, stakeholder engagement, technology, and training.

On the first day, the plenary session titled “Choose Your Own Adventure: PBRNs, Primary Care Learning Health Systems, and Everything in Between” was presented by Onil Bhattacharyya, MD, PhD. The second day included the plenary session “PBRNs and Data: Where we Have Been, Where are we Going?” led by Wilson Pace, MD, FAAFP. The third plenary panel “Patient-Engaged Research” was moderated by Emily Godfrey, MD, MPH and highlighted 4 outstanding patient-engaged research presentations.

Finally, the award for the best poster, as selected by the attendees, was presented to Benjamin Webel, BA; Jacqueline Britz, MD, MSPH; Melinda Vo; Jennifer Gilbert, PsyD; Alex Krist, MD, MPH; and Paulette Lail Kashiri, MPH for their poster “The Patient Recruitment “Iceberg”: Bias and Feasibility in Different Approaches.”

We conducted a comprehensive post-conference evaluation; 113 of attendees provided feedback; 95.58% of respondents rated the overall conference as excellent or very good; 57.52% reported acquiring new skills to overcome PBRN operational challenges; 46.90% reported learning skills that would increase their ability to positively impact health policy or practice.

The NAPCRG PBRN Conference serves as a vital platform for PBRN researchers, clinicians, and community members to exchange knowledge and skills, ultimately enhancing PBRN research and advancing the AHRQ’s mission to create evidence for safer, higher quality, more accessible, equitable, and affordable health care.

Funding for this conference was made possible (in part) by 1R13HS029438-02 from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the US Government.