AHRQ’s Investments in Primary Care Research for 2023 and 2024

Starting in 2021, when the first Director of the NCEPCR was named, the center started working to build its leadership and support staff; develop a clear vision, mission, and a set of key activities and core values to guide future work; organize and fund new primary care research efforts; and set research priorities.¹ To achieve its mission, NCEPCR organized its work into six key activities, as shown in the graphic below. 

In 2023 and 2024, NCEPCR continued to advance its work with multiple efforts across each of these six key activities:

• Coordinate primary care research activities across AHRQ
  • NCEPCR updated and improved its website to compile information from across the agency that is relevant for primary care researchers and clinicians. The website showcases information about AHRQ’s primary care-relevant research initiatives, data resources, tools and other materials, research communities, reports and publications, and funding opportunities.
  • NCEPCR hosted bi-monthly AHRQ primary care workgroup meetings to ensure communication regarding primary care related activities across AHRQ, and to promote the alignment and coordination of cross-center work.
• Curate and synthesize information about primary care research across U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agencies
  • NCEPCR reviewed and compiled information about past and current primary care research efforts across AHRQ’s centers. These efforts resulted in two reports published in January 2024:
    • Mapping AHRQ’s 30-Year Investments in Primary Care Research (1990-2020). This report reviews AHRQ’s investments in primary care research across the past three decades. The report covers AHRQ’s research to improve primary care organization, workforce, quality and safety, digital healthcare, finance and cost, and prevention; and discusses the impact of these efforts on the delivery of primary care.
    • AHRQ’s Investments in Primary Care Research for 2021 and 2022. This report provides a comprehensive overview of AHRQ’s investments in primary care research over the two-year period of FYs 2021 and 2022. The report shares information about primary care research-relevant grants, contracts, initiatives, and resources.
  • NCEPCR participated in a HHS primary care initiative which resulted in an Issue Brief on Taking Action to Strengthen Primary Care (PDF, 256 KB), released in November 2023, describing relevant actions taken on this joint initiative.
  • In 2024, NCEPCR established a new Cross-HHS Primary Care Research Workgroup to continue the work of the HHS Initiative to Strengthen Primary Care. The effort was designed to support the collaboration and coordination of primary care research efforts across HHS by documenting what primary care research is currently being conducted across HHS, identifying research gaps, and creating an HHS Primary Care Research Strategy.
• Communicate important primary care research findings to the field
  • NCEPCR hosted the Strengthening Primary Care Research webinar series, which featured over 20 AHRQ-funded grantees sharing their research methods, approaches, and findings. In FYs 2023 and 2024 the webinars included:
    • Research on Women's Health in Primary Care (9/5/2024)
    • Research on Person-Centered Care (6/27/2024)
    • Research Methods for Studying the Primary Care Workforce (5/2/2024)
    • Research on the Integration of Behavioral Health in Primary Care (3/7/2024)
    • Innovative Use of Technology for Primary Care Delivery (9/14/2023)
    • Qualitative Methods Used in AHRQ-Funded Primary Care Research (9/3/2023)
    • Using Large Datasets for Primary Care Research (5/24/2023)
  • NCEPCR shared news and information with interested parties through a dedicated email bulletin. Sign up here.
• Cultivate a robust primary care research workforce
  • To support new and early career health services and primary care researchers as they build their careers and add to the field, NCEPCR:
    • Supported AHRQ’s Junior Staff Service Fellow Program, hosting 1-2 fellows each year to work on projects related to AHRQ’s primary care research portfolio.
    • Began a new collaboration with the Robert Graham Center to support an AHRQ rotation for their Policy Fellowship Program 2024-2025 fellow.
  • In November 2024, NCEPCR hosted a forum entitled AHRQ’s Primary Care Research Investments and Funding Opportunities: Insights from AHRQ NCEPCR Leaders and Successful Grantees at the 52nd Annual North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG) Meeting. The forum featured a panel of early-career, mid-career, and seasoned primary care researchers who shared guidance on developing successful grant submissions and building a grant funding portfolio to support ongoing work.
  • In 2024, NCEPCR launched a three-part PBRN Learning Series to support the work of practice-based research networks (PBRNs) in implementing quality improvement activities and research in primary care practices (read more on this under Initiatives and Resources in the Practice and Quality Improvement Section.)
• Convene primary care stakeholders
  • In 2023 and 2024, AHRQ funded the NAPCRG’s annual PBRN Conference to bring PBRN researchers together to share research strategies, methods, and findings.
  • NCEPCR continued to engage a primary care research stakeholder group to provide insights and help prioritize future directions.  
  • NCEPCR convened PBRN leaders and researchers in a series of technical expert panel meetings to obtain their guidance and feedback regarding how AHRQ might revitalize its relationship with, and support of, PBRNs given budget constraints. This resulted in the development of new PBRN resources and improved PBRN Registry, as well as additional forthcoming outputs that demonstrate the value of PBRNs and their unique work.    
• Catalyze new and innovative primary care research
  • NCEPCR and AHRQ released two primary care-specific standing program announcements to fund investigator-initiated research, which elicited a large number of applications:
    • Research to Advance the Science of Primary Care (R01) to build evidence on how primary care influences patient care and outcomes and how primary care delivery can be improved and strengthened.
    • AHRQ Small Research Projects to Advance the Science of Primary Care (R03) for small research projects to advance understanding about the role and capacity of primary care to increase the value and quality of care and improve patient outcomes and population health by delivering person-centered care.
  • Additionally, AHRQ released many funding announcements and special emphasis notices in areas relevant to primary care, including in patient safety and digital health.
    • In one notable example, AHRQ released the Healthcare Extension Service: State-Based Solutions to Healthcare Improvement opportunity, including for up to 15 grants for the state-based healthcare extension cooperatives, a national coordinating center, and a national evaluation center. The purpose of this initiative was to accelerate the dissemination and implementation of patient-centered outcomes research evidence into healthcare delivery, including primary care.