STAR CRN, a member of PCORnet (National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network), encompasses the following health systems:
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC)
- Meharry Medical College (MMC)
- Duke University Health System
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Wake Forest University School of Medicine
- Mayo Clinic
- Essentia Health
- Stanford University School of Medicine
- Medical University of South Carolina
STAR CRN consists of academic health centers, community hospitals and a range of outpatient practices including primary care, specialty practices and safety net facilities that serve diverse populations with data on over 25 million patients. Through this network, we have access to a broad array of clinical data, informatics tools, patients, providers, and systems to address an array of research questions. The objective of our CRN is to robustly support comparative effectiveness studies, pragmatic clinical trials, health system innovation, and the other research needs of our partners.
STAR Engagement Team (SET) consists of staff and faculty at each STAR CRN site with expertise in multilevel engagement. Core responsibilities include identifying and engaging a variety of partners (patients, caregivers, clinicians, etc.), consulting with research teams on engagement strategies, and collaborating with SAC colleagues to facilitate and implement person-centered engagement.
STAR Advisory Council (SAC), consists of patients, community members, and clinicians who help prioritize research opportunities and review all incoming studies to ascertain engagement of patients. Input from stakeholders is used to inform the research design, implementation, analysis, dissemination and/or priority setting. The SAC review of research products entails a quantitative, objective and validated measure of the Person Centeredness of Research (PCoR) score. This measurement tool is the first of its kind and available to other Networks within STAR for measuring.
Testimonials
"The infrastructure provided by the STAR CRN supported multiple aspects of my research. We were able to obtain feasibility counts, including proportions of underrepresented groups, and to connect with diverse clinics from a wide geographical area who were all interested in research. Throughout our trial, the STAR CRN infrastructure will enable us to leverage health record data for recruitment, data collection, and retention. This will support our ability to engage more underrepresented groups in research to advance equity and learning."
"Vanderbilt’s success in enrolling patients in the ADAPTABLE trial has been a true team effort. Our success has only been possible because of the invaluable research infrastructure that has been built, maintained, and continually improved here in the STAR CRN. We have shown the country what is possible when multi-disciplinary experts collaborate to identify, contact, and enroll patients in pragmatic clinical research."
"My twenty-eight years of working on a local and national level of health advocacy have allowed me to participate in the work of program design and implementation, primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention, health literacy, policy development, and community and patient engagement. I have had the opportunity to work with the PCORI foundational leadership and the PCORnet team from its inception some ten years or more. I have worked as a community co-investigator and patient partner with the STAR CRN. My work is rewarding to me personally and beneficial in the ways I serve my community. It is with great pleasure and delight that I offer my support and endorsement of the work of the STAR CRN."
"As a patient partner STAR CRN has given me exposure to the medical research process. Having this opportunity to share my lived healthcare experiences, collaborate as a team member and help create a process to ensure research is centered around patient engagement is essential for researchers and patients to have a well rounded understanding of both prospectives. STAR CRN’s commitment to community involvement continues to shift the culture in research.”
