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NIH grant 1K24NR022254-01A1: FOCUS-PTSD: Facilitating Optimal Care for Understanding and Screening for PTSD
Institute: {'code': 'NR', 'abbreviation': 'NINR', 'name': 'National Institute of Nursing Research', 'admin_org_id': '12500052', 'admin_funding_url': ''}. PI: Neda Laiteerapong. Award: $128346.
Start: 2026-08-26T00:00:00.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is highly prevalent, especially in populations that have experienced personal trauma or reside in communities with high levels of violence. The lifetime consequences of PTSD are large, including an increased risk of other psychiatric disorders, substance use disorders, cardiovascular disease, and early mortality. The first step to improving health outcomes for people with PTSD is to diagnose PTSD. Current practices for diagnosing PTSD depend on clinician- or patient-initiated discussion of trauma-related symptoms, which may be unreliable. In populations where rates of PTSD may be high, introducing routine screening for PTSD within primary care settings may improve the mental and physical health. While screening for PTSD is likely to identify more patients, it is vital to understand how to optimally integrate diagnosis and symptom management into the complex workflow of safety net primary care clinics to improve health outcomes. As a physician scientist, board-certified in Internal Medicine and Clinical Informatics, my research is focused on system-level interventions to improve behavioral and physical health outcomes. Through my research, I have become an expert in using clinical informatics to collect patient-reported outcome data to facilitate real-world clinical decision making. I am funded for PORTAL-PTSD, which is an NIMHD R01-level grant through a NIMHD P50 Center to develop, implement and evaluate a clinically integrated system to diagnose and manage PTSD at a federally qualified health center. Furthermore, I lead the primary care behavioral health integration program at a safety net hospital. I have substantial experience as a mentor, as I also am the HRSA T32 program director for primary care researchers seeking to improve health outcomes and care delivery for patients with chronic diseases. Through this programming, the theme of undertreated PTSD is pervasive. I will work with my mentees to carry out the following aims: Aim 1. To improve PTSD diagnosis and symptom management in safety net primary care and HIV care settings by identifying barriers and facilitators from the perspective of primary care and HIV healthcare leaders and providers and Aim 2. To evaluate improvements in PTSD diagnosis and symptom management in a multi-specialty primary and HIV care practice using mixed methods. The K24 will allow me to work with my mentees to conduct research that will result in systems to improve PTSD diagnosis and symptom management for populations living in communities affected by violence or exposed to trauma. The K24 will also allow me to obtain additional training in implementation science and mixed methods to enhance my research and mentoring skills.document fetched 2026-09-06 02:47