State-based Healthcare Extension Cooperatives to Accelerate Implementation of Actionable Knowledge into Practice

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is developing a Healthcare Extension Service to accelerate the dissemination and implementation of patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR) evidence into healthcare delivery through improvements in healthcare policy, payment, and practice, and to reduce healthcare disparities especially among people who receive Medicaid, are uninsured, and other people who are medically underserved.  

This NOFO invites applications to establish and support State-based Healthcare Extension Cooperatives (referred to as Cooperatives) to conduct an initiative that is based on PCOR evidence to improve care for medically underserved people; the initiative's focus must be on behavioral healthcare. To support this initiative, the Cooperative will (1) engage key stakeholders including Medicaid agencies, managed care organizations, and other organizations that address the health needs of people who are medically underserved in identifying and addressing barriers and facilitators to implementing patient-centered healthcare delivery improvements that are based on PCOR evidence, (2) work with healthcare policy, payment, community, care delivery, and research organizations that serve people who are medically underserved to build their capacity to implement patient-centered healthcare delivery improvements based on PCOR evidence, and to support ongoing learning, (3) conduct evaluations of the Cooperative's activities and (4) provide the support structure to ensure these activities are integrated and aligned.

The Cooperative recipients will work closely with AHRQ and recipients of two related NOFOs: National Evaluation Center (NEC) for AHRQ's Healthcare Extension Service: State-based Solutions to Healthcare Improvement (U19) and National Coordinating Center (NCC) for AHRQ's Healthcare Extension Service: State-based Solutions to Healthcare Improvement (U54). For more information including key dates and eligibility, see here.