The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) intends to issue the Addressing Sensory Health Needs Across the Lifespan PCORI Funding Announcement (PFA) on April 1, 2026, seeking to fund high-impact, patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER) projects that focus on advancing care and outcomes across the lifespan for people living with sensory health conditions.
Proposed CER projects should inform health decisions for people with sensory disorders, their families and care partners in the United States experiencing high burdens and practice variations in sensory health care and outcomes. This preannouncement provides potential applicants with additional time to identify collaborators; obtain patient and stakeholder input on potential studies; and develop responsive, high-quality applications.
Research Initiative Highlights
Sensory health needs encompass a broad range of conditions that can be present from birth, develop during childhood or adulthood or occur later in life. PCORI’s description of sensory health includes conditions affecting one or more of the body’s sensory systems, such as visual, auditory, olfactory, touch, taste, proprioceptive, vestibular and interoceptive systems. In addition, sensory health conditions can lead to differences in communication, mobility, orientation, balance and accessing information. Moreover, there are variations across the care continuum in access to care, quality of care and outcomes due to factors such as geographic location and income. Significantly, sensory conditions have a wide-ranging impact and have been shown to increase mortality, impair cognitive function, diminish health-related quality of life and lead to poor mental health outcomes. Across the lifespan, individuals at risk of sensory health conditions need increased access to screening for early identification of sensory health conditions; adequate and appropriate access to quality care; effective coordination across various health systems in implementing their care; and access to support services for themselves, their families and their care partners. This topical PFA will solicit applications proposing to address patient-centered CER questions that will fill evidence gaps in the areas of screening, treatment, support services and interventions that address health outcomes associated with sensory conditions.
PCORI is particularly interested in submissions that address the following Special Areas of Emphasis (SAEs). The purpose of identifying these SAEs is to encourage submissions to these areas, rather than limiting submissions to these topics. Applicants addressing one of the below SAEs should identify the area that is best associated with their research approach.
- Increasing screening and early detection for people with sensory health conditions: Screening is challenging across sensory health conditions due to both stigma associated with these conditions as well as the shortfalls of follow-up referrals. Importantly, most screenings occur in specialty clinics, which also exacerbates difficulties experienced by groups already lacking access. PCORI is interested in CER studies that compare the effectiveness of approaches to screening that engage and include communities with historically lower rates of screening by addressing barriers to screening. We are also interested in hybrid effectiveness-implementation trials that facilitate the systematic uptake of recommended sensory health screening and routine screenings/examinations in various sensory health systems. PCORI is also interested in comparisons of strategies for routine screenings of various sensory conditions including sensory processing disorders and smell and taste impairments, all with an emphasis on supporting patients, families and care partners in communities with historically lower screening rates in selecting timely and appropriate screening. All proposed studies of screening and early detection should be appropriately linked to follow-up care and community-based support services for people with sensory health conditions and their care partners.
- Improving treatment and care coordination for people with sensory health conditions: PCORI is interested in CER studies that address the treatment needs of people with sensory health conditions and improve coordination and access to care for individuals in rural areas and other areas lacking access. PCORI is interested in comparisons of interventions that leverage assistive technologies, improve care transitions and evaluate models of care coordination for individuals with sensory health conditions, including those exacerbated by falls, sensory deficits of touch and those at risk for further cognitive impairments. PCORI is also interested in comparisons of care and treatment models that integrate primary care, pediatrics, specialty care and/or community-based services for people living with sensory health conditions and their families and care partners across the lifespan.
- Enhancing support services to improve mental health and address stigma experienced by individuals with sensory health conditions, their families and their care partners: People with sensory conditions such as vision, hearing, smell, touch and taste disorders frequently have associated mental health conditions. Often, individuals with sensory health conditions experience stigmatization from clinicians or family members and through interactions with individuals at work or school. The combination of poorer mental health outcomes such as loneliness, isolation, anxiety or depression, in combination with stigma, often requires a holistic approach to meaningfully improve quality of life for these individuals and their families.PCORI is interested in studies that address mental-health-based interventions that include education and support services for people with sensory health needs, including those with vision, hearing, balance, touch, taste and vestibular regulation or integration challenges. These may include comparisons of different models of support services for sensory health conditions that incorporate patient-, family- and care-partner-centered outcomes; leverage interdisciplinary teams; and focus on a range of populations impacted by sensory health.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to propose individual- or cluster-randomized controlled trials; however, well-specified natural experiments and well-designed observational studies will also be considered. Proposed studies should be powered with an overall sample size adequate for the precise estimation of hypothesized effect sizes and where appropriate, assessing heterogeneity of treatment effect is strongly encouraged. Applicants are encouraged to pay special attention to issues of intervention implementation with the aim of facilitating widespread uptake of findings and sustainability of the interventions after completion of the study by utilizing hybrid effectiveness-implementation approaches. However, strict implementation or dissemination studies will not be considered responsive, nor will studies that focus on the development of research methods. Applicants should propose well-justified and validated outcomes in the target population that are clinically meaningful and considered important by patients, families and care partners, and that can be impacted by the proposed interventions within the study duration.
In PCORI-funded research, patients and other research partners are expected to meaningfully contribute their lived experience or professional expertise to ensure studies are patient-centered, relevant and useful for healthcare decision making. Applicants must address PCORI’s Foundational Expectations for Partnerships in Research — an evidence-based framework supported by tools and resources to guide effective engagement strategies. Details on each of the Foundational Expectations are available on PCORI’s website. Applicants are also strongly encouraged to consider the inclusion of a broad range of patient-centered burdens and economic outcomes.
Budget and Duration
This funding announcement will accept applications with direct costs up to $12 million and up to five years in duration.
Coverage of Patient Care Costs
For this funding announcement, applicants may request coverage of patient care costs (including medical products, procedures, interventionists and care services) for potential funding by PCORI. These costs are included as part of the overall direct cost maximum. For additional information, please see the full announcement upon posting.
PCORI encourages all investigators interested in applying to use this inquiry form to submit questions and request to speak with a PCORI program officer.
Visit funding web page
(https://www.pcori.org/funding-opportunities/announcement/addressing-sensory-health-needs-across-lifespan-pcori-funding-announcement-cycle-2-2026)
