Following inception in 2005 as a multiregional practice-based research network (PBRN), the “National Dental PBRN” expanded nationwide in 2012, and in 2019 implemented additional organizational changes. The objectives are to: (1) describe the new structure and function of the network; and (2) quantify its scientific productivity since 2005.

A national Administrative and Resource Center is based in Alabama; regional and specialty nodes are based in Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, Oregon, New York, and Texas. A Network Coordinating Center is based in Oregon. Studies are funded via investigator-initiated grants. Scientific productivity is assessed using specific metrics, including the Relative Citation Ratio.

To date, 58 studies have been completed or are in data collection or development. These studies have investigated a broad range of topics using a wide variety of study designs. Of the studies that have completed enrollment, 70,665 patients were enrolled, as were 19,827 practitioners (some participated in multiple studies), plus electronic records for 790,493 patients in two data-only studies. To date, these studies have led to 193 peer-reviewed scientific publications in 62 different journals. The mean (1.40) Relative Citation Ratio of Network publications connotes a greater-than-average influence in their fields.

These metrics demonstrate that the PBRN research context can successfully engage practitioners and patients from diverse settings nationally with a high and sustained level of scientific productivity. This infrastructure has enabled clinical scientists in oral health and nonoral health topics and provided additional recruitment venues outside of the typical academic health center research context.

The process of identifying and connecting with clinical trial study teams can be challenging and difficult for members of the public. The national volunteer community registry, ResearchMatch, and the public clinical trials search tool, Trials Today, work in tandem to bridge this connection by providing a streamlined process for potential participants to identify clinical trials which may be of interest.

Building on the existing infrastructure of ResearchMatch and Trials Today, we created a mechanism by which the public can request that their basic contact information (e.g., email/phone) be securely shared with any actively recruiting clinical trial, including trials with no existing relationship with ResearchMatch.

Within the first 2 years of use (July 2019–July 2021), ResearchMatch Volunteers sent 12,251 requests to study teams. On average, 20% of these requests were accepted by the study teams.

The utilization of this tool indicates that there is active interest among members of the public to independently contact study teams about trials of interest. Additionally, research teams unaffiliated with ResearchMatch are willing to at minimum accept contact information. This allows ResearchMatch to successfully serve as a medium, connecting members of the public with actively recruiting trials.

Clinical Research Coordinators (CRCs) are key members of research teams who ensure rigorous conduction of clinical studies and quality standard compliance. Yet, their roles and responsibilities are still not well defined, and formal recognition of their professional profile is lacking in Italy. This survey of Italian healthcare institutions collected data on centers’ research activities number of CRCs and tasks they performed and explored factors associated with CRC employment.

Cross-sectional study using a brief questionnaire. Data were analyzed by means of graphical representations, histogram, scatter, and polar plots. Multivariable linear regression was specified to test the association between the number of CRCs and a subset of factors.

Data collection took place from February to December 2020. 62/143 institutions (43.4%) responded. Median number of ongoing studies reported by centers was 65 (IQR 29–205); of these, median of sponsored and interventional studies was 32 and 35, respectively. Median number of CRCs employed at each center was 6 (IQR 2–9). The frequency with which activities were reported to be performed by CRCs overlapped with those of Data Managers. Linear multivariable regression analysis revealed a statistically significant association between the number of employed CRCs and the number of sponsored studies (P = 0.01), but not with the total number of studies, geographical location, or institution type.

The association between industry funding and the number of CRCs observed in this study should be further explored to understand the direction of this relationship and to verify whether this may influence compliance with quality standards.

Effective patient engagement is central to patient-centered outcomes research. A well-designed infrastructure supports and facilitates patient engagement, enabling study development and implementation. We sought to understand infrastructure needs from recipients of Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) pilot grant awards.

We surveyed recipients of PCORI pilot project awards on self-perceived strengths in engagement infrastructure through PCORI’s Ways of Engaging-Engagement Activity Tool survey, and interviewed leaders of 8 projects who volunteered as exemplars. Descriptive statistics summarized the survey findings. We conducted a thematic analysis of the interview transcripts.

Of the 50 surveyed pilots, 22 answered the engagement infrastructure questions (44% response rate). Survey and interview findings emphasized the importance of committed institutional leadership, ongoing relationships with stakeholder organizations, and infrastructure funding through Clinical and Translational Science Awards, PCORI, and institutional discretionary funds.

These findings highlight the importance of and how to improve upon existing institutional infrastructure.