Robert Molokie

December 13, 2021: BeatPain Utah and GRACE Begin Enrollment in Studies of Nonpharmacologic Pain Management

Posted on by Damon Seils
Headshot of Dr. Julie Fritz
Dr. Julie Fritz, BeatPain Utah

The BeatPain Utah study and the GRACE trial have begun enrollment of study participants. Both projects were awarded continuation into the UH3 implementation phase in the summer. The studies make up the second cohort of NIH Collaboratory Trials to be supported through the NIH HEAL Initiative’s PRISM program.

Congratulations to both study teams for reaching this important project milestone!

BeatPain Utah is studying real-world implementation of a telehealth physical therapy strategy for patients with chronic back pain in primary care clinics of federally qualified health centers. Learn more about BeatPain Utah in this interview with principal investigator Dr. Julie Fritz. BeatPain Utah is supported by the NIH through the NIH Heal Initiative under an award from the National Institute of Nursing Research.

The GRACE trial is studying real-world implementation of acupuncture and guided relaxation for patients with pain associated with sickle cell disease. Learn more about GRACE in this interview with co–principal investigator Dr. Robert Molokie. GRACE is supported by the NIH through the NIH HEAL Initiative under an award from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.

Combined headshots of Drs. Ardith Doorenbos, Judith Schlaeger, Robert Molokie, Miriam Ezenwa, and Nirmish Shah
GRACE co–principal investigators Drs. Ardith Doorenbos, Judith Schlaeger, Robert Molokie, Miriam Ezenwa, and Nirmish Shah

The PRISM projects—Pragmatic and Implementation Studies for the Management of Pain to Reduce Opioid Prescribing—are studying the real-world effectiveness of nonpharmacologic interventions for pain and assessing the implementation of these interventions to improve pain management and reduce reliance on opioids. The NIH Collaboratory Coordinating Center serves as the PRISM Resource Coordinating Center.

August 5, 2021: GRACE Trial Seeks More Options for Sickle Cell Pain

Posted on by Damon Seils

The GRACE trial, an NIH Collaboratory Trial, is studying real-world implementation of nonpharmacologic pain management strategies for patients with sickle cell disease. Dr. Robert Molokie, a GRACE co–principal investigator, discussed the study in a Zoom-based interview after the NIH Collaboratory’s annual steering committee meeting.

One innovation the GRACE trial is bringing to the NIH Collaboratory’s portfolio of pragmatic trials is its use of a sequential, multiple-assignment, randomized trial (SMART) design. In this adaptive approach, patients are randomly assigned to treatment groups, and those who do not respond to the treatment undergo a secondary randomization to either continue with the initial intervention or switch to the other group.

The GRACE trial is studying acupuncture and guided relaxation with the goals of reducing pain and reducing patients’ reliance on opioid medication.

Using a pragmatic, adaptive design, Molokie said, “I think we will get the most realistic findings of how these therapeutic interventions work, whereas in more classic trials they’re going to end up with such a group of selected patients that it may not be as generalizable as a pragmatic clinical trial.” Molokie is a clinical associate professor of medicine at the University of Illinois Chicago.

GRACE is supported by the NIH through the NIH HEAL Initiative under a grant from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health and receives logistical and technical support from the PRISM Resource Coordinating Center.

 

Screen shot of interview with Dr. Robert Molokie
Dr. Robert Molokie