Leading Gastroenterology Organizations Issue RFP to Improve Vaccine Utilization and Preventive Health Maintenance in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

NEW YORK, NY - The American College of Gastroenterology (ACG), the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), and the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation (Foundation), in partnership with Pfizer, Inc., announce a Request for Proposals (RFP) for interventions that promise to improve vaccine utilization, promote health maintenance, and increase preventive care services in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). 

The RFP seeks evidence-based projects that focus on the development and implementation of educational and/or systems-based interventions to improve vaccination utilization and/or preventive health maintenance among patients with IBD. In addition to ensuring delivery of appropriate vaccines, preventive health maintenance strategies for IBD patients aim to maximize communication between gastroenterology providers and primary care providers and can include interventions such as screening for cervical and skin cancer and osteoporosis; identification of depression and anxiety; and smoking cessation programs.

“While there are an increasing number of effective medical treatment options for patients with IBD, they can lead to immune suppression and may have side effects that impact overall health,” noted Francis A. Farraye, MD, MSc, FACG, AGAF, Director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at Boston Medical Center and Professor of Medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine, who chairs the steering committee for the partnership between ACG, AGA, and the Foundation. “Recent studies also suggest lower rates of preventive services among patients with IBD compared to general medical patients, which means their gastroenterology and primary providers must optimize vaccine use and provide other health maintenance services, while enhancing communication with their patients.”

Funding of $1 Million Available

The total available funding related to this RFP is $1 million through Pfizer Independent Grants for Learning & Change. Individual projects requesting up to $500,000 will be considered. Eligible applicants will have the capacity to reach patients with IBD, including U.S. healthcare institutions, healthcare professional and other organizations with a mission related to healthcare improvement, and government agency partners. 

Submissions are due September 7, 2018 12:00 a.m. ET. Recipients will be notified by email in mid-October. Applications are available at www.pfizer.com/independentgrants. 

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About the American College of Gastroenterology

Founded in 1932, the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) is an organization with an international membership of over 14,000 individuals from 85 countries. The College's vision is to be the pre-eminent professional organization that champions the evolving needs of clinicians in the delivery of high-quality, evidence-based and compassionate health care to gastroenterology patients. The mission of the College is to advance world-class care for patients with gastrointestinal disorders through excellence, innovation and advocacy in the areas of scientific investigation, education, prevention and treatment. www.gi.org

About the American Gastroenterological Association

The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) is the trusted voice of the GI community. Founded in 1897, the AGA has grown to more than 16,000 members from around the globe who are involved in all aspects of the science, practice and advancement of gastroenterology. The AGA Institute administers the practice, research and educational programs of the organization. www.gastro.org. 

About Pfizer Independent Grants for Learning and Change

The mission of Pfizer Independent Grants for Learning & Change (IGLC) is to partner with the global healthcare community to improve patient outcomes in areas of mutual interest through support of measurable learning and change strategies. “Independent” means that the projects funded by Pfizer are the full responsibility of the recipient organization.  Pfizer has no influence over any aspect of the projects and only asks for reports about the results and the impact of the projects to share them publicly.