CAPriCORN-Affiliated Healthcare Workers Called to Join National PCORnet® Study to Fight COVID-19 Together

HeroesResearch.org clinical research registry launches to answer crucial questions about the impact of novel coronavirus on healthcare workers’ lives.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (APRIL 13, 2020) – The Healthcare Worker Exposure Response & Outcomes (HERO) Registry launched today, inviting U.S. healthcare workers to share clinical and life experiences in order to understand the perspectives and problems faced by those on the COVID-19 pandemic front lines.

The registry will unite America’s healthcare workers into a community to facilitate rapid-cycle research, including an upcoming large study of hydroxychloroquine’s effectiveness in preventing coronavirus infections in healthcare workers. The HERO research program leverages PCORnet®, the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network, and is funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).

The HERO Registry is asking hundreds of thousands of healthcare professionals to participate, including nurses, therapists, physicians, emergency responders, food service workers, environmental services workers, interpreters, and transporters – anyone who works in a setting where people receive health care.

CAPriCORN is calling on our network healthcare workers to share their perspectives, so that we can understand and provide answers to the problems they face in real time – and over time.

The goals of the registry are to engage healthcare workers in a research community, understand their experiences and interests through ongoing surveys, and track critical health outcomes associated with caring for patients with COVID-19, such as stress and burnout. The HERO Registry will help speed clinical studies that address unmet needs for healthcare workers, such as an upcoming study of hydroxychloroquine. HERO-HCQ is a randomized clinical trial of approximately 15,000 HERO Registry participants that will evaluate whether hydroxychloroquine (brand name Plaquenil®) is better than placebo in preventing COVID-19 infection. It will be conducted through clinical research sites in PCORnet, including CAPriCORN.

CAPriCORN has worked with PCORnet to answer big healthcare questions since its founding. We are ready to contribute to PCORnet’s efforts to face the challenges of COVID-19.

There is no cost to enroll in the HERO Registry and registration takes only a few minutes. Healthcare workers can participate as much or as little as they like in surveys and other opportunities. The registry will follow a protocol developed by the DCRI and data guidelines to keep healthcare worker information secure.

“It is hard to think that by doing my daily job, not only can I get sick, but I can infect those that I love the most,” said Jorge Lascano, associate professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care, University of Florida, part of the OneFlorida network, in a video message. “This is the time to be proactive, to develop ways to stay safe on the front lines. I encourage everyone to be a part of HERO—and part of the solution.”

To learn more about the HERO Registry, visit https://heroesresearch.org.