Silvestre Jason, Ruan Qing Z, Chang Benjamin
1 Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA.
2 Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
Hand (N Y). 2019 Jul;14(4):560-564. doi: 10.1177/1558944717751719. Epub 2018 Jan 24.
Federal research dollars help investigators develop biomedical therapies for human diseases. Currently, the state of funding in hand surgery is poorly understood. This study defines the portfolio of National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants awarded in hand surgery. This was a cross-sectional study of hand surgeons in the US. Faculty members of accredited hand surgery fellowships and/or members of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand were queried in the NIH RePORT database for awards obtained during 2005-2015. Of 2317 hand surgeons queried, only 18 obtained an NIH grant (0.8%). Thirty-eight unique grants were identified totaling $42 197 375. R01 awards comprised the majority of funding (78.0%) while K08 awards accounted for 1.1%. The K-to-R transition rate was zero. The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Disease supported the most funding (65.2%), followed by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (30.8%). There was no statistically significant difference in NIH funding totals with hand surgeon characteristics. Funding supported translational (46.0%), basic science (29.6%), clinical (21.0%), and education-based (3.4%) research. Peripheral nerve (33.3%) and bone and joint disease (30.1%) received the most research funding. Less than 1% of hand surgeons obtain NIH research grants. Of the 2 identified K08 awards, none led to a subsequent R award. Future research should identify barriers to grant procurement to design effective policies to increase NIH funding in hand surgery.
联邦研究资金助力研究人员开发针对人类疾病的生物医学疗法。目前，手部外科领域的资金状况尚不清楚。本研究界定了美国国立卫生研究院（NIH）授予的手部外科研究基金组合。这是一项针对美国手部外科医生的横断面研究。通过NIH RePORT数据库查询了2005年至2015年期间获得认可的手部外科 fellowship项目的教员和/或美国手外科协会成员。在被查询的2317名手部外科医生中，只有18人获得了NIH资助（0.8%）。共识别出38项独特的资助，总计42197375美元。R01资助占大部分资金（78.0%），而K08资助占1.1%。从K类资助向R类资助的转化率为零。国立关节炎、肌肉骨骼和皮肤病研究所提供的资金最多（65.2%），其次是国立神经疾病和中风研究所（30.8%）。NIH的资金总额与手部外科医生的特征之间没有统计学上的显著差异。资金支持转化研究（46.0%）、基础科学研究（29.6%）、临床研究（21.0%）和基于教育的研究（3.4%）。周围神经研究（33.3%）和骨与关节疾病研究（30.1%）获得的研究资金最多。不到1%的手部外科医生获得NIH研究资助。在已识别的2项K08资助中，没有一项后续能获得R类资助。未来的研究应确定获取资助的障碍，以制定有效的政策来增加NIH对手部外科的资金投入。
