The Virtual BETTER Study
Delivery Modality of BETTER InterventionThe focus of this project is to examine how delivering virtual care impacts health behaviour change for patients with chronic illnesses compared to in-person visits using a chronic disease prevention and screening (CDPS) program called BETTER (Building on Existing Tools To ImprovE Chronic Disease PRevention and Screening in Primary Care).
Shared Decision Making About Medication Use for People With Multiple Health Problems
PolypharmacyDementia3 moreThe Shared Decision Making about Medication Use for People with Multiple Health Problems study will assess the feasibility and acceptability of a deprescribing educational intervention in primary care for patients with mild cognitive impairment or dementia and/or multiple chronic conditions (MCC), the patients' care partners, clinicians, and medical assistants. The intervention consists of the following strategies: 1) a patient/caregiver component focused on education and activation about deprescribing, and 2) a clinician component focused on increasing clinician awareness about options and processes for deprescribing in the MCI/dementia and/or MCC population. Clinicians will each be asked to participate in a single, 15-minute educational session on deprescribing, and medical residents will receive a 45-minute lecture. Patients, caregivers, clinicians, and medical assistants will participate in a single one-on-one debriefing interview.
PRISM Race and Communication Pilot RCT
DiscriminationRacial4 moreThis is a pilot randomized trial of 60 patients to test feasibility, acceptability and efficacy of PRISM to improve resilience and facilitate improved patient-clinician communication in racially minorities patients with serious illness.
Effect of Patient Priorities Care Implementation in Older Veterans With Multiple Chronic Conditions...
Multiple Chronic ConditionsDecision Making1 moreThe investigators will conduct a randomized control trial enrolling 366 older Veterans with multiple chronic conditions receiving primary care at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center and VA Connecticut Medical Center to determine if Patient Priorities Care reduces treatment burden, increases priorities-aligned home and community services, and sets shared health outcome goals compared with usual care. The investigators will randomize at the patient level rather than clinic or clinician level to evaluate the effect of identifying patient priorities on clinician decision making and alignment of care with identified priorities.
Controlling Hypertension Through Education and Coaching in Kidney Disease
Chronic Kidney DiseasesChronic Disease5 moreChronic kidney disease (CKD) is a serious and growing public health problem. The purpose of this study is to find out if an educational worksheet, called the Encounter Decision Intervention (EDI), combined with health coaching helps CKD patients improve their blood pressure and other health outcomes. The research team hypothesizes that the intervention group will have greater improvement in CKD outcomes than the control group.
Community-based E-Health Program for Older Adults Living With Chronic Diseases
Diabetes MellitusHypertension1 moreWith increased aging population, there is a higher rate of having chronic diseases and cognitive impairment. In order to achieve successful aging, it is important for community-dwelling older adults to perform better self-management with improved health literacy and various kinds of support. The study aims to develop a Community-based E-Health Program (CeHP) for Older Adults Living with Chronic Diseases , evaluate the effectiveness of CeHP, and refine the program based on the outcome measurement. A cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) will be adopted. A follow-up process evaluation will be conducted to assess the acceptability, strengths and limitations of CeHP based on the participants' perspectives. The research contributes to engage and empower older adults living in the community to manage their chronic condition, and foster collaboration with the goal of translating evidence into action.
Project to Improve Communication About Serious Illness--Hospital Study: Comparative Effectiveness...
DementiaChronic Disease22 moreThe objective of this protocol is to test the effectiveness of a Jumpstart intervention on patient-centered outcomes for patients with chronic illness by ensuring that they receive care that is concordant with their goals over time, and across settings and providers. This study is particularly interested in understanding the effect of the intervention to improve quality of palliative care for patients with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) but will also include other common chronic, life-limiting illnesses. The specific aims are: To evaluate the efficacy of the Survey-based Patient/Clinician Jumpstart compared to the EHR based clinician Jumpstart and usual care for improving quality of care; the primary outcome is EHR documentation of a goals-of-care discussion from randomization through hospitalization or 30 days. Secondary outcomes include: a) intensity of care outcomes (e.g., ICU use, ICU and hospital length of stay, costs of care during the hospitalization, 7 and 30 day readmission); and b) patient- and family-reported outcomes assessed by surveys at 3 days and 4 weeks after randomization, including occurrence and quality of goals-of-care discussions in the hospital, goal-concordant care, psychological symptoms, and quality of life. To conduct a mixed-methods evaluation of the implementation of the intervention, guided by the RE-AIM framework for implementation science, incorporating quantitative evaluation of the intervention's reach and adoption, as well as qualitative analyses of interviews with participants, to explore barriers and facilitators to future implementation and dissemination.
Improving the Collaborative Health of Minority COVID-19 Survivor and Carepartner Dyads
SARS- CoV-2Cardiovascular Diseases5 moreThis study tests the efficacy of a dyadic intervention to mitigate the adverse health consequences of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS- CoV-2 )(COVID-19) in African American (AA) adults with pre-existing chronic health conditions and their informal carepartners (IC). Socioeconomically disadvantaged, older, and Black/African American from rural regions are burdened with greater rates of chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, and stroke.
A Trial Comparing the Effectiveness and Tolerability of Medications in Older Adults With Stable...
AnginaStable Ischemic Heart DiseaseTo establish the effectiveness and tolerability of standard of care anti-anginal treatment (beta-blocker and calcium channel blocker medications) in older adults with symptomatic Stable Ischemic Heart Disease (SIHD) and multiple chronic conditions (MCC).
Black Health Identification Program (B-HIP)
Multiple Chronic ConditionsFamily MembersNearly 69% of African American (AA) Medicare beneficiaries have multiple chronic conditions (MCCs) such as cancer and cardiopulmonary diseases. Older age and MCCs are guideline-recommended indications for referral to early palliative care to assist with effective communication and value-solicitation surrounding treatment decision-making. Studies have shown that early palliative care participation achieves beneficial goals of care communication, quality of life (QOL), symptom burden, and mood in older adults with cancer and heart failure as well as among their family caregivers. However, older AAs with MCCs, especially those living in the Deep South, are less likely to have access to early palliative care, even though they generally experience higher symptom burden, healthcare use, and poorer communication around goals of care. This disparity in palliative care use may be, in part, to a lack of culturally-responsive care practices that effectively activate AAs with MCCs to identify their own values and priorities for end-of-life care. While efficacious communication models exist, few have been tested in culturally-diverse samples. Guided by the theory of Social Cognitive Theory and Health Behavior Model, this study's purpose is to conduct a formative evaluation of a Self-directed "My Health Priorities" Identification Program to determine cultural acceptability and feasibility of use in among AAs with MCCs in a primary care setting. The 2-phase study specific aims are to: Aim 1. (Phase 1) Conduct a single-arm formative evaluation trial of Self-directed "My Health Priorities" Identification Program to determine acceptability and feasibility with a sample of 20 AA patients with MCCs and FCGs and adapt for future efficacy testing. Aim 2. (Phase 2) To examine the ability of the dyads to complete pre- and post-test measures of perception of care, treatment burden, shared decision-making, and communication exchange. The findings from the research will directly inform a small-scale pilot grant that will assess acceptability, feasibility, and potential efficacy of a values solicitation and operationalization intervention for AAs with MCCs and caregivers.