Clinician Communication - Active Studies

Supplement: Randomized Trial of Specialty Palliative Care Integrated with Critical Care for Clinically Ill Older Adults at High Risk of Death or Severe Disability (PROPACC)

PI: Douglas White
Funding source: NIH/NCI - 5R01AG068567-05  
Dates: 2024-2026
Description: It is a national priority to develop training programs to help clinicians acquire communication skills needed for effective goals-of-care discussions with patients with moderate-severe Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias (ADRD) who develop acute illness requiring hospital admission. In this administrative supplement to Dr. Douglas White and Dr. Yael Schenker's PROPACC study, the team will engage a diverse group of stakeholders and use evidence-based methods to develop a scalable, technology-enhanced training program for hospital-based clinicians who treat patients with ADRD who are hospitalized with acute illness. A pilot trial of the scalable program to assess its usability, acceptability, feasibility, and efficacy will be conducted.
Related Studies: Randomized Trial of Specialty Palliative Care Integrated with Critical Care for Critically Ill Older Adults at High Risk of Death or Severe Disability (PROPACC)

 

Clinician-Parent Communication - Prenatal Diagnosis of Complex Congenital Heart Disease

PI: Kelly Harris
Funding source: NIH/NIAMS - Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH)
Dates: 2025-2027
Description: During prior work conducted with National Palliative Care Research Center funding, Dr. Harris gathered parent perspectives via concept mapping and fetal cardiologist perspectives via interviews about optimal communication about uncertainties. She is in the process of gathering data from both parents and fetal cardiologists their communication priorities. She will next use all of that data to develop and test an intervention to improve clinician-parent communication at the time of prenatal CHD diagnosis.
Related Studies: Investigating Clinician-Parent Communication at the Time of Prenatal Diagnosis of Complex Congenital Heart Disease

Post-ICU Communication

PI: Jennifer Seaman
Funding source: University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing - Lucie Young Kelly Faculty Leadership Award
Dates: 2025-2026
Description: Using qualitative interviews, this study aims to interview healthcare workers about communication practices with families and caregivers when patients move from ICU to acute care. 
Related Studies: N/A