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Understanding and Improving VOC Pain Management for Sickle Cell Disease in Emergency Departments

Award Number: K01HL188572
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL HEART, LUNG, & BLOOD INSTITUTE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/15/2026
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2031

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Understanding and Improving VOC Pain Management for Sickle Cell Disease in Emergency Departments - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The overall goal of this career development award is to enable Dr. Melinda Rushing to become an independent investigator focused on implementing interventions to improve SCD management in the clinical setting. SCD is a genetic blood disorder associated with high emergency department (ED) visit and revisit rates, primarily due to severe pain episodes known as vaso-occlusive crises (VOC). The 2014 National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) guidelines recommend prompt ED pain treatment as the gold standard for VOC care to support faster recovery and reduce patient suffering. However, these guidelines are inconsistently followed due to a range of operational and systematic challenges. While clinical decision support tools have shown promise in improving guideline adherence, their effectiveness has largely been limited to single-site interventions, with system-level implementation efforts proving less successful. This Career Development Award will provide training and research skills in implementation science, qualitative methods, advanced quantitative analysis of complex data, and clinical decision support for Dr. Rushing. She will be supported by a mentoring and advising team led by Drs. Shawna Hudson, Joel Cantor, and Ethan Halm, nationally recognized experts in implementation science, health services research, and EHR-based interventions. Using an Implementation Mapping approach—which is a process model that guides the adoption, implementation, and sustainability of evidence-based interventions—this project proposes a system-level investigation and assessment of the implementation of evidence-based clinical decision support tools (i.e., order sets, automated alerts, and pain plans). It will assess facilitators and challenges to implementation of these tools with a focus on exploring the impact of bundling strategies within EDs affiliated with the RWJ Barnabas Health system to address system- level adherence to the NHLBI guidelines. In Aim 1, we will identify patient and ED operational characteristics that predict VOC care that is concordant with NHLBI guideline adherence among individuals with SCD. In Aim 2, we will investigate the operational facilitators and challenges to NHLBI guideline adherence within the ED. In Aim 3, we will evaluate prior implementation of clinical decision support tools to strengthen NHLBI guideline adherence in the RWJ ED system and develop a plan to enhance their continued rollout. The knowledge and experiences gained from the career development activities and research studies will provide skills and support data for future R01 pragmatic trials to improve NHLBI guideline adherence at the system level.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $165,613 )
2026	2026	RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY	3 RUTGERS PLZ	NEW BRUNSWICK	NJ	08901	MIDDLESEX	USA	Blood Diseases and Resources Research	000	1	8/13/2026	NEW	$165,613
														Subtotal = $165,613

Grand Total All Awards = $165,613

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Understanding and Improving VOC Pain Management for Sickle Cell Disease in Emergency Departments

Award Number: K01HL188572

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL HEART, LUNG, & BLOOD INSTITUTE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/15/2026

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2031

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