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Communication in the Hospital: Impact on Patients with Alzheimer's Disease and Other Causes of Cognitive Impairments and their Surrogate Decision Makers

Award Number: K24AG053794
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP

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Communication in the Hospital: Impact on Patients with Alzheimer's Disease and Other Causes of Cognitive Impairments and their Surrogate Decision Makers - ABSTRACT Nearly half of hospitalized older adults are unable to make their own medical decisions and require a family member or other surrogate to make decisions for them. Many surrogates make decisions about life and death issues under conditions of high stress and often with poor support from clinicians. Surrogates rely on various sources of emotional support and sources of value to make medical decisions, including personal, religious and spiritual beliefs. However, both surrogates and clinicians report high levels of distress due to the emotional and communication challenges of making decisions for others. As the population ages and a greater number of older adults are at risk for cognitive impairment, the importance of surrogate decision making will only increase. The COVID-19 pandemic has added greater urgency due to the many cognitively impaired patients separated from their families during life threatening illness and hospitalization. Developing interventions to promote high quality decision making will allow us to best support family members and to provide the best possible care to older adults with Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. Dr. Alexia Torke’s research has focused on the communication, ethical, religious and spiritual aspects of decision making for those patients who are incapacitated and require a family surrogate to make decisions for them. During her current period of funding from her K24 Midcareer Award in Patient Oriented Research, she achieved the research goals proposed in the award, obtained an R01 grant as PI, and mentored several successful junior faculty. This K24 renewal will continue to provide support for Dr. Torke’s program of research and will allow her additional protected time to pursue her passion for mentoring others. The specific aims of this proposal are to develop the national network for a multicenter trial of spiritual care delivered via telephone or video for surrogate decision makers of older adults in the ICU; conduct a pilot study of the effects of scheduled video and audio conferencing facilitated by clinical navigators on the experience of surrogate decision makers for hospitalized older adult patients who are incapacitated due to Alzheimer’s disease and other causes of cognitive impairment; and continue to provide mentorship to junior investigators conducting research on older adults who are vulnerable due to AD and other conditions. Indiana University provides an ideal location for this work. Dr. Torke’s primary appointment is in the IU Center for Aging Research. The Center has provided infrastructure, intramural funding and space for Dr. Torke’s research and for support of her mentees. Additional resources such as the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute and the Clinical Investigation and Translational Education program enrich opportunities for mentees to obtain research training and funding support.


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: 2024 ( Subtotal = $174,844 )
2024	2024	TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY	980 INDIANA AVE RM 2232	INDIANAPOLIS	IN	46202	MARION	USA	Aging Research	000	9	3/14/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$174,844
														Subtotal = $174,844

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $177,600 )
2023	2023	TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY	980 INDIANA AVE RM 2232	INDIANAPOLIS	IN	46202	MARION	USA	Aging Research	000	8	3/22/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$177,600
														Subtotal = $177,600

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $178,572 )
2022	2022	TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY	980 INDIANA AVE RM 2232	INDIANAPOLIS	IN	46202	MARION	USA	Aging Research	000	7	4/8/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$178,572
														Subtotal = $178,572

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $180,976 )
2021	2021	TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY	980 INDIANA AVE RM 2232	INDIANAPOLIS	IN	46202	MARION	USA	Aging Research	000	6	6/14/2021	COMPETING CONTINUATION	$180,976
2021	2021	TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY	980 INDIANA AVE RM 2232	INDIANAPOLIS	IN	46202	MARION	USA	Aging Research	002	6	8/19/2021	COMPETING CONTINUATION	$49,908
2021	2020	TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY	980 INDIANA AVE RM 2232	INDIANAPOLIS	IN	46202	MARION	USA	Aging Research	001	5	8/19/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$49,908
														Subtotal = $180,976

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $166,306 )
2020	2020	TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY	980 INDIANA AVE RM 2232	INDIANAPOLIS	IN	46202	MARION	USA	Aging Research	002	5	7/2/2020	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$166,306
2020	2019	TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY	980 INDIANA AVE RM 2232	INDIANAPOLIS	IN	46202	MARION	USA	Aging Research	001	4	6/11/2020	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$0
2020	2019	TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY	980 INDIANA AVE RM 2232	INDIANAPOLIS	IN	46202	MARION	USA	Aging Research	000	4	6/11/2020	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $166,306

Issue Date FY: 2019 ( Subtotal = $265,918 )
2019	2019	TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY	980 INDIANA AVE RM 2232	INDIANAPOLIS	IN	46202	MARION	USA	Aging Research	001	4	8/29/2019	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$99,545
2019	2019	TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY	980 INDIANA AVE RM 2232	INDIANAPOLIS	IN	46202	MARION	USA	Aging Research	000	4	6/1/2019	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$166,373
														Subtotal = $265,918

Issue Date FY: 2018 ( Subtotal = $166,950 )
2018	2018	TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY	980 INDIANA AVE RM 2232	INDIANAPOLIS	IN	46202	MARION	USA	Aging Research	000	3	6/12/2018	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$166,950
														Subtotal = $166,950

Issue Date FY: 2017 ( Subtotal = $166,950 )
2017	2017	TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY	980 INDIANA AVE RM 2232	INDIANAPOLIS	IN	46202	MARION	USA	Aging Research	000	2	7/5/2017	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$166,950
														Subtotal = $166,950

Issue Date FY: 2016 ( Subtotal = $166,950 )
2016	2016	INDIANA UNIVERSITY, BLOOMINGTON	509 EAST 3RD STREET	BLOOMINGTON	IN	47405	MONROE	USA	Aging Research	000	1	9/5/2016	NEW	$166,950
														Subtotal = $166,950

Grand Total All Awards = $1,645,066

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Communication in the Hospital: Impact on Patients with Alzheimer's Disease and Other Causes of Cognitive Impairments and their Surrogate Decision Makers

Award Number: K24AG053794

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP

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