R01NR019058

Evaluating the Implementation and Impact of Navigator-Delivered ePRO Home Symptom Monitoring and Management - Project Summary

Randomized controlled trials by Basch (collaborator) and colleagues demonstrated that weekly electronic home-based PRO symptom monitoring with automated alerts to clinicians (home ePRO) in cancer patients was associated with reduced healthcare utilization, improved quality of life, and increased overall survival. However, these trials were administered using infrastructure supported by research funding. A knowledge gap remains about optimal implementation strategies for and effectiveness of home ePROs in real-world settings.

To address this gap, investigators from two institutions will conduct a large-scale, population-based implementation of an evidence-based home ePRO intervention for all adult cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, including vulnerable populations such as African Americans, rural residents, and socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals. This implementation will leverage infrastructure from Medicare's payment reform projects (Oncology Care Model, Oncology Care First Model), which require and financially support patient navigators, a natural workforce for home ePRO implementation.

Our hypothesis is that the deployed implementation strategies will result in successful navigator-delivered home ePRO, which will improve both patient and health system outcomes. Using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), this hypothesis will be tested using a hybrid type 2 design with three specific aims:

1) Evaluate implementation of navigator-delivered home ePRO for all cancer patients across multiple practice sites.
2) Examine the barriers, facilitators, and implementation strategies used in implementing navigator-delivered home ePRO.
3) Assess the impact of home ePRO on clinical and utilization outcomes.

In Aim 1, home ePRO will be evaluated using implementation outcomes (service penetrance, provider adoption/penetration, intervention fidelity). In Aim 2, we will gauge patient and healthcare team perceptions of barriers and facilitators of navigator-led home ePRO, implementation strategies used to address these barriers, implementation strategy fidelity, and perception of implementation strategy ability to address barriers using an iterative qualitative analysis. In Aim 3, patient-level outcomes (functional status, distress, depression, healthcare utilization, cost, survival) will be evaluated using real-world data sources.

The project is innovative because it will be the first study to evaluate real-world implementation of navigator-led home ePRO for all cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, an approach that is both immediately scalable and sustainable within value-based payment models. The proposed research is significant because it is expected to demonstrate successful implementation of navigator-delivered home ePRO and effectiveness of the ePRO intervention on diverse patient populations. Furthermore, the project will generate an implementation blueprint of successful implementation strategies that can be easily applied to other patient-reported outcomes, with the potential to positively impact patient care as healthcare transitions to a value-based system.

University Of Alabama At Birmingham

NURSES UNDERSTAND THAT IMPROVING HEALTH AND WELL-BEING MEANS ADDRESSING PEOPLE'S NEEDS IN MULTIPLE SETTINGS, CONTEXTS, AND OVER THE WHOLE LIFE COURSE. SCIENCE SUPPORTED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NURSING RESEARCH (NINR) USES THIS HOLISTIC PERSPECTIVE TO IMPROVE INDIVIDUAL AND POPULATION HEALTH AND ADVANCE HEALTH EQUITY. NINR-SUPPORTED RESEARCH PROMOTES HEALTH AND WELL-BEING BY ADDRESSING NEEDS AT MULTIPLE LEVELS INDIVIDUAL, FAMILY, COMMUNITY, AND SOCIETAL LEVELS AND DEVELOPING TREATMENT AND PREVENTION STRATEGIES THAT ARE RESPONSIVE TO THE REALITY OF PEOPLE'S LIVES. NURSES KNOW PEOPLE, AND PEOPLE TRUST NURSES. PATIENT AND FAMILIES INTERACT WITH NURSES MORE THAN ANY OTHER CLINICIANS. NURSING SCIENCE USES THIS SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP TO BETTER UNDERSTAND PATIENTS, FAMILIES, AND COMMUNITIES AND THE MANY FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THEIR HEALTH. NURSING SCIENCE SUPPORTED BY NINR USES THIS KNOWLEDGE TO DEVELOP STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING HEALTH AND WELLNESS ACROSS POPULATIONS, HEALTH CARE SETTINGS, AND THE LIFESPAN, WITH AN EMPHASIS ON ACHIEVING HEALTH EQUITY. NINR-SUPPORTED SCIENTISTS HAVE DEVELOPED INTERVENTIONS FOR: SUPPORTING PARENTS OF PREMATURE INFANTS, PROMOTING HIV PREVENTION IN UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS, IMPROVING TRANSITIONAL CARE LEADING TO BETTER OUTCOMES AND COST-SAVINGS, AND HELPING INNER-CITY CHILDREN MANAGE ASTHMA. NURSING SCIENCE TRANSCENDS THE BOUNDARIES OF DISEASE AND RESEARCH DISCIPLINES TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE EXPERIENCES OF INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES LIVING WITH ILLNESS AND TO DEVELOP PERSONALIZED APPROACHES THAT MAXIMIZE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING FOR INDIVIDUALS AT ALL STAGES OF LIFE, ACROSS DIVERSE POPULATIONS AND SETTINGS. NINR-SUPPORTED SCIENCE USES NURSING SCIENCE'S UNIQUE, PATIENT AND COMMUNITY-FOCUSED PERSPECTIVE AND WIDE REACH ACROSS CLINICAL AND COMMUNITY SETTINGS TO ADVANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH: THOSE FACTORS THAT ARE AT THE ROOT OF THE INEQUITIES THAT WE SEE, SUCH AS FOOD INSECURITY AND ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE. NINR RESEARCH EFFORTS IN WELLNESS INVESTIGATE THE KEY BIOLOGICAL, BEHAVIORAL, AND SOCIAL FACTORS THAT PROMOTE LONG-TERM HEALTH AND HEALTHY BEHAVIORS AND PREVENT THE DEVELOPMENT OF ILLNESS ACROSS HEALTH CONDITIONS, SETTINGS, AND THE LIFESPAN. RESEARCH IN WELLNESS IS ALSO FOCUSED ON DEVELOPING AND TESTING CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE INTERVENTIONS TO PROMOTE HEALTH AND PREVENT ILLNESS IN MINORITY AND UNDERSERVED GROUPS. NINR ALSO SUPPORTS SCIENCE TO ASSIST INDIVIDUALS, FAMILIES, AND HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS IN MANAGING ADVANCED, SERIOUS ILLNESS, AND PLANNING FOR END-OF-LIFE DECISIONS. IN ADDITION, NINR PROMOTES TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS THAT ADDRESS A RANGE OF HEALTH CARE CHALLENGES AND FACILITATE THE DELIVERY OF REAL-TIME PERSONALIZED INFORMATION TO INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES, HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, AND COMMUNITIES. FINALLY, NINR HAS A LONGSTANDING AND CONTINUING COMMITMENT TO DEVELOPING THE NEXT GENERATION OF NURSE SCIENTISTS: THOSE INDIVIDUALS AND TEAM MEMBERS WHO WILL CARRY THE FIELD OF NURSING SCIENCE INTO THE FUTURE. IN ORDER TO PREPARE AN INNOVATIVE, DIVERSE, AND TALENTED NEXT GENERATION OF NURSE SCIENTISTS, NINR SUPPORTS A VARIETY OF TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FOR SCIENTISTS AND TRAINEES AT ALL CAREER LEVELS, PARTICULARLY THOSE AT AN EARLY CAREER STAGE WHO ARE SO CRITICAL TO SUSTAINING THE FUTURE OF INNOVATIVE RESEARCH AND HIGH QUALITY HEALTH CARE.

93.361 - Nursing Research

National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) [HHS - NIH]

Birmingham, Alabama 35294 United States

Single Zip Code

Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) (PAR-19-274)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 381% from $647,154 to $3,113,004.