# Improving clinical outcomes after ICU transfer for acute respiratory failure

> **NIH NIH K23** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2021 · $188,244

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Candidate: Dr. Long’s long-term goal is to improve patient- and family-centered outcomes for patients with
acute respiratory failure and their family members. This award will provide Dr. Long with essential research
training to support her goal of becoming an independent investigator in the fields of palliative care and
pulmonary and critical care medicine. Through this proposal Dr. Long will acquire new skills through four
specific learning objectives designed to provide structured training in: 1) the role of mood disorders and the use
of psychological outcomes in critical care research; 2) advanced epidemiologic and biostatistics techniques; 3)
rigorous qualitative methods; and 4) the design and implementation of randomized trials. These objectives will
be achieved through a career development plan that incorporates formal coursework, mentoring by experts in
clinical outcomes research, and protected time to gain research experience in an exceptional learning
environment.
Research: Patients transferred from acute care to the intensive care unit (ICU) for acute respiratory failure
represent a population at high risk for poor clinical outcomes. These patients and their family members are
likely to benefit from high-quality palliative care tailored to their needs. Palliative care is care focused on
patients with serious illness with the goal of improving quality of life for both the patient and family by providing
high-quality communication, symptom control, and emotional and spiritual support. Interventions to improve
palliative care for patients transferred to the ICU for acute respiratory failure will require a substantial
improvement in our understanding of the experiences and needs of patients and their family members. To
date, studies of transfers from acute care to the ICU have focused on predictors of ICU transfer and mortality
after ICU admission. The research proposed in this application is innovative because it represents a
substantive departure from these approaches. The primary objective of this K23 is to develop an
understanding of the transfer process from a patient- and family-centered perspective in order to facilitate
implementation of an intervention to improve palliative care for patients and their family members after patient
transfer from acute care to the ICU for acute respiratory failure. To achieve this objective, Dr. Long will identify
a cohort of patients transferred from acute care to the ICU for acute respiratory failure at two medical centers.
With this cohort of patients and their family members, Dr. Long will: 1) conduct a prospective cohort study to
identify elements of the transfer process associated with family member symptoms of depression, anxiety, and
posttraumatic stress; 2) use qualitative interviews of patients, family members, and clinicians to define the
palliative care needs of patients and family members; and 3) conduct a pilot randomized trial to test the
feasibility and prelimi...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10064002
- **Project number:** 5K23HL128793-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Ann Long Jennerich
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $188,244
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-12-15 → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10064002

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10064002, Improving clinical outcomes after ICU transfer for acute respiratory failure (5K23HL128793-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10064002. Licensed CC0.

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