# Contextual Predictors of Hospitalization and Quality of Life among Patients on Hemodialysis

> **NIH NIH F31** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $44,921

## Abstract

Project Summary
Over 700,000 people in the United States have end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). This number has increased
by approximately 20,000 each year for over 2 decades. Some subgroups are more likely than others to progress
from chronic kidney disease to ESKD. In addition to established racial and income disparities in chronic kidney
disease progression, people engaging in high-risk substance use (i.e. with a high likelihood of health, legal,
social, or financial consequences) or experiencing food insecurity or housing instability are also at increased
risk. Despite their relevance in chronic kidney disease progression, we do not know the extent to which these
risk factors affect patient outcomes after initiation of hemodialysis or which subgroups among patients on
hemodialysis are affected by them. This is significant because patients on hemodialysis exposed to these
modifiable risk factors may be particularly vulnerable to poor outcomes and high-cost healthcare utilization. The
proposed study leverages the World Health Organization’s Commission on the Social Determinants of Health
framework to generate two testable hypotheses: (1) High-risk substance use, food insecurity and housing
instability will cluster within patient subgroups stratified by indicators of socioeconomic position; (2) this “risk
factor clustering” will increase risk of hospitalization and decrease quality of life among patients on hemodialysis.
Accordingly, the two specific aims of the study are to determine associations between indicators of
socioeconomic position and high-risk substance use, food insecurity, and housing instability among patients on
hemodialysis; and to examine the independent associations of substance use, food insecurity and housing
instability with hospitalization and quality of life. The research team will enroll a convenience sample of 330
participants from the same large dialysis organization. For Aim 1, participants will complete measures of
independent (age, gender, race, ethnicity, education, income and financial strain, occupation and community
poverty) and dependent variables (substance use, food insecurity and housing instability), enabling cross-
sectional analyses. For Aim 2, the study team will leverage a prospective cohort design to quantify associations
between substance use, food insecurity, housing instability and hospitalization rate. We will follow participants
for 6 months and extract hospitalization counts from dialysis facility medical records. Participants will also
complete a measure of quality of life at enrollment. We will examine cross-sectional associations between
substance use, food insecurity, housing instability and quality of life. The proposed study advances the National
Institute of Nursing Research’s strategic goal to support self-management and improve quality of life for patients
with multiple chronic conditions. Patients with ESKD self-manage highly complex treatment regimens and have
multiple comorbidities. Th...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10293571
- **Project number:** 5F31NR019461-02
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Kathryn Taylor
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $44,921
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-01-21 → 2022-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10293571

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10293571, Contextual Predictors of Hospitalization and Quality of Life among Patients on Hemodialysis (5F31NR019461-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10293571. Licensed CC0.

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