# Patient-reported health-related quality of life as complex patient outcomes in stroke survivors

> **NIH AHRQ R36** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $41,919

## Abstract

Project Summary
In the U.S., approximately 700,000 Americans experience a stroke each year, resulting in substantial morbidity
and mortality. Stroke affects multiple domains of health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and in an aging U.S.,
we are likely to see an increase in stroke because the risk of stroke increases with age. The standard measure
for patient outcomes after stroke is the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) which heavily focuses on patient mobility
and is less discriminating for other domains of HRQoL (e.g., cognitive function, depression, fatigue, anxiety).
However, patients often have complex patient outcomes with varying degrees of abnormal HRQoL across
multiple domains, and not much is known about how these HRQoL scores cluster together. Reductions in
HRQoL other than mobility remain difficult to predict, limiting patient outcomes assessment and management.
To address this need, we will identify complex patient outcomes that incorporate multiple HRQoL domains and
predict individual complex patient outcomes at 3-month follow-up from variables collected during the index
hospitalization. Identifying complex patient outcomes after stroke may help clinicians and researchers quickly
comprehend the multi-dimensional patterns of outcomes and better inform patients and families. The study's
objectives are to assess differentially identified HRQoL domains as the driver of complex patient outcomes and
to predict complex patient outcomes for stroke survivors. Follow-up care after stroke could be more efficient if it
were possible to anticipate and proactively address the complex needs of stroke patients based on their index
hospital stay. To meet the objectives, Aim 1 will determine the HRQoL domains that are not well described by
the standard mRS for patient outcomes. Aim 2 will identify complex patient outcomes across multiple domains
of HRQoL in patients with the 3 major types of stroke (i.e., AIS, ICH, SAH). Aim 3 will predict complex patient
outcomes at follow-up from patient data accumulated during their index hospitalization. We will use data from 3
sources: 1) the Northwestern University Brain Attack Registry (NUBAR), a prospectively collected registry of
electronic health records with detailed information on patient outcomes after stroke, 2) the Northwestern
Medicine Enterprise Data Warehouse (NMEDW), a robust data infrastructure spanning 11-hospitals that
collects and stores electronic health records for more than 6 million unique patients, and 3) the
Antihypertensive Treatment of Acute Cerebral Hemorrhage-II (ATACH-II), a clinical trial dataset of 1,000
patients with ICH. Findings from this study will: 1) identify the HRQoL domains obscured by current global
outcome measures, 2) contribute information for defining complex patient outcomes after stroke that account
for multiple HRQoL domains, and 3) suggest whether individual complex patient outcomes at 3-month follow-
up can be predicted during a patient's initial hospitalization. The ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10559994
- **Project number:** 1R36HS028941-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Julianne Xinting Murphy
- **Activity code:** R36 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** AHRQ
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $41,919
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-30 → 2023-09-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10559994

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10559994, Patient-reported health-related quality of life as complex patient outcomes in stroke survivors (1R36HS028941-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10559994. Licensed CC0.

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