# Development of an intervention to ensure the goals of surgical treatment are valuable to older adults

> **NIH NIH K23** · UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH · 2024 · $192,061

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
This is a 5-year K23 career development award for Dr. Jessica Cohan, a board-certified general and colorectal
surgeon and early career investigator whose research focus is optimizing person-centered surgical care for
older adults. As the population ages, an increasing number of older adults will face major, non-urgent surgery,
associated with significant risk of cognitive, functional, and physical decline. Traditional surgical consultations
do not include a discussion of the goals for surgery, i.e., what surgery can and cannot accomplish for the
patient. Only by identifying clear, realistic goals for surgery can patients and families meaningfully deliberate
about whether surgery is worth its burdens and risks. This proposal addresses a critical need to support older
adults, families, and surgeons in discussing the goals for surgery during outpatient consultations. Dr. Cohan
has developed a prototype intervention that consists of question prompts used by older adults, families, and
surgeons to identify clear, realistic goals for surgery during consultations. In this proposal, Dr. Cohan will use
the NIH Stage Model to 1) refine the intervention with input from key stakeholders, 2) adapt the intervention to
the clinical context through field testing, and 3) measure the efficacy of the intervention on treatment goal
documentation during surgical consultations. This work aligns with Dr. Cohan’s career development plan,
which provides a clear path to independence by providing the means to develop expertise in 1) stakeholder
engagement, 2) clinical intervention design, 3) intervention testing for aging populations using the NIH Stage
Model, and 4) leadership in aging research. The proposed research will provide novel insights into how person-
centered surgical care can be achieved for older adults and will result in a novel clinical intervention ready for a
multi-center trial. Thus, this work will directly impact the health and wellbeing of the growing population of older
adults facing major, non-urgent surgery.
To accomplish these endeavors, Dr. Cohan is supported by a highly skilled, multidisciplinary team of mentors
with expertise in geriatrics and aging-related research (Dr. Supiano), behavioral intervention development and
clinical trials (Dr. Ozanne), and patient-surgeon communication and stakeholder engagement (Dr. Schwarze).
The mentor team is complemented by three skilled and dedicated advisors with expertise in biostatistics,
caregiver research, and pragmatic clinical trials. The proposal leverages the rich research and clinical
resources of the University of Utah and provides a clear path by which Dr. Cohan will fulfill her career goal of
becoming a leader at the intersection of surgery and aging research, developing and disseminating clinical
interventions that advance high-quality, person-centered surgical care for older adults.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10808619
- **Project number:** 1K23AG080059-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
- **Principal Investigator:** Jessica N Cohan
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $192,061
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-06-15 → 2029-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10808619

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10808619, Development of an intervention to ensure the goals of surgical treatment are valuable to older adults (1K23AG080059-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10808619. Licensed CC0.

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