# MOVE Trial: MOtiVational Strategies to Empower African Americans to Improve Dialysis Adherence

> **NIH NIH R01** · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER · 2024 · $671,848

## Abstract

Hemodialysis treatment non-adherence is a public health issue because of its association with excessive
hospitalizations, high morbidity, and mortality, and increased financial costs. Compared to whites, African
Americans have a four-fold higher prevalence of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), higher non-adherence
rates to hemodialysis, and higher odds of hospitalizations. Motivational interviewing, an evidence-based
intervention that creates a bond between patients and providers, targets improvement in motivation-related
psychosocial factors associated with adherence behaviors. Interventions for such factors are typically
developed based on the dominant culture and may not be valid and generalizable to minority groups. Culturally
tailored interventions lead to more durable change in African Americans yet there is a lack of studies testing
the efficacy of such approaches to improve hemodialysis treatment adherence in African Americans. Use of
culturally tailored motivational interviewing in African Americans with ESKD will promote health equity by
improving dialysis treatment adherence, reducing hospitalizations, and enhancing other critical outcomes.
 Our long-term goal is to establish culturally sensitive strategies and multi-level interventions to improve
outcomes in kidney disease. The overall objective of this project is to evaluate the efficacy of a culturally
tailored motivational interviewing intervention developed using a rigorous theoretical framework on improving
hemodialysis treatment adherence in African Americans with ESKD. The central hypothesis is that culturally
tailored motivational interviewing will lead to improved hemodialysis treatment adherence. We will test this
hypothesis in the following Specific Aims in a randomized clinical trial (RCT) in African American patients with
ESKD. Compared to usual dialysis care, we aim to: Evaluate the efficacy of 8 weeks of culturally tailored
motivational interviewing (MOVE) on improving hemodialysis treatment adherence at (1) 3 months, and (2) 6
months post-randomization. At the successful completion of the proposed research, the expected outcomes
will include evidence of the efficacy of culturally tailored motivational interviewing on improving hemodialysis
treatment adherence in African American patients with ESKD. The proposed research is innovative because of
the novel application of a culturally tailored, evidence-based behavioral intervention developed using a rigorous
theoretical framework (PEN-3); the use of specifically-trained health coaches to optimize intervention delivery;
and the focus on understudied and overrepresented African American patients with ESKD to address the
public health issue of hemodialysis treatment non-adherence. Study results will provide a strong basis for
conducting an effectiveness and implementation trial, which is expected to have a significant impact on
hemodialysis adherence, hospitalizations, morbidity, and mortality. This research strongly aligns w...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10848424
- **Project number:** 5R01DK133530-03
- **Recipient organization:** VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Ebele M Umeukeje
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $671,848
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-08-15 → 2027-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10848424

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10848424, MOVE Trial: MOtiVational Strategies to Empower African Americans to Improve Dialysis Adherence (5R01DK133530-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10848424. Licensed CC0.

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