# Developing a Novel Decision Aid for Tracheostomy to Support Shared Decision-Making in the Intensive Care Unit

> **NIH NIH K23** · NATIONAL JEWISH HEALTH · 2020 · $75,771

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
This NHLBI K23 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (PA-18-374) submission by
Anuj B. Mehta, MD will enable him to achieve his overarching career goal of improving shared decision-making
(SDM) in the intensive care unit (ICU) by combining qualitative research methodologies with ‘big data’. Dr.
Mehta is a Pulmonary and Critical Care Physician at National Jewish Health. This award will build on Dr.
Mehta’s prior health services research in delivery science and provide him with protected research time and
support to pursue advanced education and training in 1) qualitative research 2) advanced statistical
methodologies in health services research, 3) SDM, and 4) decision aid development. With this proposal, we
seek improve SDM for tracheostomy by developing and piloting a personalized decision aid (AIM 3) with a
qualitative decisional needs assessment through semi-structured interviews of surrogate decision-makers (AIM
1) and development of tailored tracheostomy prediction models (AIM 2). The dramatic increases in
tracheostomy utilization that we have previously reported has large personal and societal implications. Patients
who receive a tracheostomy overwhelmingly require long-term hospitalization with significant morbidity,
mortality, long-term care needs, and caregiver stress. Evidence suggests that there is large patient and
surrogate frustration with the decision-making process with significant decision conflict, misalignment of care
delivered with patient values, and discordance between surrogates’ expectations and actual outcomes. These
findings raise the possibility that patients may be receiving unwanted, invasive, and expensive care not
consistent with their underlying values. SDM is the collaborative process of patients, surrogates, and
healthcare providers reaching an informed, collective agreement on the treatments consistent with patient’s
values. Decision aids are a key tool with which to facilitate SDM. SDM and decisions have been shown to
improve the patient-centeredness of care, improve patient knowledge of treatment options and possible
outcomes, better align chosen treatments with patient values, and reduce decisional regret and conflict.
Multiple societies now recommend that SDM be a cornerstone of patient centered care in the ICU bit its
penetration and uptake are limited. We hypothesize that a personalized web based decision aid for
tracheostomy will improve the shared decision making process. Dr. Mehta has strong institutional support from
National Jewish Health. Dr. Mehta has assembled a team of mentors well suited to ensuring his success
during this Career Development Award led by Dr. Ivor Douglas and Dr. Daniel Matlock. Dr. Mehta’s work will
serve as model for developing SDM tools in the ICU. Dr. Mehta’s proposed training and research will directly
impact patient care related to tracheostomy by improving SDM, and better aligning the care received with
patient and surrogate va...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9844503
- **Project number:** 5K23HL141704-02
- **Recipient organization:** NATIONAL JEWISH HEALTH
- **Principal Investigator:** Anuj Mehta
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $75,771
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-07-01 → 2020-11-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9844503

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9844503, Developing a Novel Decision Aid for Tracheostomy to Support Shared Decision-Making in the Intensive Care Unit (5K23HL141704-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9844503. Licensed CC0.

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