# Multicomponent intervention to improve delirium and sleep-wake rhythms in older ICU patients

> **NIH NIH K76** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2020 · $243,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Candidate: Dr. Biren Kamdar, MD, MBA, MHS is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and intensive care unit
(ICU) physician with a career goal of making novel discoveries regarding delirium and sleep in the ICU setting,
particularly in the ever-expanding population of older critically ill patients. Bringing a strong research back-
ground, including prior leadership of an NIH-supported ICU sleep promoting effort, Dr. Kamdar's short-term
goal is to gain the skills necessary to independently design, implement, evaluate and sustain multi-site inter-
ventions to improve delirium and sleep-wake rhythms in older ICU patients. Over the long term, he aims to gain
national and international recognition as a health services and aging researcher with a deep expertise and
publication record on the underlying mechanisms of delirium, sleep, and sleep-wake rhythms in the critically ill,
and with the knowledge and experience necessary to implement interventions in various ICU settings.
Research Project: Older patients in the ICU are predisposed to delirium, poor sleep quality, and misaligned
sleep-wake rhythms, placing them at high risk for adverse outcomes following ICU discharge. As older adults
now comprise the majority of critically ill patients and a rapidly expanding proportion of the ICU survivor popu-
lation, ICU-based interventions are needed to focus on this particularly vulnerable population. With the support
of a strong mentorship and interdisciplinary stakeholder team, this proposal involves implementation and test-
ing of a multicomponent nighttime and daytime intervention in two academic ICUs. As a novel method to re-
duce delirium and improve nighttime sleep quality in older ICU patients, this proposal aims to align sleep-wake
rhythms by coupling components of Dr. Kamdar's prior nighttime-focused sleep promoting effort with a robust
daytime intervention, derived from the Hospital Elder Life Program and prior non-ICU interventions conducted
in older inpatients by members of his mentorship team. Key outcome measures will include delirium/coma-free
days and sleep-wake rhythms, as measured using advanced analyses from wrist actigraphy data. Additionally,
to evaluate and refine the intervention for future implementation, this proposal will include 24-hour sound and
light level measurements and, 6 months after intervention completion, semi-structured interviews with ICU staff
regarding the intervention itself. Career Development: Dr. Kamdar's career development plan includes formal
coursework and mentored training on (a) sleep-wake rhythms and aging; (b) advanced actigraphy methods; (c)
intervention development; and (d) implementation science and healthcare leadership. Ultimately, this K76
award will provide the final important stepping stone to establish his independence, thus providing the founda-
tion for future leadership of large multi-site interventions aimed at improving delirium, sleep and sleep-wake
rhythms in older critically ill p...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9941017
- **Project number:** 5K76AG059936-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Biren Bharat Kamdar
- **Activity code:** K76 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $243,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-01 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9941017

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9941017, Multicomponent intervention to improve delirium and sleep-wake rhythms in older ICU patients (5K76AG059936-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9941017. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*