# Program of Intensive Support in Emergency Departments for Care Partners of Cognitively Impaired Patients (POISED-CPCIP)

> **NIH NIH R01** · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · 2020 · $696,487

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The United States spends well over $100 billion for millions of people affected by Alzheimer’s disease and
related dementias (ADRD) and for their family caregivers. Most people with ADRD have multiple chronic
comorbid conditions requiring help from family members for proper management. A lack optimal care for the
cognitive, behavioral and functional needs of persons with dementia further compounds the challenge of
managing chronic comorbid disease. Family caregivers of persons with dementia have many unmet needs as
well. This adversely affects caregivers’ ability to manage the chronic medical conditions of the person with
dementia and may explain the greater use of emergency departments (EDs) and more return visits for those
with dementia compared to those without dementia. How best to support family caregivers in preventing the
need for emergency care has not been tested.
The goal of this study is to test whether a novel care management program for family caregivers of persons
with dementia can reduce the need for ED use. We will also test whether this intervention will lead to more
activated caregivers who may also benefit by having fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety, and
experiencing greater social support. This study focuses on family and friends who serve as caregivers of
people with probable dementia who reach the crisis of needing emergency department care. The proposed
intervention, the Program of Intensive Support in Emergency Departments for Care Partners of Cognitively
Impaired Patients (POISED-CPCIP), will start in the emergency departments of two medical centers at
academic institutions, New York University (NYU) and Indiana University (IU) and will recruit family caregivers
and their care recipients (dyads) among patients who perform poorly on cognitive testing (indicating a high
likelihood of dementia) and who are going to be discharged to home. We will randomize dyads to either the
POISED intervention or to usual care. POISED will use typical dementia care management procedures
provided by nurse care managers and care manager assistants who will additionally employ an intensive focus
on understanding and supporting the needs of chronic disease management and on caregiver activation. In
POISED, we will apply the principles of root cause analysis, a well-known quality improvement technique (that
was started in the NASA space industry and later applied to health care) to understand what led to the ED visit
and then apply what is learned to six months of care management.
If this randomized controlled trial demonstrates reduced rates of ED use and a decrease in caregiver
psychosocial symptoms, we will have validated a scalable program for supporting caregivers of people with
dementia that should lead to significant healthcare cost reductions while providing much needed support for
persons with dementia and for their family caregivers.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9967931
- **Project number:** 5R01AG054574-04
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** JOSHUA CHODOSH
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $696,487
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-08-01 → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9967931

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9967931, Program of Intensive Support in Emergency Departments for Care Partners of Cognitively Impaired Patients (POISED-CPCIP) (5R01AG054574-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9967931. Licensed CC0.

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