There is a fundamental gap in understanding better ways to engage patients with heart failure (HF) in symptom recognition, response, and communication with healthcare providers. Symptoms are the main driver of health- related outcomes for patients with HF and the primary driver of repeated hospital readmissions. Given that we are located in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City, a predominantly poor Latino community, we are uniquely positioned to address the health disparity in clinical outcomes for Latino patients with HF as well as others with HF using a mobile health (mHealth) application (app). The proposed long-term goal of this NIH K99/R00 application is to assist the candidate, Dr. Masterson Creber, in becoming an independent investigator with a program of research focusing on high quality, technology-based behavioral health interventions to improve outcomes and support patient-centered cardiovascular care for underserved patients with HF. The overall objective of the proposed project is to test the hypothesis that a novel app, mi.Symptoms can meaningfully alter patient-reported and clinical outcomes of patients with HF and lead to more successful symptom recognition, response and communication with healthcare providers. The central hypothesis is that empowering patients to take more control of their symptom experience using a technology-enabled point-of-care symptom reporting intervention (mi.Symptoms) can meaningfully alter symptom response behaviors the clinical outcomes of patients with HF. Guided by strong preliminary data, this hypothesis will be tested in the K99 phase of the study by pursing the following specific aims: 1) test the reliability and validity of mi.Symptoms (a novel mHealth app developed by Dr. Masterson Creber and a team from Columbia University School of Engineering), and 2) assess the usability of mi.Symptoms and examine relationships of its use with changes in patient-reported outcomes in a pilot feasibility study. In the R00 phase of the study, the specific aim is to: 3) examine the efficacy o mi.Symptoms on improving patient-reported and clinical outcomes as compared to usual care. The training plan for this K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award will enable Dr. Masterson Creber to couple skills in biomedical informatics with clinical trial design and outcomes research. The approach has three innovative features: 1) it is grounded in the Theory of Situation Awareness in Dynamic Systems; 2) there is a close link between the theoretical model and unique functional elements of the mi.Symptoms web app (tailoring to patient preference by choosing an avatar, prompting to report symptoms, reinforcing symptom reporting with hedonic motivation, and decreasing barriers to facilitate communication with providers); and 3) it applies growth modeling to the analysis of multiple symptoms and outcomes over time. Findings from this study will provide insights into the development and testing of mi.Symptoms as well as many other mHealth apps. The research is significant because it addresses the important problem of patients with HF struggling to recognize and respond to their symptoms, and it addresses the health disparity in HF outcomes for Latino patients. To accomplish the aims of this proposed study, a robust mentorship team with internationally and nationally recognized experts has been built, including expertise in biomedical informatics with a focus on mHealth (Dr. Suzanne Bakken), cardiovascular behavioral health and clinical trial design (Dr. Karina Davidson), user-centered design (Dr. Steven Feiner), clinical heart failure management (Dr. Mathew Maurer), symptom monitoring (Dr. Kathleen Hickey), quantitative methodologies (Dr. Christopher Lee), and mHealth application development and testing (Dr. Cornelia Ruland). Since a spectrum of new knowledge and skills regarding biomedical informatics, computer science and user-interfaces, and behavioral health clinical trial design are required for the candidate's career as an independent scientist, this K99/R00 award will be extremely important and necessary to achieve the candidate's career objectives and expand symptom science and the science of self- management for vulnerable patients with chronic diseases.

Public Health Relevance

The proposed research is relevant to public health because providing patients with heart failure with an accessible mobile Health application to support symptom recognition, response, and communication with healthcare providers may improve patient-reported and clinical outcomes for heart failure and reduce health disparities among Latinos. The proposed research is relevant to the part of the NINR's mission that pertains to improving symptom science and self-management for vulnerable patients with chronic diseases.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
Type
Career Transition Award (K99)
Project #
1K99NR016275-01
Application #
9086726
Study Section
National Institute of Nursing Research Initial Review Group (NRRC)
Program Officer
Hamlet, Michelle R
Project Start
2016-08-01
Project End
2018-07-31
Budget Start
2016-08-01
Budget End
2017-07-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2016
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Columbia University (N.Y.)
Department
Other Health Professions
Type
Schools of Nursing
DUNS #
621889815
City
New York
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
10032
Hickey, Kathleen T; Masterson Creber, Ruth M; Reading, Meghan et al. (2018) Low health literacy: Implications for managing cardiac patients in practice. Nurse Pract 43:49-55
Baik, Dawon; Russell, David; Jordan, Lizeyka et al. (2018) Using the Palliative Performance Scale to Estimate Survival for Patients at the End of Life: A Systematic Review of the Literature. J Palliat Med 21:1651-1661
Baik, Dawon; Cho, Hwayoung; Masterson Creber, Ruth M (2018) Examining Interventions Designed to Support Shared Decision Making and Subsequent Patient Outcomes in Palliative Care: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Am J Hosp Palliat Care :1049909118783688
Masterson Creber, Ruth M; Dayan, Peter S; Kuppermann, Nathan et al. (2018) Applying the RE-AIM Framework for the Evaluation of a Clinical Decision Support Tool for Pediatric Head Trauma: A Mixed-Methods Study. Appl Clin Inform 9:693-703
Grossman, Lisa V; Feiner, Steven K; Mitchell, Elliot G et al. (2018) Leveraging Patient-Reported Outcomes Using Data Visualization. Appl Clin Inform 9:565-575
Riegel, Barbara; Dickson, Victoria Vaughan; Garcia, Lydia Elena et al. (2017) Mechanisms of change in self-care in adults with heart failure receiving a tailored, motivational interviewing intervention. Patient Educ Couns 100:283-288
Masterson Creber, Ruth; Chen, Ting; Wei, Chao et al. (2017) Brief Report: Patient Activation Among Urban Hospitalized Patients With Heart Failure. J Card Fail 23:817-820
Grossman, Lisa V; Mitchell, Elliot G (2017) Visualizing the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Measures for Clinicians and Patients. AMIA Annu Symp Proc 2017:2289-2293
Masterson Creber, Ruth M; Fleck, Elaine; Liu, Jianfang et al. (2017) Identifying the Complexity of Multiple Risk Factors for Obesity Among Urban Latinas. J Immigr Minor Health 19:275-284
Prey, Jennifer E; Qian, Min; Restaino, Susan et al. (2016) Reliability and validity of the patient activation measure in hospitalized patients. Patient Educ Couns 99:2026-2033

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