Current and recent grants
Advance Care Planning
Planning Advance Care Together (PACT) to Improve Engagement in Advance Care Planning among Advanced Cancer Patients
Principal Investigator: Megan Shen, PhD
Funder and Mechanism: NIH/National Cancer Institute R37
Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias
Decision-Making Regarding Mechanical Ventilation in Adults with Dementia
Principal Investigator: Lauren Pollack, MD, MS
Funder and Mechanism: Alzheimer's Association Clinician Scientist Fellowship
Understanding Barriers to Goal-Concordant Care for Older Adults with Serious Illness in the Pre-Hospital Setting during Emergency Response Call-Outs: A Multi-Site Qualitative Study
Principal Investigators: Lauren Pollack, MD, MS and Elizabeth Dzeng, PhD, MD, MPH
Funder and Mechanism: NIH/Research Centers Collaborative Network of the National Institute on Aging
Equity in Palliative Care
Racial Inequities in End-of-Life Healthcare: How Perceived Discrimination Affects Communication and Decision-Making During Serious Illness
Principal Investigator: Crystal Brown, MD, MA
Funder and Mechanism: NIH/National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities K23
Restorative Processes for Medical Racism: Fostering Accountability and Relational Repair
Principal Investigator: Crystal Brown, MD, MA
Funder and Mechanism: The Greenwall Foundation Making a Difference Grant
Understanding and Improving Inequities in Palliative Care for Older Adults with Advanced Dementia and Limited-English Proficiency: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation
Principal Investigator: Rashmi K. Sharma, MD, MHS
Funder and Mechanism: NIH/National Institute on Aging R01
Care Inequities in Advanced Cancer and Limited English Proficiency
Principal Investigator: Rashmi K. Sharma, MD, MHS
Funder and Mechanism: American Cancer Society Research Scholar Grant
Financial Hardship after Critical Illness
Improving Patient- and Family-Centered Outcomes and Value of Care for Patients with Chronic Illness who Develop Acute Respiratory Failure
Principal Investigator: Nita Khandelwal, MD, MS
Funder and Mechanism: NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute K23
Financial Hardship among Patients with Acute Respiratory Failure and their Family Member Caregivers: Understanding the Impact on Patient- and Family-Centered Outcomes
Principal Investigator: Nita Khandelwal, MD, MS
Funder and Mechanism: NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute R01
Heart Failure and Congenital Heart Disease
Implementation and Sustainment of Team-Based Practice Transformation to Improve Heart Failure Care and Outcomes
Principal Investigator: Erin Blakeney, PhD, RN
Funder and Mechanism: NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute K23
Assessing and Promoting Resilience in Adults with Congenital Heart Disease
Principal Investigator: Jill Steiner, MD, MS
Funder and Mechanism: NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute K23
ICU Communication and Outcomes
Unplanned ICU Admissions: Understanding Mechanisms and Identifying Associations with Patient- and Family-Centered Outcomes
Principal Investigator: Ann Jennerich, MD, MS
Funder and Mechanism: NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute R01
Improving Goals-of-Care Discussions for Patients with Chronic Life-Limiting Illness and Acute Respiratory Failure
Principal Investigator: Robert Y. Lee, MD, MS
Funder and Mechanism: NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute K23
Neuropalliative Care
A Novel Photo-Narrative Communication Intervention Among Parents of Children with Severe Neurological Impairment in the ICU
Principal Investigator: Jori Bogetz, MD
Funder and Mechanism: NIH/Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development K23
Longitudinal Transdisciplinary Neuropalliative Care Support for Patients with Severe Stroke and their Families
Principal Investigator: Claire Creutzfeldt, MD
Funder and Mechanism: NIH/National Institute on Aging R56
Comprehensive Outcome Assessment after Severe Acute Brain Injury: Advanced Symptoms and End-of-Life Care
Principal Investigators: Claire Creutzfeldt, MD and Darin Zahuranec, MD, MS
Funder and Mechanism: NIH/National Institute of Nursing Research R01
Randomized Trials of Communication Interventions
Evaluating Effectiveness of a Communication Facilitator to Reduce Distress and Improve Goal Concordant Care for Critically Ill Patients and Their Families: A Randomized Trial
Principal Investigators: J. Randall Curtis, MD, MPH, Ruth A. Engelberg, PhD, and Claire Creutzfeldt, MD
Funder and Mechanism: NIH/National Institute of Nursing Research R01
Using the Electronic Health Record to Identify and Promote Goals-of-Care Communication for Older Patients with Serious Illness
Principal Investigators: J. Randall Curtis, MD, MPH, Ruth A. Engelberg, PhD, and Erin Kross, MD
Funder and Mechanism: NIH/National Institute on Aging R01
Hybrid Efficacy-Effectiveness Trial to Promote Goals-of-Care Discussions for Patients with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias and their Family Caregivers
Principal Investigator: Erin Kross, MD
Funder and Mechanism: NIH/National Institute on Aging R01
Specialty Palliative Care Utilization
Palliative Care Utilization and Needs Assessment for Patients on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation and their Families
Principal Investigator: Whitney Kiker, MD, MS (Mentors: Erin Kross, MD and Claire Creutzfeldt, MD)
Funder and Mechanism: NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute F32
Temporal Trends in Quality Indicators of Palliative Care for Patients with Chronic Illness Hospitalized with Acute Respiratory Failure
Principal Investigator: Jamie Nomitch, MD, MSCI (Mentor: Ann Jennerich, MD, MS)
Funder and Mechanism: NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute F32
RECENT Publication SPOTLIGHT
Dr. Danae Dotolo is the lead author and Dr. Nita Khandelwal is the senior author of “Time to Talk Money? Intensive Care Unit Clinicians' Perspectives on Addressing Patients' Financial Hardship.” in the American Journal of Critical Care. Co-authors include Clare Pytel, Elizabeth Nielsen, Alison Uyeda, Jennifer Im, and Ruth Engelberg.
Drs. Ann Jennerich and Erin Kross are co-authors of “Society of Critical Care Medicine Guidelines on Family-Centered Care for Adult ICUs: 2024” in Critical Care Medicine.
Dr. Nauzley Abedini is the lead author, and Dr. Claire Creutzfeldt is the senior author of “Implementation of a Goals-of-Care Communication Priming Intervention Tailored to Outpatient Stroke Survivors: A Pilot Study” in the American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Co-authors include Ruth Engelberg and Erin Kross.
Dr. Jill Steiner is the senior author of "Presence and Content of Goals-of-Care Documentation for Patients With Adult Congenital Heart Disease at End-of-Life" in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology Advances. Ruth Engelberg is a co-author.
Dr. Rashmi Sharma is the lead author and Dr. Ruth Engelberg is the senior author of "Care Decisions in the Hospital: Challenges for Family Members of Hospitalized Persons with Dementia" in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. Co-authors include Elizabeth Dzeng, Janaki O'Brien, Amy Thomas, Anna Ungar, and Elizabeth Nielsen.
Dr. Robert (Bob) Lee is the lead author and Dr. Erin Kross is the senior author of "Performance of Predefined Search Patterns for Identifying Documented Goals-of-Care Discussions in Inpatient Electronic Health Records" in the Journal of Palliative Medicine. Co-authors include Alison Uyeda, Trevor Cohen, Bill Lober, Danae Dotolo, and Ruth Engelberg.
Link here to see more publications from our researchers.
Programs & collaborators
Learn more about CPCCE research programs and our collaborators.
Jumpstart Program (Kross and Dotolo)
Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics and Palliative Care
UW Alzheimer's Disease Research Center
UW Palliative and End-of-Life Care Research Program