The National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute on Aging (NIA) awarded two pilot projects funded through NEXT STEPs (Nursing Home EXplanatory Clinical Trials: Supporting Transformation by Enhancing Partnerships), a national initiative led by Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University School of Medicine to strengthen clinical trials in nursing homes and expand research participation among residents.
“With the NEXT STEPs project, we are building out tools and resources to spur the development of high-quality clinical trials in the nursing home setting,” said Kathleen T. Unroe, M.D., principal investigator of NEXT STEPs, and a research scientist at Regenstrief and IU School of Medicine. “Our pilot grants program is an important part of that effort. We are excited to fund the second round of investigators whose projects focus on a range of critical clinical issues in the nursing home setting of care.”
The pilot awardees represent institutions across the country and are focused on improving care delivery, symptom management and quality of life for nursing home residents.
Pilot awardees
- Justina L. Groeger, MD, MPH, is Associate Professor of Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She is board certified in Internal Medicine, Geriatric Medicine, and Addiction Medicine. Her NEXT STEPs pilot project, Facilitating Skilled Nursing Facility Provision of Medications for Opioid Use Disorder, will identify barriers and facilitators of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) provision in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and to develop a bundle of acceptable and feasible strategies to increase provision of MOUD in SNFs. Dr. Groeger’s research focuses on the intersection of chronic pain, aging, frailty, opioid use, and opioid use disorder.
- Dana Urbanski, AuD, PhD, CCC-A is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences at Indiana University Bloomington. She is a clinical audiologist and scientist whose research focuses on improving hearing healthcare for older adults living with dementia, including those in community and long-term care settings. Her NEXT STEPs pilot project, Adapting Audiology Best Practices and Outcome Measurement for a Future Explanatory Trial of Hearing Care in Nursing Home Residents, will adapt and pilot test evidence-based audiology practices for nursing homes, with the goal of improving how hearing needs are identified, addressed, and supported.
The pilot projects are an early step in NEXT STEPs’ broader effort to build sustainable partnerships among researchers, nursing homes, residents, families and advocates to advance evidence-based care for older adults.
NEXT STEPs is supported by a five-year, $15.5 million award from the NIA to establish a national network structure that enables more inclusive, high impact clinical trials in nursing homes.
Kathleen T. Unroe, M.D., MHA, M.S.
In addition to being a research scientist with the Indiana University Center for Aging Research at Regenstrief Institute, Kathleen T. Unroe, M.D., MHA, M.S. is the Cornelius and Yvonne Pettinga Professor of Medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine and a practicing geriatrician.
