Care coordination for people with cancer after hospital stays and in hospice
Project 3: Care Integration for Patients with Cancer Receiving Post-Acute Care and Hospice
This project tries to improve how care is coordinated for people with cancer who receive post‑acute services or hospice after complex surgery or hospital stays.
Quick facts
| Grant type | P01 program project |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Harvard Medical School NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11145959 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers will examine how care is organized when people with cancer move from the hospital to skilled nursing facilities, inpatient rehab, home health, or hospice. They will conduct case studies and interviews with clinicians and staff across hospitals, post‑acute care sites, and hospice providers and combine findings with data from other projects and program cores. The team will study how structural ties between hospitals and post‑acute/hospice providers influence practical coordination such as shared protocols, teamwork, and clinical processes. They will also analyze the effects of consolidation and ownership (including for‑profit chains) on care quality and identify practices that could reduce fragmented, non‑patient‑centered care.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are people with cancer who are discharged to skilled nursing facilities, inpatient rehabilitation, home health, or who enter hospice after complex cancer surgery or hospitalization.
Not a fit: Patients who stay entirely in outpatient care or who are not discharged to post‑acute or hospice settings are unlikely to be directly affected by this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could make transitions between hospital, post‑acute care, and hospice smoother and more patient‑centered, improving continuity and comfort near the end of life.
How similar studies have performed: Some care‑integration efforts in other conditions have improved coordination and outcomes, but applying these approaches specifically to cancer post‑acute and hospice care is less studied.
Where this research is happening
Boston, United States
- Harvard Medical School — Boston, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Landrum, Mary Beth — Harvard Medical School
- Study coordinator: Landrum, Mary Beth
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.