Decision tools to help older adults choose dialysis
Official title: Developing Tools for Dialysis Decision Support in Older Adults
Funded at Veterans Admin Palo Alto Health Care Sys · NIH-11365620 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Tools to help older adults with advanced kidney disease and their doctors decide whether to start dialysis or manage without it.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Veterans Admin Palo Alto Health Care Sys NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Palo Alto, United States) |
| Project start | July 1, 2020 |
| Project end | September 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 5I01HX002763-06 |
| Project ID | NIH-11365620 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Older adults with advanced chronic kidney disease or newly facing the dialysis decision, especially Veterans receiving care in the VA system, are the likely candidates for this work.
✕Less likely to help
People without advanced kidney disease, younger patients, or those already firmly committed to immediate dialysis may not gain direct benefit from these decision tools.
What this research studies
This project will create easy-to-understand decision tools for older patients using VA medical records and clinical data to show likely outcomes with and without dialysis. Researchers will apply advanced statistical methods that mimic clinical trials to estimate how dialysis may affect survival, function, and quality of life for people like you. The tools will include patient-centered outcomes and scenario planning to show different possible results and help clarify tradeoffs. The work focuses on Veterans receiving care in the VA system and aims to present information in ways that match each patient’s goals.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, these tools could give older patients clearer, personalized predictions about benefits and risks so they can choose care that better fits their goals.
How similar studies have gone: Some decision aids and prediction models for kidney disease have shown promise, but using causal inference and scenario planning specifically for dialysis choices in older adults is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
Veterans Admin Palo Alto Health Care Sys
Palo Alto, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Kurella Tamura, Manjula — Veterans Admin Palo Alto Health Care Sys
- Study coordinator: Kurella Tamura, Manjula
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
How dialysis facility growth affects care for people with end-stage kidney disease
New research will examine whether the spread of dialysis centers and new treatment technologies benefit patients with end-stage kidney disease, and whether benefits reach all communities.
-
MOVE Trial: Tailored motivational support to help African Americans stick with dialysis
A study tests a customized motivational interviewing approach to help African American dialysis patients stay adherent to their treatment, aiming to reduce hospitalizations and improve health.
-
Blood sugar monitoring for people on maintenance dialysis
This project tests how continuous glucose monitoring can better track blood sugar in people on dialysis to improve diabetes care and prevent complications.
-
Quality of life for people on home dialysis and their family caregivers
This grant studies how living with home dialysis affects daily life and the well-being of patients and their family caregivers.
-
Patient-provider conversations and unequal access to home dialysis and kidney transplant
This project explores how conversations between doctors and patients affect why some Black and Hispanic people with kidney disease don’t get home dialysis or preemptive kidney transplants as often as White or Asian patients.
-
CHOOSE Home: Using community health workers to boost home dialysis and social care in CKD
A real-world trial tests adding community health workers to an interdisciplinary CKD clinic to help patients access home dialysis options.
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.