Fairer ICU life-support decisions during crises using neighborhood disadvantage scores
Official title: Improving the efficiency and equity of critical care allocation during a crisis with place-based disadvantage indices
Funded at University of Chicago · NIH-11259583 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A new method uses neighborhood disadvantage scores to help hospitals decide which adults receive scarce ICU life-support during crises like COVID-19.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Chicago NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chicago, United States) |
| Project start | April 1, 2023 |
| Project end | January 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $539,207 |
| NIH project number | 5R01LM014263-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11259583 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults (age 21+) who are hospitalized with severe, potentially life-threatening illness during a disaster or whose hospital records are used for validation are the focus of this work.
✕Less likely to help
Children, people not hospitalized during a crisis, and patients treated at hospitals that do not adopt the protocol may not directly benefit.
What this research studies
If hospitals run out of ICU beds during disasters, triage teams often use scores like SOFA to choose who gets life support, but those scores can miss true risk before ICU care starts. This project aims to create a new allocation protocol that adjusts SOFA with place-based disadvantage indices—neighborhood measures of social and economic hardship—to reduce bias. The team will test the approach using past U.S. hospital records and statistical modeling to see if it predicts survival better and narrows geographic disparities. They will compare the new protocol to current methods to estimate how many more lives could be saved and whether outcomes become fairer across communities.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could save more lives and reduce unfair disadvantages for patients from poorer neighborhoods during crises with scarce ICU resources.
How similar studies have gone: SOFA-based triage is commonly used but shows known prediction and calibration problems, and adding neighborhood disadvantage measures to correct those biases is a relatively new approach with limited prior real-world testing.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Chicago
Chicago, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Parker, William F — University of Chicago
- Study coordinator: Parker, William F
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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.