Stronger family involvement in VA intensive care units
Official title: Harnessing Active Relationships within VA ICUs to Engage Surrogates and Care Teams (HARVEST)
Funded at Veterans Health Administration · NIH-11481457 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Making VA ICUs more welcoming to families and helping family members take part in care for Veterans with serious illness.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Veterans Health Administration NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Ann Arbor, United States) |
| Project start | April 1, 2024 |
| Project end | March 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 5I01HX003789-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11481457 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Veterans admitted to VA intensive care units and their family members or surrogate decision-makers, particularly those experiencing critical illness such as COVID-19, are ideal candidates for involvement.
✕Less likely to help
People who are not Veterans or who receive care outside VA ICUs, and patients without available family or surrogates, may not directly benefit from this project.
What this research studies
If your loved one is a Veteran in a VA ICU, this project looks at how families and care teams currently work together and what gets in the way of good communication and support. The team will talk with ICU staff, patients' surrogates, and family members, and review current practices and materials like educational and bereavement resources. They will identify gaps and design ways to better include social workers, chaplains, and other team members so families feel heard and supported. The work will shape a future effort to put consistent family-centered care into practice across VA hospitals.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, Veterans and their families could get more consistent communication, presence, and emotional support during ICU stays.
How similar studies have gone: Family-centered ICU practices have improved outcomes in prior studies and are recommended by critical care societies, but standardizing and tailoring them across VA ICUs is a newer implementation effort.
Where this research is happening
-
Veterans Health Administration
Ann Arbor, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Valley, Thomas Sebastian — Veterans Health Administration
- Study coordinator: Valley, Thomas Sebastian
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.