Using behavioral nudges to improve family screening for inherited high cholesterol
Official title: Leveraging behavioral economics to implement cascade screening in individuals with familial hypercholesterolemia
Funded at Northwestern University · NIH-11392680 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses two patient-facing approaches based on behavioral economics to help people with familial hypercholesterolemia get their relatives screened for the condition.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Northwestern University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chicago, United States) |
| Project start | March 1, 2022 |
| Project end | February 28, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $515,597 |
| NIH project number | 5R33HL161752-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11392680 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with a confirmed diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolemia who are willing to notify first-degree relatives and receive care through Penn Medicine are ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People without a confirmed FH diagnosis, those who cannot or will not contact family members, or individuals outside the recruitment area may not benefit from this project.
What this research studies
If you have familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), the team and the Family Heart Foundation will work with you to try two ways of helping you tell and screen your close relatives. They plan to enroll about 300 people diagnosed with FH through Penn Medicine and randomly assign participants to one of the two approaches. The approaches use behavioral economics techniques and practical outreach tools to make it easier and more likely that relatives complete screening and follow-up. The study will track how many relatives are contacted, tested, and newly diagnosed to see which approach reaches more families.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, more family members could be diagnosed earlier so treatment can begin sooner to lower risk of heart attacks and strokes.
How similar studies have gone: Cascade screening programs have worked well in countries with system-led outreach, but applying behavioral economics to improve proband-mediated cascade screening in the U.S. is relatively new and being piloted here.
Where this research is happening
-
Northwestern University
Chicago, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Beidas, Rinad Sary — Northwestern University
- Study coordinator: Beidas, Rinad Sary
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Improving Risk Stratification for Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH)
A patient-facing look at a study that aims to better predict who with familial hypercholesterolemia is at highest risk for early heart disease.
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Nonviral CRISPR-Cas9 delivery to liver cells to treat familial hypercholesterolemia
A new approach uses nonviral methods to deliver CRISPR-Cas9 to liver cells and select edited cells with acetaminophen, aiming to permanently lower bad cholesterol in people with familial hypercholesterolemia.
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Implementing multi-component approaches to help blood donors with familial hypercholesterolemia(
A program to help people who donate blood and have familial hypercholesterolemia get the cholesterol-lowering treatment they need through a blood-donation center.
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Helping families find and treat inherited high cholesterol
This project tests a clinic-based program to help primary care doctors find and treat children and adults with inherited high cholesterol (familial hypercholesterolemia).
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Familial hypercholesterolemia: closing gaps in prevention of heart disease
A new NIH grant is exploring why people with familial hypercholesterolemia often go undiagnosed or receive uneven care, with the goal of improving early detection and prevention of heart disease.
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Better heart-risk prediction for inherited high cholesterol
This project aims to give people with familial high cholesterol clearer, more personalized estimates of their future heart disease risk using genetic information, cholesterol measures, and other health factors.
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.