Current Research Funding
U01 DP006746 – Multi-Principal Investigator: Laura Wingate, Jennifer Pollock, Daniel Chu
9/30/2023 – 9/29/2028
Improving Health Outcomes for Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease through Evidence-based Awareness, Referral, and Education Programs
In this joint project with the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation (CCF), our goal is to assess and improve health education for patients with IBD at a national-level.
R01 CA271303 – Daniel Chu (PI)
4/27/2023 – 4/26/2028
Adapting Enhanced REcovery Programs Through Health Literacy to Eliminate Surgical Disparities
This study will adapt enhanced recovery programs (ERPs) to low health literacy patients with a multilevel, health literacy-based implementation strategy (VISACT) to improve ERP fidelity and thereby outcomes. Findings from this study will lay the foundation for a multi-institutional stepped-wedge trial and establish key principles for adapting interventions to eliminate disparities.
American Cancer Society Navigation Capacity-Building Initiative Grant – Gabriella Rocque (PI), Daniel Chu (Co-I)
9/1/2022 – 08/31/2025
Navigating Patients With Low Health Literacy and their Engagement with Technology
The proposed work will provide a foundation for training navigators in digital health literacy which will support the growing needs for patients to engage with technology.
R01 MD013858 – Maria Pisu (PI), Daniel Chu (PI)
6/15/2020 – 01/31/2025
Designing a Plan of Action for Better Access and Quality of Surgery for African Americans with Gastrointestinal Cancers in the Deep South
In this study, we will identify current gaps in access to best-evidence surgical gastrointestinal care and develop programs to bridge these gaps and eliminate surgical disparities. We will employ navigator programs and Enhanced Recovery Pathways (ERPs).
National Institute on Aging and UAB RCMAR – Daniel Chu (PI)
07/1/2022 – 6/30/2023
The Deep South Surgical Equity Research Network: Addressing Socioecological Determinants of Health
This study’s overall and long-term purpose will be to establish a prospective cohort of older African American surgical patients in the Deep South with unique assessments of socioecological determinants of health.
UAB School of Medicine – Daniel Chu (PI)
2/1/2018 – 1/31/2023
James A. Pittman MD Scholar
This 5-year grant is awarded to promising young investigators at UAB and will be used to advance the primary research missions of the investigator. We will be using these funds to conduct our research in health literacy.
American College of Surgeons – Burke Smith (PI), Daniel Chu (Primary Mentor)
2021 – 2023
Health Literacy and psychosocial determinants of health: A lens for surgical outcomes and disparities
This pilot study will collect the data to understand how health literacy and socioecological determinants of health lead to surgical disparities.
Completed Grants
K23 MD013903 – Daniel Chu (PI)
8/1/2019 – 2/28/2022
Enhancing Health Literacy in Surgery (EHLIS) to Eliminate Surgical Disparities for African Americans with Inflammatory Bowel Disease
African Americans with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are often faced with major surgery and represent a growing population at high-risk for surgical disparities. The proposed research focuses on eliminating these disparities by developing a surgical care program crafted with health literacy-based interventions. Successful development of a health literate surgical care program has the potential to positively impact the African-American IBD population and may offer a patient-centered approach to addressing surgical disparities in other vulnerable surgical populations.
American College of Surgeons – Connie Shao (PI), Daniel Chu (Primary Mentor)
2020 – 2022
Reducing Health Disparities Using Telemedicine: Increasing Patient Engagement in Vulnerable Surgical Populations
This pilot study will collect the data to understand whether telemedicine is feasible, useable, and effective in the African American surgical population, as well as link telemedicine to established surgical outcomes to advance our efforts to eliminate surgical disparities.
Obesity Health Disparities Research Center – Daniel Chu (Co-Investigator)
2020 – 2021
Evaluating the Impact of COVID-19 on Surgical Outcomes in Patients with Obesity
The effect of COVID-19 on surgical outcomes associated with obesity is currently unknown. This study aims to address this question by analyzing the surgical outcomes of obese patients with and without active COVID-19 infection.
National Cancer Comprehensive Network – Haller Smith (PI), Daniel Chu (Mentor)
3/1/2020 – 2/28/2021
Feasibility and Impact of a Comprehensive Telehealth Program on Reducing Geographic Barriers to Treatment and Improving Symptom Management in Rural Patients with Advanced Ovarian Cancer.
This project will study the feasibility and impact of a telehealth program on rural patients in Alabama with ovarian cancer.
UAB Health Services Foundation (HSF) General Endowment Fund – Daniel Chu (PI)
11/1/2018 – 10/31/2020
Improving Surgical Outcomes and Experience with Patient-Centered Technology
In this study, we will integrate patient-centered technology into four major surgical service lines (colorectal, cardiac, thoracic, and gynecology) and analyze its impact on surgical outcomes and patient experiences. We will further conduct cost-benefit analyses to demonstrate the long-term benefits of using such technology.
K12 HS023009 – Michael Saag (PI), Daniel Chu (Trainee)
8/1/2017 – 7/31/2019
Understanding Disparities in Surgery for African-Americans with Inflammatory Bowel Disease through Health Literacy
In this study, we used quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate the role of health literacy in determining surgical outcomes for the high-risk IBD population. In particular, we focused on African-Americans with IBD as this population suffers from disproportionately worse outcomes.
Veterans Administration Office of Health Equity – Daniel Chu (Co-Lead)
1/1/2017 – 12/31/2018
Incorporating an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Program to Reduce Health Disparities in Surgical Outcomes for African-American Veterans
This quality improvement project aims to further establish ERAS at the VA Birmingham. Using our experience at UAB, we will assemble a multidisciplinary team of champions at the VA. Second, we will build an electronic tool kit to support and sustain ERAS at the VA. Third, we will use qualitative measures to assess barriers and facilitators to ERAS at the VA from patients and stakeholders.
Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (SSAT) Health Disparities Research Award – Daniel Chu (PI)
7/1/2016 – 10/31/2018
Understanding and Reducing Surgical Disparities Using Enhanced Recovery After Surgery
Using a mixed-methods approach that blends traditional outcomes research with behavioral and social science, we will first evaluate the effect of ERAS on reducing disparities in surgical outcomes for minority patients. Second, using the Health Belief Model as out a priori conceptual framework, we will identify modifiable, patient-level determinants of disparities. Third, we will assess the ability of ERAS to modify patient-level determinants of disparities in minority and non-minority patients
American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons – Daniel Chu (PI)
6/26/2017 – 8/20/2017
Effect of ERAS on Reducing Disparities and Improving Outcomes for African-American Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
Using quantitative methods, we will evaluate the effect of ERAS on reducing disparities in surgical outcomes for African-American patients with IBD. We will use a single-institution, radically-diverse database to conduct this study and include patient-level characteristics such as social determinants of health (SDOH).
VHA HSR&D (IIR 12-358) – Daniel Chu (Co-Investigator)
12/1/2014 – 11/31/2017
Improving Surgical Quality: Risks and Impact of Readmission
This study will evaluate the contribution of patient, procedure, post-operative complication and system factors on readmission within 30 days of hospital discharge following surgery, and use these data to (a) develop and validate a readmission risk prediction tool that can be used real-time, (b) develop a classification of readmission reasons, and (c) explore processes of care linked with readmission. A Delphi panel will be assembled to rank reasons for readmission categories as (a) potentially preventable and (b) appropriateness as a measure of surgical quality.
