ACS-researcher Alicia Uijl, an assistant professor at AMC specialized in cardiovascular epidemiology, has been awarded the ZonMw grant of €400 000 for research into appropriate palliative care for her project titled “AI risk estimation for advanced care planning in heart failure (Care-Heart)”.
Alicia is an epidemiologist specialized in Cardiovascular Epidemiology. She completed her PhD on Real-World Evidence in Heart Failure at University Medical Center Utrecht. Currently, she is Assistant Professor at Amsterdam University Medical Center and affiliated researcher at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. In her research, Alicia focuses on applying advanced epidemiological methodology and Data Science on Real-World Data sources to obtain Real-World Evidence for patients with Heart Failure.
The project
The goal of this research project is to develop and validate an advanced, AI-driven model, integrated with electronic health records (EHR), that accurately predicts when a patient with heart failure is nearing the final stage of life. This enables timely transition to comfort-focused care, increasing quality of life and reducing unnecessary hospitalizations and associated costs. The project will be conducted in 5 phases: development and validation, stakeholder input, clinical evaluation, implementation and cost-effectiveness. The prediction model will be developed using data from the Amsterdam UMC and linked to the Amsterdam General Practitioners Network (ANHA). We will collect input from different stakeholders to develop educational modules that will be used in the implementation of the model in regular care. The model will be clinically evaluated in a virtual trial, evaluating patient reports using the AI prediction model and calculating cost-effectiveness.
The grant
The goal of the grant is to facilitate research in the field of palliative care that brings clear, demonstrable added value relative to existing knowledge and/or interventions. Studies should involve an innovative approach to tackling a problem identified in the daily practice of palliative care. Achieving impact with the project results will be an important goal. Impact occurs when knowledge is applied. Project results must actually be used in practice, policy, training and/or research.
Click here to read more about Alicia’s research or the ZonMw grant.