Research Institute for Home Care Awards Organization’s First Dissertation Grants

Research Institute for Home Care Awards Organization’s First Dissertation Grants

Three PhD students receive funding as part of initiative to spur research in home-based care

Washington, DC (December 16, 2024) – The Research Institute for Home Care (the Institute) announced today three new grant awardees as part of its new dissertation grant program. Building off the success of the previous six years, the Institute focused 2024 grant funding efforts on the next generation of home care researchers, offering dissertation grants aimed at aiding students in pursuing their passion for home care.

Grants were awarded to Zidu Xu of Columbia University for their dissertation work, “Employing Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) for Home Healthcare Infection Risk Prediction Equity and Clarity: A Mixed-Method Study,” Elaine Sang of the University of Pennsylvania for their dissertation work, “Sepsis Patient Education: Perspectives from Home Health Nurses; Knowledge and Care Self-Efficacy Among Sepsis Survivors,” and Molly Wylie, MS, of the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston for their dissertation work, “The Role of Health Literacy in Home- and Community-based Services Utilization.”

“Being able to support the work of young researchers interested in improving care at home is an important part of the Institute’s mission,” said Jennifer Sheets, Chairman of the Institute’s Board of Directors. “All of these projects provide critical research on growing and important areas of care at home and the Institute is excited to support their work and taking the next steps in their journey in home care research.”

Past grants awarded by the Institute include those focused on clinical care pilots, payment models, and more. In 2024, Institute supported work was published in the Journal for Healthcare Quality. Previously-funded work has also appeared in Clinical Therapeutics, Journal of the American Geriatric Society, Home Health Care Management and Practice, and more.

The 2025 funding cycle will open next spring, with more information available on the Institute’s website (www.researchinstituteforhomecare.org). For more information about the Institute’s grant funding efforts, or to learn more about future grant opportunities, please visit the Institute’s or reach out to the Institute’s Executive Director, Jennifer Schiller, at jschiller@researchinstituteforhomecare.org.

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The Research Institute for Home Care is a non-profit, national consortium of home care providers and organizations. The Institute invests in research and education about home health care and its ability to deliver quality, cost-effective, patient-centered care across the care continuum. The Institute is committed to conducting and sponsoring research and initiatives that demonstrate and enhance the value proposition that home care has to offer patients and the entire U.S. health care system.