Federal Project Grant Award Summary

Indiana University Indianapolis received a $346,000 project grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) under the Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.847), awarded June 1, 2026, with a completion date of March 31, 2029. The grant funds development and implementation of a video-based quality improvement intervention designed to enhance screening colonoscopy performance among lower-volume clinicians, particularly surgeons practicing in rural and peri-urban communities. The project addresses documented disparities in colorectal cancer (CRC) outcomes by creating an alternative assessment methodology that moves beyond traditional adenoma detection rate (ADR) metrics, which are less reliable at lower procedure volumes, to comprehensive technical skill evaluation using validated video-recorded procedure assessment rubrics.

The deliverables include development of a scalable video evaluation bundle coupled with targeted feedback mechanisms to improve colonoscopy technical quality and patient safety outcomes in lower-volume practitioners. This initiative builds on prior research demonstrating that expert video evaluation of colonoscopy procedures correlates strongly with quality metrics and clinical outcomes in higher-volume gastroenterologists, and that focused feedback based on technical skill assessment improves overall procedure quality. The project aims to create a practical, cost-effective quality improvement tool that can be deployed across rural healthcare systems to standardize colonoscopy standards and reduce the geographic disparities in CRC mortality currently observed in lower-volume proceduralist populations.