Project Grant R01HL183194

Grant Summary

Northwestern University's Sponsored Research Division received a $914,694 Project Grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) under the Cardiovascular Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.837), awarded July 15, 2026, with completion targeted for June 30, 2031. The award funds the SimVAD Trial, a multi-center research initiative designed to evaluate the effectiveness and implementation of simulation-based mastery learning (SBML) training for patients with ventricular assist devices (VADs) and their caregivers across eight VAD implant centers. The project addresses a critical gap in standardized VAD self-care education, where current training practices vary widely across U.S. healthcare systems without requiring demonstrated competency before completion, resulting in variable skill acquisition and patient safety risks including driveline exit-site infections, re-hospitalizations, and preventable deaths.

The primary products and services delivered under this grant include the development, evaluation, and implementation of the SimVAD training program, which employs competency-based simulation education to ensure patients and caregivers achieve standardized proficiency in daily VAD self-care management and recognition of critical symptoms. Building on preliminary pilot study results demonstrating superior skills and lower infection rates with SBML compared to traditional training approaches, Northwestern will conduct rigorous multi-center evaluation and dissemination activities to validate SimVAD's effectiveness across diverse VAD centers and establish protocols for broader adoption of this standardized, objective training methodology within the cardiovascular care community.