Grant: Health System Impact Embedded ECR Award - Patient-Oriented Research

Kidney failure is a life-changing condition. Choosing between treatments such as dialysis or conservative kidney management can be overwhelming for patients and their families. Many people must make these decisions without clear, personalized information about what the future may look like for them. This can lead to uncertainty, stress, and choices that do not fully reflect what matters most to the patient. As an embedded researcher working within Alberta Kidney Care, my goal is to address this gap by integrating a new tool, called WiseKidney, into routine kidney care in Alberta. WiseKidney uses advanced computer methods to provide personalized estimates of a patient's chances of survival over the next one to two years. These estimates are shared using simple visuals and are paired with a structured guide to help kidney doctors have clear, compassionate conversations about prognosis and patient values. With support from the Health System Impact Embedded Early Career Researcher Award, I will lead the real-world implementation and evaluation of WiseKidney across Alberta. Working closely with patients, clinicians, and health system leaders, I will study how well the tool improve patient experiences, support healthcare providers, and fits into routine care. More broadly, this project will show how artificial intelligence tools can be safely and effectively integrated into everyday care to support continuous learning and improvement across the health system.