The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded Tufts Medicine a $44 million grant to co-lead a study testing a new approach to advance care planning.

The AEGIS trial will bring social workers and nurses into conversations about future medical care, using video decision-support tools available in 25 languages. The main goal is to begin conversations about end-of-life care earlier to give patients and caregivers more time to communicate their preferences for future medical care. Researchers will examine whether the model helps patients receive care that aligns with their goals and preferences.

The study will also examine how the approach can reach rural communities and people who face language or health literacy barriers.

The multi-site study is co-led by Michael Paasche-Orlow, M.D., vice chair of research and professor of medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine and Director of the Center for Health Literacy Research and Practice at Tufts Medicine.

The $44 million award is the largest single-project NIH grant in Tufts Medical Center history. Read more about the project here.