EQUIP Re-CKD Project

The EQUity In Predicting Re-hospitalization among people with Chronic Kidney Disease (EQUIP Re-CKD) Research Project

The EQUIP Re-CKD project is one of 19 projects funded by the 2025 CIHR Team Grant: Embracing Diversity to Achieve Precision and Increase Health Equity, and is co-funded by The Kidney Foundation of Canada.

The CIHR Team Grants aim to support collaborative, multi-disciplinary research teams addressing key priorities in Canadian healthcare. Led by Dr. Meghan Elliott out of the University of Calgary, EQUIP Re-CKD brings together researchers, healthcare providers, and patient partners from Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario to examine a key concern within the kidney community: re-hospitalization.

Purpose of the Study

Many people with kidney disease experience a variety of urgent health complications that lead to hospital admission rates nearly 5 times higher than people without kidney disease. Additionally, 1 in 4 of these patients are readmitted within one month of leaving the hospital.

While factors like disease progression, treatment complications, associated health conditions, and medication management may play key roles in re-hospitalization, the social determinants of health also play a role. Yet, we do not know how social determinants of health among people with kidney disease may influence the chances of needing readmission to the hospital.

What are the Social Determinants of Health?

The social determinants of health are non-medical factors of a person’s life circumstances that may influence their health. These include factors like gender, race, nutrition, location, education, employment, housing, income, social networks, and more. Accounting for social determinants of health is essential to create effective, equitable, and sustainable health interventions.

To address this, Dr. Elliott and her team aim to:

1. Investigate how the social determinants of health affect a person's chances of hospital readmission.
2. Create a tool to help patients and healthcare providers determine their chances of being readmitted to hospital after discharge.
3. Design a care strategy with personalized supports to prevent future hospital readmission.

Impact

With nearly 400,000 Canadians with kidney disease hospitalized each year, the EQUIP Re-CKD project will make a significant impact on the 25% of those people who experience a quick re-hospitalization.

The EQUIP Re-CKD project will identify the factors linked to re-hospitalizations for patients with kidney disease and offer an innovative evaluation tool with personalized care strategies to reduce burdensome re-hospitalization. Overall, this project will improve the health and quality of life for all people living with kidney disease.

“I am thrilled to be a part of this collaborative, interdisciplinary team that will help to shed light on how the social circumstances of people living with kidney disease influence their access to hospital-based care. This work will be an important step toward personalizing medical and social supports for those with greatest need.”
– Dr. Meghan Elliott, Lead Investigator, EQUIP Re-CKD.

Project Investigators

Principal Investigators:

• Dr. Meghan Elliott – Lead Principal Investigator, University of Calgary
• Dr. Maoliosa Donald – Co-Principal Investigator, University of Calgary
• Dr. Tyrone Harrison – Co-Principal Investigator, University of Calgary
• Dr. Pietro Ravani – Co-Principal Investigator, University of Calgary

Other team members

• Co-investigators: Adeera Levin, Marisa Batistella, David J. Campbell, Tanvir T. Chowdhury, David Collister, Gina Dimitropoulos, Sandra Dumanski, Janine Farragher, Corinne Hohl, Gregory Hundemer, Matthew James, Na Li, Ping Liu, Terrence McDonald, Fahad Razak, Paul Ronksley, Shannon Ruzycki, Helen Tam-Tham, Amol Verma
• Lived Experience Partners: Katie Ahrenholz, Mary Dear, Nazret Russon, Bonnie Corradetti