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AHRQ Research Studies Date
Topics
- Blood Pressure (1)
- Cardiovascular Conditions (1)
- Community-Based Practice (1)
- Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) (1)
- Evidence-Based Practice (2)
- Organizational Change (4)
- Patient-Centered Healthcare (2)
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- (-) Practice Improvement (6)
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AHRQ Research Studies
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Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
1 to 6 of 6 Research Studies DisplayedRoss SM, Wang A, Anthony L
Is more better? The impact of implementing more interventions for hypertension control in a practice facilitation study for small- and medium-sized practices.
The purpose of this study was to research the effects of interventions for blood pressure in small- and medium-sized practices. The researchers utilized retrospective analysis on data from Healthy Hearts in the Heartland (H3), a research program conducted in 2016-2018 as part of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's EvidenceNOW initiative, to examine the impact of implementing more interventions for BP control in these settings. The study included 38 H3 practices which met inclusion criteria and researchers assigned each practice to an implementer group (high or low) based on the number of interventions implemented. Practices in the high-implementer group implemented an average of 2.2 additional interventions relative to the low-implementer group. Groups were compared on two measures of BP control: (1) mean percentage of hypertensive patients with a most recent BP below 140/90, and (2) mean systolic and diastolic BP of hypertensive patients. In the first measure, practices in the high-implementer group had better improvement between baseline and the end of the study. Among the 10,150 patients included in the second measure, reductions in mean SBP and DBP were better for the high-implementer group.
AHRQ-funded; HS000078; HS000084; HS023921.
Citation: Ross SM, Wang A, Anthony L .
Is more better? The impact of implementing more interventions for hypertension control in a practice facilitation study for small- and medium-sized practices.
J Hum Hypertens 2023 Nov; 37(11):1007-14. doi: 10.1038/s41371-023-00813-1..
Keywords: Blood Pressure, Cardiovascular Conditions, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Evidence-Based Practice, Practice Improvement
McHugh M, Heinrich J, Philbin S
Declining participation in primary care quality improvement research: a qualitative study.
This qualitative study’s aim was to identify factors leading primary care practices to decline participation in quality initiative (QI) projects, and strategies to improve the feasibility and attractiveness of QI projects in the future. The authors contacted 109 representatives of practices that had declined participation in 1 of 4 AHRQ-funded EvidenceNOW projects. The representatives were invited to either participate in a 15-minute interview or complete a 5-question questionnaire. Representatives from 31 practices responded. Reasons for declining included staff turnover, staffing shortages, and general time constraints, exacerbated by the pandemic, preventing participation in the QI projects. Secondary reasons included challenges with electronic health records, an expectation of greater financial compensation for participation, and confidence in the practices' current care practices. Tying participation to value-based programs and offering greater compensation were identified as strategies to facilitate recruitment. However, none of the respondents’ recommendations addressed the primary issues of staffing challenges and time constraints.
AHRQ-funded; HS027954.
Citation: McHugh M, Heinrich J, Philbin S .
Declining participation in primary care quality improvement research: a qualitative study.
Ann Fam Med 2023 Sep-Oct; 21(5):388-94. doi: 10.1370/afm.3007..
Keywords: Quality Improvement, Primary Care, Quality of Care, Practice Improvement, Organizational Change, Evidence-Based Practice
Quigley DD, Quereshi N, Hays RD
Reasons primary care practices chose patient experience surveys during patient-centered medical home transformation.
This study’s objective was to identify reasons primary care practices chose to implement a patient experience survey during their patient-centered medical home transformation. The authors conducted interviews with a stratified-random sample of 105 of these practices. Fifty-one practices used a Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey and 53 administered another patient survey. The three most common reasons to use a survey were given as: (1) to compare performance against other practices, which requires systematically collected data across large numbers of practices (ie, the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey), (2) participation in an external patient-centered medical home program, and (3) survey administration cost. A second patient survey was used to identify quality improvement needs.
AHRQ-funded; HS016980; HS025920.
Citation: Quigley DD, Quereshi N, Hays RD .
Reasons primary care practices chose patient experience surveys during patient-centered medical home transformation.
J Ambul Care Manage 2023 Jan-Mar;46(1):34-44. doi: 10.1097/jac.0000000000000442.
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Patient-Centered Healthcare, Primary Care, Quality Improvement, Practice Improvement
Rodriguez HP, Chen X, Martinez AE
Availability of primary care team members can improve teamwork and readiness for change.
Researchers conducted a survey of adult primary care providers and staff in California safety net practices to assess primary care team structure (team size, team member availability, and access to interdisciplinary expertise), teamwork, and readiness for change. Greater team member availability was associated with greater readiness for change, but the relationship was stronger for staff than for primary care providers.
AHRQ-funded; HS020120.
Citation: Rodriguez HP, Chen X, Martinez AE .
Availability of primary care team members can improve teamwork and readiness for change.
Health Care Manage Rev 2016 Oct-Dec;41(4):286-95. doi: 10.1097/hmr.0000000000000082.
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Keywords: Primary Care, Teams, Patient-Centered Healthcare, Organizational Change, Practice Improvement
Friedberg MW, Rodriguez HP, Martsolf GR
Measuring workplace climate in community clinics and health centers.
The authors assessed the psychometric properties of a survey instrument combining items from several existing surveys of workplace climate and generated a shorter instrument for future use. They concluded that survey instruments designed to measure workplace climate have substantial overlap, and the set they identified might help target and tailor clinics' quality improvement efforts.
AHRQ-funded; HS020120.
Citation: Friedberg MW, Rodriguez HP, Martsolf GR .
Measuring workplace climate in community clinics and health centers.
Med Care 2016 Oct;54(10):944-9. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000000585.
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Keywords: Community-Based Practice, Provider, Organizational Change, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Practice Improvement
Gray CP, Harrison MI, Hung D
AHRQ Author: Harrison MI
Medical assistants as flow managers in primary care: challenges and recommendations.
Drawing on an empirical study of a large, multispecialty delivery system engaged in reconfiguration of primary care, the authors found that using medical assistants (Mas) as flow managers required overcoming several challenges. These included entrenched social and occupational hierarchies between physicians and MAs, a lack of adequate training and mentorship, and difficulty attracting and retaining talented MAs.
AHRQ-authored; AHRQ-funded; 2902010000221.
Citation: Gray CP, Harrison MI, Hung D .
Medical assistants as flow managers in primary care: challenges and recommendations.
J Healthc Manag 2016 May-Jun;61(3):181-91.
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Keywords: Primary Care, Organizational Change, Practice Improvement, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Workflow, Provider