National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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Search All Research Studies
AHRQ Research Studies Date
Topics
- Adverse Events (1)
- Antibiotics (2)
- Antimicrobial Stewardship (1)
- Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection (CAUTI) (1)
- Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) (2)
- Dementia (1)
- Elderly (6)
- Evidence-Based Practice (1)
- Health Information Technology (HIT) (1)
- (-) Long-Term Care (18)
- Medical Errors (1)
- Medicare (2)
- Medication (4)
- Mortality (1)
- Neurological Disorders (1)
- (-) Nursing Homes (18)
- Outcomes (1)
- Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (2)
- Patient Experience (1)
- Patient Safety (3)
- Payment (1)
- Policy (1)
- Provider Performance (6)
- Public Reporting (1)
- (-) Quality Improvement (18)
- Quality Indicators (QIs) (3)
- Quality Measures (6)
- Quality of Care (15)
- Risk (1)
- Shared Decision Making (2)
- Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) (1)
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 18 of 18 Research Studies DisplayedYount N, Zebrak KA, Famolaro T
Linking patient safety culture to quality ratings in the nursing home setting.
This study examined the relationship between scores on the AHRQ Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) Nursing Home Survey (NH SOPS) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Nursing Home Five-Star Quality Ratings. The authors used data on 186 nursing homes to conduct multiple regression analyses predicting the Five-Star Quality Ratings from the NH SOPS survey measures. Five NH SOPS measures were related to the Overall, Health Inspections, and Quality Five-Star Ratings; four NH SOPS measures were related to at least two of the four Five-Star Quality Ratings and three SOPS measures were related to one Five-Star Rating. No NH SOPS measures were significantly associated with the Staffing Five-Star Rating.
AHRQ-funded; 233201500026I.
Citation: Yount N, Zebrak KA, Famolaro T .
Linking patient safety culture to quality ratings in the nursing home setting.
J Appl Gerontol 2022 Jan;41(1):73-81. doi: 10.1177/0733464820969283..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Patient Safety, Nursing Homes, Long-Term Care, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Measures, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Davila H, Shippee TP, Park YS
Inside the black box of improving on nursing home quality measures.
This qualitative study investigated how nursing homes (NHs) interact with quality measures (QMs) used by Nursing Home Compare (NHC) as part of its 5-star rating system. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 110 NH personnel and 23 NH provider association representatives. Observations of organizational processes in 12 NHs in three states were also done. The authors found that most NHs are working to improve the quality of care they provide, not merely to improve their QM scores. They also found limitations with the QMs, suggesting that the QMs on their own may not accurately reflect the quality of care that NHs provide. The findings suggest several changes to improve NHC.
AHRQ-funded; HS024967.
Citation: Davila H, Shippee TP, Park YS .
Inside the black box of improving on nursing home quality measures.
Med Care Res Rev 2021 Dec;78(6):758-70. doi: 10.1177/1077558720960326..
Keywords: Nursing Homes, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Measures, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Provider Performance, Long-Term Care
Hanlon JT, Perera S, Schweon S
Improvements in antibiotic appropriateness for cystitis in older nursing home residents: a quality improvement study with randomized assignment.
This study evaluated the impact of an educational quality improvement initiative on the appropriateness of antibiotic prescribing restricted to uncomplicated cystitis in older noncatheterized nursing home residents. This 1-year case-control study used 25 participating nursing homes that were randomized to the intervention or usual care group by strata that included state, urban/rural status, bed size, and geographic separation. A total of 75 cases of cystitis were found in the intervention groups and 92 in the control groups. The intervention group had a nonsignificant 21% reduction in the risk of antibiotic prescribing. There was a favorable comparison in appropriateness of duration. However, the intervention group had more problems with drug-drug interactions than the control group (8% vs 1%). There were also more problems with dosage in the intervention group. Both groups had similar rates of problems with choice or effectiveness (44% vs 45%). The most common antibiotic class that was prescribed inappropriately was quinolones.
AHRQ-funded; R18 HS023779.
Citation: Hanlon JT, Perera S, Schweon S .
Improvements in antibiotic appropriateness for cystitis in older nursing home residents: a quality improvement study with randomized assignment.
J Am Med Dir Assoc 2021 Jan;22(1):173-77. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2020.07.040..
Keywords: Elderly, Nursing Homes, Long-Term Care, Antibiotics, Medication, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Urinary Tract Infection (UTI), Shared Decision Making
Mangrum R, Stewart MD, Gifford DR
Omissions of care in nursing homes: a uniform definition for research and quality improvement.
The goal of this study was to create a uniform definition of omission of care in US nursing homes. Lack of a uniform definition has made efforts to prevent them challenging. Subject matter experts and a broad range of nursing home stakeholders were brought together in iterative rounds of engagement to identify key concepts and aspects of omissions of care and develop a consensus-based definition. The concise definition decided on was: “Omissions of care in nursing homes encompass situations when care–either clinical or nonclinical–is not provided for a resident and results in additional monitoring or intervention or increases the risk of an undesirable or adverse physical, emotional, or psychosocial outcome for the resident."
AHRQ-funded; 233201500014I.
Citation: Mangrum R, Stewart MD, Gifford DR .
Omissions of care in nursing homes: a uniform definition for research and quality improvement.
J Am Med Dir Assoc 2020 Nov;21(11):1587-91.e2. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2020.08.016..
Keywords: Elderly, Nursing Homes, Long-Term Care, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Medical Errors, Adverse Events, Patient Safety, Risk, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research
Alexander GL, Madsen R, Deroche CB
Ternary trends in nursing home information technology and quality measures in the United States.
This survey investigated whether improvements in nursing home information technology (NH IT) increases quality measures. Nursing home administrators were surveyed from 2014 to 2017. Nine dimensions/domains and total IT sophistication were measured. A total of 815 Year 1 surveys were completed. It was found that for every 10 units increase in administrative activity of IT use, a decrease of 1.3% occurred in the percentage of low-risk long-stay residents with bowel or bladder incontinence.
AHRQ-funded; HS022497.
Citation: Alexander GL, Madsen R, Deroche CB .
Ternary trends in nursing home information technology and quality measures in the United States.
J Appl Gerontol 2020 Oct;39(10):1134-43. doi: 10.1177/0733464819862928..
Keywords: Nursing Homes, Health Information Technology (HIT), Quality Measures, Quality Improvement, Long-Term Care, Quality of Care
Crystal S, Jarrín OF, Rosenthal M
National partnership to improve dementia care in nursing homes campaign: state and facility strategies, impact, and antipsychotic reduction outcomes.
This study examines the success of the national partnership campaign to reduce prescription of antipsychotic medications to elderly nursing home residents with dementia. Antipsychotic medications have been shown to increase mortality. Use of these medications had increased 23.9% in dementia patients by 2011. The campaign reduced use by 40.1% to 14.3% by the second quarter of 2019. The campaign measured progress with public reporting of quality measures, increased regulatory scrutiny, and accompanying state and facility initiatives. Sedative-hypnotic medication use also decreased in tandem with antipsychotic reduction suggesting that the campaign increased attention to the use of other risky psychotropic medications.
AHRQ-funded; HS023464; HS022406; HS023258; HS021112.
Citation: Crystal S, Jarrín OF, Rosenthal M .
National partnership to improve dementia care in nursing homes campaign: state and facility strategies, impact, and antipsychotic reduction outcomes.
Innov Aging 2020 Jun 2;4(3):igaa018. doi: 10.1093/geroni/igaa018..
Keywords: Elderly, Nursing Homes, Long-Term Care, Dementia, Neurological Disorders, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Medication, Mortality
Simpson KR, Lyndon A, Spetz J
A 2-year pragmatic trial of antibiotic stewardship in 27 community nursing homes.
The purpose of this study was to determine associations between missed nursing care and nurse staffing during labor and birth, and exclusive breast milk feeding at hospital discharge. Exclusive breast milk feeding is a national quality indicator of inpatient maternity care. Nurses have substantial responsibility for direct support of infant feeding during the childbirth hospitalization. The investigators indicate that the results support exclusive breast milk feeding as a nurse-sensitive quality indicator.
AHRQ-funded; HS022846.
Citation: Simpson KR, Lyndon A, Spetz J .
A 2-year pragmatic trial of antibiotic stewardship in 27 community nursing homes.
J Am Geriatr Soc 2020 Jan;68(1):46-54. doi: 10.1111/jgs.16059..
Keywords: Antibiotics, Medication, Antimicrobial Stewardship, Nursing Homes, Long-Term Care, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Sharma H, Konetzka RT, Smieliauskas F
The relationship between reported staffing and expenditures in nursing homes.
AHRQ-funded; HS024967.
Citation: Sharma H, Konetzka RT, Smieliauskas F .
The relationship between reported staffing and expenditures in nursing homes.
Med Care Res Rev 2019 Dec 1;76(6):758-83. doi: 10.1177/1077558717739214..
Keywords: Nursing Homes, Long-Term Care, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Provider Performance, Medicare
Perraillon MC, Brauner DJ, Konetzka RT
Nursing home response to Nursing Home Compare: the provider perspective.
This paper examined the validity of quality ratings of nursing homes with Nursing Home Compare (NHC) and assessed the views of nursing home administrators and staff. There was a conflict found between improving ratings and competing goals of maximizing profits and avoidance of litigation. Since the NHC is self-reported there is controversy on its validity due to self-reporting bias.
AHRQ-funded; HS018718.
Citation: Perraillon MC, Brauner DJ, Konetzka RT .
Nursing home response to Nursing Home Compare: the provider perspective.
Med Care Res Rev 2019 Aug;76(4):425-43. doi: 10.1177/1077558717725165..
Keywords: Long-Term Care, Nursing Homes, Provider Performance, Quality of Care, Quality Improvement
Hanlon JT, Perera S, Drinka PJ
The IOU consensus recommendations for empirical therapy of cystitis in nursing home residents.
A 19-member panel of clinical pharmacists was convened for the Improving Outcomes of UTI Management in Long-Term Care Project (IOU) funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The objective is to reach consensus on a set of recommendations for the empirical treatment of cystitis in older nursing home residents with oral anti-infective medications. A comprehensive literature search was conducted and out of that 31 recommendations were created. There were two Delphi Survey rounds conducted and those recommendations were rated on a 5-point Likert scale. In the first round three recommendations reached consensus and in the second round an additional eight recommendations were agreed on.
AHRQ-funded; HS023779.
Citation: Hanlon JT, Perera S, Drinka PJ .
The IOU consensus recommendations for empirical therapy of cystitis in nursing home residents.
J Am Geriatr Soc 2019 Mar;67(3):539-45. doi: 10.1111/jgs.15726..
Keywords: Elderly, Nursing Homes, Long-Term Care, Medication, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Evidence-Based Practice
Krein SL, Harrod M, Collier S
A national collaborative approach to reduce catheter-associated urinary tract infections in nursing homes: a qualitative assessment.
AHRQ’s Safety Program for Long-term Care: Health Care-Associated Infections/Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection, a national performance improvement program, was designed to promote implementation of a catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) prevention program through state-based or regional collaboratives in more than 500 nursing homes across the United States. The observed program success and positive views of those participating suggest that collaboratives are an important strategy for providing nursing homes with enhanced expertise and support.
AHRQ-funded; 290201000025I; 29032008T.
Citation: Krein SL, Harrod M, Collier S .
A national collaborative approach to reduce catheter-associated urinary tract infections in nursing homes: a qualitative assessment.
Am J Infect Control 2017 Dec;45(12):1342-48. doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2017.07.006.
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Keywords: Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection (CAUTI), Long-Term Care, Nursing Homes, Quality Improvement, Patient Safety
Abrahamson K, Davila H, Rehkamp N
Is there a business case for nursing home quality improvement?
The objective of this study was to investigate the economic or business perspective surrounding QI participation by exploring nursing home leader perceptions regarding market-based motivations for improvements, or a business case for engaging in a quality improvement project.
AHRQ-funded; HS018464.
Citation: Abrahamson K, Davila H, Rehkamp N .
Is there a business case for nursing home quality improvement?
Nurs Econ 2016 Sep-Oct;34(5):224-9, 35..
Keywords: Long-Term Care, Nursing Homes, Quality Improvement
Lepore M, Leland NE
Nursing homes that increased the proportion of Medicare days saw gains in quality outcomes for long-stay residents.
The authors examined nationwide facility-level nursing home data for the period 2007-2010. They found that increasing the proportion of Medicare-covered patient days in a nursing home was significantly associated with improvements in the quality of daily pain, pressure ulcers, and performing activities of daily living.
AHRQ-funded; HS022907.
Citation: Lepore M, Leland NE .
Nursing homes that increased the proportion of Medicare days saw gains in quality outcomes for long-stay residents.
Health Aff 2015 Dec;34(12):2121-8. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2015.0303.
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Keywords: Long-Term Care, Medicare, Nursing Homes, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Quality Improvement
Mukamel DB, Ye Z, Glance LG
Does mandating nursing home participation in quality reporting make a difference? Evidence from Massachusetts.
This study investigated one of the mechanisms that may detract from the effectiveness of quality report cards: voluntary versus mandatory participation of nursing homes in public quality reporting. It found that once reporting became mandatory, nonvolunteers improved more than volunteers in all but 2 staffing measures.
AHRQ-funded; HS021844.
Citation: Mukamel DB, Ye Z, Glance LG .
Does mandating nursing home participation in quality reporting make a difference? Evidence from Massachusetts.
Med Care 2015 Aug;53(8):713-9. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000000390..
Keywords: Nursing Homes, Long-Term Care, Public Reporting, Provider Performance, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Measures, Elderly
Abrahamson K, Miech E, Davila HW
Pay-for-performance policy and data-driven decision making within nursing homes: a qualitative study.
The researchers explored ways in which data were collected, thought about and used by nursing home employees as a result of participation in a pay-for-performance (P4P) program. Their findings indicated that participants in the Minnesota Performance-based Incentive Payment Program’s quality improvement (QI) projects perceived a change in the rate and manner in which they gathered, used, and considered data in their QI decisions.
AHRQ-funded; HS018464
Citation: Abrahamson K, Miech E, Davila HW .
Pay-for-performance policy and data-driven decision making within nursing homes: a qualitative study.
BMJ Qual Saf. 2015 May;24(5):311-7. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2014-003362..
Keywords: Nursing Homes, Long-Term Care, Payment, Provider Performance, Shared Decision Making, Policy, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Abrahamson K, Mueller C, Davila HW
Nurses as boundary-spanners in reducing avoidable hospitalizations among nursing home residents.
The researchers interviewed 76 nurses working at 38 nursing homes that were implementing quality improvement projects to reduce avoidable hospitalizations. They explored the role of the nurse as boundary-spanner between the organizational goals of the nursing home and external stakeholder systems and how that influences the nursing staff experience.
AHRQ-funded; HS018464
Citation: Abrahamson K, Mueller C, Davila HW .
Nurses as boundary-spanners in reducing avoidable hospitalizations among nursing home residents.
Res Gerontol Nurs. 2014 Sep-Oct;7(5):235-43. doi: 10.3928/19404921-20140519-01..
Keywords: Nursing Homes, Long-Term Care, Elderly, Quality of Care, Quality Improvement
Mukamel DB, Harrington C
Resident satisfaction surveys and clinical quality of care in nursing homes: two sides of the same coin?
The authors of this article believe that quality of nursing homes is a complex, multidimensional construct. Unlike acute care hospitals, where patients are typically treated for one specific condition and stay for a short period of time, the length of stays in nursing homes varies widely. They argue that neither the individual assessment of clinical quality nor evaluation of hotel services are sufficient.
AHRQ-funded; HS021844.
Citation: Mukamel DB, Harrington C .
Resident satisfaction surveys and clinical quality of care in nursing homes: two sides of the same coin?
Aging Health 2013 Dec;9(6):607-9. doi: 10.2217/ahe.13.63..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Long-Term Care, Nursing Homes, Patient Experience, Quality of Care, Quality Improvement, Quality Measures
Werner RM, Konetzka RT, Kim MM
Quality improvement under nursing home compare: the association between changes in process and outcome measures.
The researchers tested the extent to which improvements in outcomes of care are explained by changes in nursing home processes. Of the 5 outcome measures examined, they found that only improvements in the percentage of nursing home residents in moderate or severe pain were associated with changes in nursing home processes of care. They concluded that understanding the mechanism behind improvements in nursing home outcomes may be key to successfully achieving broad quality improvements across nursing homes.
AHRQ-funded; HS021861.
Citation: Werner RM, Konetzka RT, Kim MM .
Quality improvement under nursing home compare: the association between changes in process and outcome measures.
Med Care 2013 Jul;51(7):582-8. doi: 10.1097/MLR.0b013e31828dbae4.
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Keywords: Nursing Homes, Long-Term Care, Quality Improvement, Quality Measures, Quality of Care, Provider Performance, Outcomes