National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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AHRQ Research Studies Date
Topics
- Adverse Drug Events (ADE) (1)
- Adverse Events (7)
- Chronic Conditions (1)
- Clinical Decision Support (CDS) (2)
- Diabetes (1)
- Education: Continuing Medical Education (1)
- Elderly (12)
- Emergency Department (4)
- Emergency Medical Services (EMS) (1)
- Evidence-Based Practice (1)
- (-) Falls (18)
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- Injuries and Wounds (5)
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- Medication: Safety (1)
- Mortality (1)
- Nursing Homes (1)
- Opioids (1)
- Organizational Change (1)
- Outcomes (1)
- Pain (1)
- Patient Safety (11)
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- Prevention (6)
- Provider (1)
- Provider: Nurse (1)
- Quality Improvement (2)
- Quality of Care (2)
- Risk (7)
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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 18 of 18 Research Studies DisplayedLeland NE, Lekovitch C, Martínez J
Optimizing post-acute care patient safety: a scoping review of multifactorial fall prevention interventions for older adults.
The purpose of this scoping review was to describe the evidence for multifactorial post-acute care (PAC) fall prevention interventions for older patients. The researchers included 33 studies and characterized common intervention domains including: evaluating patient-specific fall risk factors, developing an individualized risk profile and treatment plan that targets each patient's fall risk factors, and implementing facility-based strategies such as staff education. There was not consensus across studies in how the domains were addressed and to what extent. The researchers concluded that health system efforts to prevent accidental falls in PAC should consider a patient-centered multifactorial approach.
AHRQ-funded; HS022907.
Citation: Leland NE, Lekovitch C, Martínez J .
Optimizing post-acute care patient safety: a scoping review of multifactorial fall prevention interventions for older adults.
J Appl Gerontol 2022 Oct;41(10):2187-96. doi: 10.1177/07334648221104375..
Keywords: Elderly, Falls, Prevention, Patient Safety, Evidence-Based Practice
Newgard CD, Lin A, Caughey AB
Falls in older adults requiring emergency services: mortality, use of healthcare resources, and prognostication to one year.
The purpose of this study was to assess the prognoses, healthcare use, transitions to skilled nursing or hospice, and mortality of older, community-living adults after a fall. The researchers conducted a secondary analysis of all adults in 7 Northwest U.S. counties greater than or equal to 65 years of age who had been transported to one of 51 hospitals after a fall. The study analyzed Medicare claims, state trauma registry data, state inpatient data, and death records for outcomes which included healthcare use, new claims for skilled nursing and hospice for one year, and mortality. The researchers found that in 3,159 older adults there were 147 deaths within 30 days and 665 deaths within one year, and the following predictors of mortality: respiratory diagnosis, serious brain injury, having a baseline disability, or a score of greater than or equal to 2 on the Charlson Comorbidity Index. The study concluded that in the year after experiencing a fall, community-living older adults who require ambulance transport to the hospital have increases in institutionalized living, the utilization of health care, and mortality.
AHRQ-funded; HS023796.
Citation: Newgard CD, Lin A, Caughey AB .
Falls in older adults requiring emergency services: mortality, use of healthcare resources, and prognostication to one year.
West J Emerg Med 2022 May 14;23(3):375-85. doi: 10.5811/westjem.2021.11.54327..
Keywords: Elderly, Falls, Emergency Department, Mortality, Healthcare Utilization
Rice H, Garabedian PM, Shear K
Clinical decision support for fall prevention: defining end-user needs.
The purpose of this study was to identify patient and primary care staff needs for development of a tool that will generate clinical decision support (CDS) to prevent falls and injuries in older adults. Community-dwelling patients aged 60 and over and primary care clinic staff were eligible to participate in the study; all were affiliated with the University of Florida Health Archer Family Health Care primary care clinic and the Brigham & Women's Hospital-affiliated primary care clinics. Through qualitative interviews with patients (n=18) and primary care clinic staff (n=24) user needs were identified and then categorized into the following themes: evidence-based safe exercises; expert guidance; individualized resources; in-person assessment of patient condition; motivational tools; patient understanding of fall risk; personal support networks; systematic communication and workload burden. The study concluded that personalized, actionable, and evidence-based clinical decision support may be able to address some of the many gaps that exist in fall prevention management in older adults.
AHRQ-funded; HS027557.
Citation: Rice H, Garabedian PM, Shear K .
Clinical decision support for fall prevention: defining end-user needs.
Appl Clin Inform 2022 May;13(3):647-55. doi: 10.1055/s-0042-1750360..
Keywords: Elderly, Falls, Prevention, Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Shared Decision Making, Health Information Technology (HIT)
Jacobsohn GC, Leaf M, Liao F
Collaborative design and implementation of a clinical decision support system for automated fall-risk identification and referrals in emergency departments.
The authors used a collaborative and iterative approach to design and implement an automated clinical decision support system (CDS) for Emergency Department (ED) providers to identify and refer older adult ED patients at high risk of future falls. The system was developed using collaborative input from an interdisciplinary design team and integrated seamlessly into existing ED workflows. A key feature of development was the unique combination of patient experience strategies, human-centered design, and implementation science, which allowed for the CDS tool and intervention implementation strategies to be designed simultaneously. Challenges included: usability problems, data inaccessibility, time constraints, low appointment availability, high volume of patients, and others. The study concluded that using the collaborative, iterative approach was successful in achieving all project goals, and could be applied to other cases.
AHRQ-funded; HS024558.
Citation: Jacobsohn GC, Leaf M, Liao F .
Collaborative design and implementation of a clinical decision support system for automated fall-risk identification and referrals in emergency departments.
Healthc 2022 Mar;10(1):100598. doi: 10.1016/j.hjdsi.2021.100598..
Keywords: Elderly, Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Shared Decision Making, Falls, Risk, Emergency Department, Health Information Technology (HIT)
Chen C, Winterstein AG, Lo-Ciganic WH
Concurrent use of prescription gabapentinoids with opioids and risk for fall-related injury among older US Medicare beneficiaries with chronic noncancer pain: a population-based cohort study.
This study compared the risk of fall-related injury in two cohorts who used gabapentinoids concurrently with opioid use and those who used opioids only. The authors created 2 cohorts based on whether concurrent users initiated gabapentinoids on the day of opioid initiation (Cohort 1) or after opioid initiation (Cohort 2). Both cohorts were identified from a sample of older Medicare beneficiaries with chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP). Four concurrent users were matched up with 1 opioid-only user. They identified 6,733 concurrent users and 27,092 matched opioid-only users in Cohort 1 and 5,709 concurrent users and 22,388 matched opioid-only users in Cohort 2. Cohort 1’s incidence rate of fall-related injury was 24.5 per 100 person-users during follow-up and was 18.0 per 100-person-years during follow-up for Cohort 2. Concurrent users had had similar risk of fall-related injury as opioid-only users in Cohort 1 but had higher risk for fall-related injury than opioid-only users in Cohort 2.
AHRQ-funded; HS027230.
Citation: Chen C, Winterstein AG, Lo-Ciganic WH .
Concurrent use of prescription gabapentinoids with opioids and risk for fall-related injury among older US Medicare beneficiaries with chronic noncancer pain: a population-based cohort study.
PLoS Med 2022 Mar;19(3):e1003921. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003921..
Keywords: Elderly, Opioids, Medication, Medication: Safety, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Falls, Patient Safety, Injuries and Wounds, Pain, Chronic Conditions
Dykes PC, Khasnabish S, Burns Z
Development and validation of a fall prevention efficiency scale.
This study examined nurses’ perception of implementing the Fall TIPS (Tailoring Interventions for Patient Safety) tool, which is an evidence-based fall prevention program which was shown to reduce falls in hospitalized adults by 25%. The authors conducted a 3-phase mixed method study at 3 hospitals in Massachusetts and 3 in New York to assess nurses’ perceptions of burdens imposed on them by using Fall TIPS or other fall prevention programs. A 20-item prototype Fall Prevention Efficiency Scale was developed and administered to 383 clinical nurses. This scale was reduced to 13 items. The scale achieved excellent internal consistency values when examined with the test, validation, and paired (both test and retest) samples.
AHRQ-funded; HS025128.
Citation: Dykes PC, Khasnabish S, Burns Z .
Development and validation of a fall prevention efficiency scale.
J Patient Saf 2022 Mar 1;18(2):94-101. doi: 10.1097/pts.0000000000000811..
Keywords: Falls, Prevention, Patient Safety, Hospitals
Venema DM, Skinner AM, Nailon R
Patient and system factors associated with unassisted and injurious falls in hospitals: an observational study.
Unassisted falls are more likely to result in injury than assisted falls. However, little is known about risk factors for falling unassisted. Furthermore, rural hospitals, which care for a high proportion of older adults, are underrepresented in research on hospital falls. This study identified risk factors for unassisted and injurious falls in rural hospitals.
AHRQ-funded; HS021429.
Citation: Venema DM, Skinner AM, Nailon R .
Patient and system factors associated with unassisted and injurious falls in hospitals: an observational study.
BMC Geriatr 2019 Dec 11;19(1):348. doi: 10.1186/s12877-019-1368-8..
Keywords: Falls, Injuries and Wounds, Patient Safety, Elderly, Risk, Hospitals, Adverse Events
Allen JA, Reiter-Palmon R, Kennel V, et al.
Group and organizational safety norms set the stage for good post-fall huddles.
In this study, the investigators explored group and organizational safety norms as antecedents to meeting leader behaviors and achievement of desired outcomes in a special after-action review case-a post-fall huddle. Findings indicated that organizational and group safety norms related to perceived huddle meeting effectiveness through appropriate huddle leader behavior in a partial mediated framework.
AHRQ-funded; HS024630; HS021429.
Citation: Allen JA, Reiter-Palmon R, Kennel V, et al..
Group and organizational safety norms set the stage for good post-fall huddles.
J Leadersh Organ Stud 2019 Nov;26(4):465-75. doi: 10.1177/1548051818781820..
Keywords: Adverse Events, Falls, Organizational Change, Patient Safety
Jones KJ, Skinner A, Venema D
Evaluating the use of multiteam systems to manage the complexity of inpatient falls in rural hospitals.
Researchers evaluated the implementation and outcomes of evidence-based fall-risk-reduction processes when those processes are implemented using a multiteam system (MTS) structure. They found that multiteam systems that effectively coordinate fall-risk-reduction processes may improve the capacity of hospitals to manage the complex patient, environmental, and system factors that result in falls.
AHRQ-funded; HS024630; HS021429.
Citation: Jones KJ, Skinner A, Venema D .
Evaluating the use of multiteam systems to manage the complexity of inpatient falls in rural hospitals.
Health Serv Res 2019 Oct;54(5):994-1006. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.13186..
Keywords: Falls, Hospitals, Inpatient Care, Quality of Care, Quality Improvement, Patient Safety, Prevention, Risk
Jones KJ, Crowe J, Allen JA
The impact of post-fall huddles on repeat fall rates and perceptions of safety culture: a quasi-experimental evaluation of a patient safety demonstration project.
The purpose of this study was to determine associations between conducting post-fall huddles and repeat fall rates and between post-fall huddle participation and perceptions of teamwork and safety culture. The investigators concluded that post-fall huddles may reduce the risk of repeat falls. Staff who participate in post-fall huddles were likely to have positive perceptions of teamwork support for fall-risk reduction and safety culture because huddles are a team-based approach to reporting, adapting, and learning.
AHRQ-funded; HS024630; HS021429.
Citation: Jones KJ, Crowe J, Allen JA .
The impact of post-fall huddles on repeat fall rates and perceptions of safety culture: a quasi-experimental evaluation of a patient safety demonstration project.
BMC Health Serv Res 2019 Sep 9;19(1):650. doi: 10.1186/s12913-019-4453-y..
Keywords: TeamSTEPPS, Falls, Adverse Events, Surveys on Patient Safety Culture, Patient Safety, Hospitals, Teams
Shorr RI, Staggs VS, Waters TM
Impact of the hospital-acquired conditions initiative on falls and physical restraints: a longitudinal study.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) implemented the Hospital-Acquired Conditions (HACs) Initiative in October 2008; the CMS no longer reimbursed hospitals for fall injury. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of the 2008 HACs Initiative on the rates of falls, injurious falls, and physical restraint use. The investigators concluded that since the HACs Initiative, there was at best a modest decline in the rates of falls and injurious falls observed primarily in larger, major teaching hospitals. An increase in restraint use was not observed.
AHRQ-funded; HS020627.
Citation: Shorr RI, Staggs VS, Waters TM .
Impact of the hospital-acquired conditions initiative on falls and physical restraints: a longitudinal study.
J Hosp Med 2019 Sep 6;14:E31-E36. doi: 10.12788/jhm.3295..
Keywords: Falls, Adverse Events, Hospitals, Payment, Policy, Elderly
Klock M, Kang H, Gon Y
Scoring patient fall reports using quality rubric and machine learning.
Employing AHRQ’s rubric for assessing the quality of fall reports, the authors compared three different machine-learning models and identified the most effective method for scoring fall reports. They intend that their study results will be applicable in healthcare facilities to score reports during reporting for reporters to improve report quality. Their ultimate goal is to increase learning from fall reports for better prevention of patient falls.
AHRQ-funded; HS022895.
Citation: Klock M, Kang H, Gon Y .
Scoring patient fall reports using quality rubric and machine learning.
Stud Health Technol Inform 2019 Aug 21;264:639-43. doi: 10.3233/shti190301..
Keywords: Falls, Patient Safety, Prevention, Quality of Care, Quality Improvement
Patterson BW, Jacobsohn GC, Shah MN
Development and validation of a pragmatic natural language processing approach to identifying falls in older adults in the emergency department.
This study examined development and validation of a pragmatic natural language processing (NLP) approach to identify fall risk in older adults after emergency department (ED) visits. A single center retrospective review using data from 500 emergency department provider notes on older adults age 65 and older were random selected for analysis. The NLP algorithm successfully identified falls in ED notes with over 90% precision, and looks promising to reduce labor-intensive manual abstraction.
AHRQ-funded; HS024558.
Citation: Patterson BW, Jacobsohn GC, Shah MN .
Development and validation of a pragmatic natural language processing approach to identifying falls in older adults in the emergency department.
BMC Med Inform Decis Mak 2019 Jul 22;19(1):138. doi: 10.1186/s12911-019-0843-7..
Keywords: Adverse Events, Elderly, Emergency Department, Falls, Risk, Patient Safety
Patterson BW, Engstrom CJ, Sah V
Training and interpreting machine learning algorithms to evaluate fall risk after emergency department visits.
This study examined the potential of using machine learning algorithms to evaluate fall risk after an emergency department (ED) visit. They compared several machine learning methodologies for creation of a risk stratification algorithm to predict the outcome of a return visit for a fall within 6 months of an ED visit.
AHRQ-funded; HS024558; HS024342.
Citation: Patterson BW, Engstrom CJ, Sah V .
Training and interpreting machine learning algorithms to evaluate fall risk after emergency department visits.
Med Care 2019 Jul;57(7):560-66. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001140..
Keywords: Adverse Events, Elderly, Emergency Department, Falls, Risk, Patient Safety
Newgard CD, Lin A, Yanez ND
Long-term outcomes among injured older adults transported by emergency medical services.
This study examined the outcomes of injured older adults who were transported by emergency medical services (EMS) to the hospital. Older adults 65 years and older who were transported by 44 EMS agencies to 51 hospitals in 2011 were included and then had a 12-month follow-up through December 31, 2012. The majority of older adults were transported after a fall (84.5%). Serious injuries occurred in 3.5% with a serious extremity injury being the most common (17.8%). Mortality rates for older adults with severe injuries ranged from 1.6% in the hospital to 20.3% at 1 year. The most common causes of death was cardiovascular diseases and dementia.
AHRQ-funded; HS023796.
Citation: Newgard CD, Lin A, Yanez ND .
Long-term outcomes among injured older adults transported by emergency medical services.
Injury 2019 Jun;50(6):1175-85. doi: 10.1016/j.injury.2019.04.028..
Keywords: Elderly, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Falls, Injuries and Wounds, Outcomes, Trauma
Randolph AC, Lin YL, Volpi E
Tricyclic antidepressant and/or gamma-aminobutyric acid-analog use is associated with fall risk in diabetic peripheral neuropathy.
This study invested whether tricyclic antidepressant and/or gamma-aminobutyric acid-analog (TCA/GABA) use is associated fall risk in older diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) patients. A nationally representative 5% Medicare sample between the years 2008 and 2010 were used, and 5,550 patients with TCA/GABA prescriptions were compared to 22,200 patients without a TCA/GABA prescription. Patients were followed until there was an incidence of a fall or first incidence of a fracture during the follow-up period of up to 5 years. After covariate adjustment, there was a statistically significant increase in falls and fractures for patients using TCAs or GABA-analogs.
AHRQ-funded; HS020642.
Citation: Randolph AC, Lin YL, Volpi E .
Tricyclic antidepressant and/or gamma-aminobutyric acid-analog use is associated with fall risk in diabetic peripheral neuropathy.
J Am Geriatr Soc 2019 Jun;67(6):1174-81. doi: 10.1111/jgs.15779..
Keywords: Medication, Diabetes, Elderly, Falls, Injuries and Wounds, Medicare, Risk
Dykes PC, Bogaisky M, Carter EJ
Development and validation of a fall prevention knowledge test.
The authors developed and evaluated a fall prevention knowledge test (FPKT). The 11-item FPKT scale producing statistically significant differences confirmed validity. They recommended that a robust way to assess nurses' knowledge of fall prevention is needed to inform effective educational programs. They concluded that addressing gaps in validated FPKTs provides an opportunity to inform and evaluate effective fall prevention programs.
AHRQ-funded; HS025128; HS023535.
Citation: Dykes PC, Bogaisky M, Carter EJ .
Development and validation of a fall prevention knowledge test.
J Am Geriatr Soc 2019 Jan;67(1):133-38. doi: 10.1111/jgs.15563..
Keywords: Falls, Prevention, Provider: Nurse, Provider, Education: Continuing Medical Education
Aspinall SL, Springer SP, Zhao X
Central nervous system medication burden and risk of recurrent serious falls and hip fractures in Veterans Affairs nursing home residents.
This study investigated the association between taking central nervous system (CNS) medications with the risk of serious falls and hip fractures. Study participants were residents at a Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Community Living Center (CLC) between July 1, 2005 and June 30, 2009. This was a nested case-control study. The investigators concluded that there was a higher risk in those residents receiving 3.0 or more daily CNS medications.
AHRQ-funded; HS023779.
Citation: Aspinall SL, Springer SP, Zhao X .
Central nervous system medication burden and risk of recurrent serious falls and hip fractures in Veterans Affairs nursing home residents.
J Am Geriatr Soc 2019 Jan;67(1):74-80. doi: 10.1111/jgs.15603..
Keywords: Elderly, Falls, Injuries and Wounds, Long-Term Care, Medication, Nursing Homes, Patient Safety, Risk