National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
Latest available findings on quality of and access to health care
Data
- Data Infographics
- Data Visualizations
- Data Tools
- Data Innovations
- All-Payer Claims Database
- Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP)
- Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)
- AHRQ Quality Indicator Tools for Data Analytics
- State Snapshots
- United States Health Information Knowledgebase (USHIK)
- Data Sources Available from AHRQ
Search All Research Studies
Topics
- Care Coordination (3)
- Clinician-Patient Communication (1)
- (-) Communication (9)
- Emergency Medical Services (EMS) (1)
- Evidence-Based Practice (1)
- Falls (1)
- Guidelines (1)
- Health Information Technology (HIT) (2)
- Hospital Discharge (3)
- Hospitals (2)
- Implementation (1)
- Long-Term Care (2)
- Medication (1)
- (-) Nursing Homes (9)
- Patient and Family Engagement (1)
- Patient Safety (2)
- Practice Patterns (1)
- Pressure Ulcers (1)
- Prevention (2)
- Provider: Clinician (1)
- Provider: Nurse (1)
- Provider: Physician (1)
- Quality Improvement (2)
- Quality of Care (2)
- Risk (1)
- Tools & Toolkits (1)
- Transitions of Care (4)
AHRQ Research Studies
Sign up: AHRQ Research Studies Email updates
Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
1 to 9 of 9 Research Studies DisplayedCampbell Britton M, Petersen-Pickett J, Hodshon B
Mapping the care transition from hospital to skilled nursing facility.
Researchers used process mapping to illustrate the sequence of events involved with hospital discharge and admission to a skilled nursing facility (SNF). These transitions are often associated with breakdowns in communication that may place patients at risk for adverse events. A quality improvement (QI) team worked with frontline staff at an academic medical center and two local SNFs in the northeastern United States. The final process map included care management, medicine, nursing, admissions and physical therapy service staff. The process map showed numerous activities that need to be coordinated between care teams, and highlighted specific opportunities for improving communication between different teams.
AHRQ-funded; HS023554.
Citation: Campbell Britton M, Petersen-Pickett J, Hodshon B .
Mapping the care transition from hospital to skilled nursing facility.
J Eval Clin Pract 2020 Jun;26(3):786-90. doi: 10.1111/jep.13238..
Keywords: Transitions of Care, Care Coordination, Quality Improvement, Communication, Hospital Discharge, Hospitals, Nursing Homes, Quality of Care
Campbell Britton M, Hodshon B, Chaudhry SI
Implementing a warm handoff between hospital and skilled nursing facility clinicians.
This study focused on increasing better communication during transfers from hospitals and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). Warm handoffs between hospital and SNF physicians was implemented. Participation in warm handoffs gradually increased – starting at 15.78% in stage 1 and increasing to 46.89% in stage 3. A total of 2417 patient discharges were included in this study.
AHRQ-funded; HS023554.
Citation: Campbell Britton M, Hodshon B, Chaudhry SI .
Implementing a warm handoff between hospital and skilled nursing facility clinicians.
J Patient Saf 2019 Sep;15(3):198-204. doi: 10.1097/pts.0000000000000529..
Keywords: Communication, Patient Safety, Hospital Discharge, Transitions of Care, Care Coordination, Hospitals, Nursing Homes
Feder SL, Britton MC, Chaudhry SI
"They need to have an understanding of why they're coming here and what the outcomes might be." Clinician perspectives on goals of care for patients discharged from hospitals to skilled nursing facilities.
This study examined how clinicians view goals of care (GoC) for hospitalized patients discharged to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). A variety of clinicians were interviewed: 22% were nurses, 20% physicians, 15% from care management, and 15% from social services. Many respondents felt that patients and their families had unrealistic GoCs. However, conversations on GoCs were infrequent during hospitalizations which contribute to unrealistic expectations for SNF care and poor patient outcomes. The researchers recommend interventions to ensure that GoC conversations and are held regularly and in a timely manner before transfer occurs.
AHRQ-funded; HS023554.
Citation: Feder SL, Britton MC, Chaudhry SI .
"They need to have an understanding of why they're coming here and what the outcomes might be." Clinician perspectives on goals of care for patients discharged from hospitals to skilled nursing facilities.
J Pain Symptom Manage 2018 Mar;55(3):930-37. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2017.10.013..
Keywords: Care Coordination, Clinician-Patient Communication, Communication, Hospital Discharge, Nursing Homes, Patient and Family Engagement, Provider: Clinician, Provider: Nurse, Provider: Physician
Britton MC, Ouellet GM, Minges KE
Care transitions between hospitals and skilled nursing facilities: perspectives of sending and receiving providers.
This study was conducted to identify the perspectives of sending and receiving providers regarding care transitions between the hospital and skilled nursing facilities. Four main themes emerged: increasing patient complexity, identifying an optimal care setting, rising financial pressure, and barriers to effective communication. The investigators indicated that the data highlighted hospital and SNF providers' shared concerns about patient-level risk factors and escalating costs of care.
AHRQ-funded; HS023554.
Citation: Britton MC, Ouellet GM, Minges KE .
Care transitions between hospitals and skilled nursing facilities: perspectives of sending and receiving providers.
.
Keywords: Communication, Long-Term Care, Nursing Homes, Risk, Transitions of Care
Tjia J, Field T, Mazor K
Dissemination of evidence-based antipsychotic prescribing guidelines to nursing homes: a cluster randomized trial.
This study evaluated the effectiveness of efforts to translate and disseminate evidence-based guidelines about atypical antipsychotic use to nursing homes (NHs). It found that RE-AIM indicators suggest some success in disseminating the toolkit and differences in reach, adoption, and implementation according to dissemination strategy but no measurable effect on antipsychotic prescribing trends.
AHRQ-funded; HS019351.
Citation: Tjia J, Field T, Mazor K .
Dissemination of evidence-based antipsychotic prescribing guidelines to nursing homes: a cluster randomized trial.
J Am Geriatr Soc 2015 Jul;63(7):1289-98. doi: 10.1111/jgs.13488..
Keywords: Communication, Evidence-Based Practice, Guidelines, Long-Term Care, Medication, Nursing Homes, Practice Patterns, Tools & Toolkits, Implementation
Alexander GL
Nurse assistant communication strategies about pressure ulcers in nursing homes.
The author explored strategies nursing assistants use to communicate pressure ulcer prevention practices in nursing homes with variable information technology sophistication measures. Three major themes emerged: Passing on Information, Keeping Track of Needs, and Information Access.
AHRQ-funded; HS016862.
Citation: Alexander GL .
Nurse assistant communication strategies about pressure ulcers in nursing homes.
West J Nurs Res 2015 Jul;37(7):984-1004. doi: 10.1177/0193945914555201.
.
.
Keywords: Communication, Health Information Technology (HIT), Nursing Homes, Pressure Ulcers, Prevention
Tupper JB, Gray CE, Pearson KB
Safety of rural nursing home-to-emergency department transfers: Improving communication and patient information sharing across settings.
This paper reports on the evaluation of a demonstration in 10 rural communities to improve the safety of nursing facility (NF) transfers to hospital emergency departments by forming interprofessional teams of hospital, emergency medical service, and NF staff to develop and implement tools and protocols for standardizing critical interfacility communication pathways and information sharing. Study findings showed significant improvement in key areas, including infection status and baseline mental functioning. Accurate and consistent information sharing of advance directives and medication lists remains a challenge.
AHRQ-funded; HS019064.
Citation: Tupper JB, Gray CE, Pearson KB .
Safety of rural nursing home-to-emergency department transfers: Improving communication and patient information sharing across settings.
J Healthc Qual 2015 Jan-Feb;37(1):55-65. doi: 10.1097/01.jhq.0000460120.68190.15.
.
.
Keywords: Communication, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Nursing Homes, Patient Safety, Transitions of Care
Arling PA, Abrahamson K, Miech EJ
Communication and effectiveness in a US nursing home quality-improvement collaborative.
The investigators explored the relationship between changes in resident health outcomes, practitioner communication patterns, and practitioner perceptions of group effectiveness within a quality-improvement collaborative of nursing home clinicians. They found that reductions in fall rates were highest in facilities where respondents experienced the highest levels of communication with collaborative members outside of scheduled meetings. Clinician and practitioner observations were discussed.
AHRQ-funded; HS018464.
Citation: Arling PA, Abrahamson K, Miech EJ .
Communication and effectiveness in a US nursing home quality-improvement collaborative.
Nurs Health Sci 2014 Sep;16(3):291-7. doi: 10.1111/nhs.12098.
.
.
Keywords: Communication, Falls, Nursing Homes, Quality of Care, Prevention, Quality Improvement
Alexander GL, Pasupathy KS, Steege LM
Multi-disciplinary communication networks for skin risk assessment in nursing homes with high IT sophistication.
The researchers describe a mixed methods approach to communications strategies for skin risk used by health care providers in nursing homes with high IT sophistication. Using rigorous observation and social networking tools as well as focus groups, they sought to understand where and when skin risk communications took place between nurses and nurse assistants in nursing homes with greater IT adoption.
AHRQ-funded; HS016862
Citation: Alexander GL, Pasupathy KS, Steege LM .
Multi-disciplinary communication networks for skin risk assessment in nursing homes with high IT sophistication.
Int J Med Inform. 2014 Aug;83(8):581-91. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2014.05.001..
Keywords: Communication, Health Information Technology (HIT), Nursing Homes