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
AHRQ Research Studies Date
Topics
- Behavioral Health (1)
- Caregiving (1)
- Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABSI) (2)
- Children/Adolescents (1)
- Community-Based Practice (2)
- Critical Care (1)
- Elderly (4)
- Electronic Health Records (EHRs) (2)
- Emergency Department (3)
- Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs) (2)
- Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) (1)
- Healthcare Costs (1)
- Health Information Exchange (HIE) (1)
- Health Information Technology (HIT) (5)
- (-) Home Healthcare (20)
- Hospital Discharge (2)
- Hospitalization (4)
- Hospital Readmissions (3)
- Kidney Disease and Health (1)
- Medicare (2)
- Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) (1)
- Newborns/Infants (1)
- Nursing Homes (1)
- Palliative Care (1)
- Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (1)
- Policy (1)
- Prevention (1)
- Provider (1)
- Provider: Health Personnel (1)
- Provider Performance (1)
- Quality Improvement (1)
- Quality of Care (3)
- Risk (2)
- Stroke (1)
- Training (1)
- Transitions of Care (1)
- Workflow (1)
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 20 of 20 Research Studies DisplayedWatnick S, Blake PG, Mehrotra R
System-level strategies to improve home dialysis: policy levers and quality initiatives.
This article discusses trends in home dialysis use, reviews the evolving understanding of what constitutes high quality care for the home dialysis population (as well as how this can be measured), and discusses policy and advocacy efforts that continue to shape the care of US patients, and compares with experiences in other countries. The authors conclude by discussing future directions for quality and advocacy efforts.
AHRQ-funded; HS028684.
Citation: Watnick S, Blake PG, Mehrotra R .
System-level strategies to improve home dialysis: policy levers and quality initiatives.
Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 2023 Dec; 18(12):1616-25. doi: 10.2215/cjn.0000000000000299..
Keywords: Home Healthcare, Kidney Disease and Health, Policy, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Keller SC, Hannum SM, Weems K
Implementing and validating a home-infusion central-line-associated bloodstream infection surveillance definition.
Researchers tested the validity of a home-infusion central-line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) surveillance definition and the feasibility and acceptability of its implementation. Their study was conducted in large home-infusion agencies in a CLABSI prevention collaborative in 14 states and the District of Columbia and included semistructured interviews with staff performing home-infusion CLABSI surveillance. The results showed that the home-infusion CLABSI surveillance definition was valid and would be feasible to implement.
AHRQ-funded; HS027819.
Citation: Keller SC, Hannum SM, Weems K .
Implementing and validating a home-infusion central-line-associated bloodstream infection surveillance definition.
Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2023 Nov; 44(11):1748-59. doi: 10.1017/ice.2023.70..
Keywords: Home Healthcare, Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABSI), Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs)
Song J, Min SH, Chae S
Uncovering hidden trends: identifying time trajectories in risk factors documented in clinical notes and predicting hospitalizations and emergency department visits during home health care.
The purpose of this study was to characterize risk factor patterns documented in home health care (HHC) clinical notes and explore their relationships with hospitalizations or emergency department (ED) visits. The researchers analyzed data for 73,350 episodes of care from one large HHC organization utilizing dynamic time warping and hierarchical clustering analysis to characterize the patterns of risk factors over time documented in clinical notes. The study found that six temporal clusters emerged, reflecting varying patterns in how risk factors were documented. Patients with a sharp increase in documented risk factors over time had a 3 times greater probability of hospitalization or ED visit than patients with no documented risk factors. The majority of risk factors were found in the physiological domain, and a minority were found in the environmental domain.
AHRQ-funded; HS027742.
Citation: Song J, Min SH, Chae S .
Uncovering hidden trends: identifying time trajectories in risk factors documented in clinical notes and predicting hospitalizations and emergency department visits during home health care.
J Am Med Inform Assoc 2023 Oct 19; 30(11):1801-10. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocad101..
Keywords: Emergency Department, Hospitalization, Home Healthcare, Risk
Squires A, Engel P, Ma C
Continuity of care versus language concordance as an intervention to reduce hospital readmissions from home health care.
The purpose of this study was to examine the relative effectiveness of continuity of care and language concordance as alternative or complementary interventions to improve health outcomes of people with limited English proficiency. Participants included over 22,000 non-English-speaking patients from the New York City area who were admitted to their home health site following hospital discharge. Findings revealed that high continuity of care and high language concordance significantly decreased readmissions, along with high continuity of care and low language concordance; low continuity of care and high language concordance did not significantly impact readmissions. The authors concluded that enhancing continuity of care for those with language barriers the US home health system may help to address disparities and reduce hospital readmission rates.
AHRQ-funded; HS023593.
Citation: Squires A, Engel P, Ma C .
Continuity of care versus language concordance as an intervention to reduce hospital readmissions from home health care.
Med Care 2023 Sep; 61(9):605-10. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001884..
Keywords: Hospital Readmissions, Transitions of Care, Home Healthcare
Min SH, Song J, Evans L
Home healthcare patients with distinct psychological, cognitive, and behavioral symptom profiles and at-risk subgroup for hospitalization and emergency department visits using latent class analysis.
The purpose of this study was to explore subgroups of older adults receiving home healthcare services with similar psychological, cognitive, and behavioral symptom profiles and an at-risk subgroup for future hospitalization and emergency department visits as an indicator of underdiagnosis or undertreatment. The three-class model applied in the study consisted of Class 1: "Moderate psychological symptoms without behavioral issues," Class 2: "Severe psychological symptoms with behavioral issues," and Class 3: "Mild psychological symptoms without behavioral issues." The study found that Class 1 patients had 1.14 higher odds and Class 2 patients had 1.26 higher odds of being hospitalized or visiting emergency departments compared to Class 3. The researchers discovered significant differences in individual characteristics such as age, gender, race/ethnicity, and insurance.
AHRQ-funded; HS027742.
Citation: Min SH, Song J, Evans L .
Home healthcare patients with distinct psychological, cognitive, and behavioral symptom profiles and at-risk subgroup for hospitalization and emergency department visits using latent class analysis.
Clin Nurs Res 2023 Sep; 32(7):1021-30. doi: 10.1177/10547738231183026..
Keywords: Home Healthcare, Emergency Department, Hospitalization, Elderly
Oladapo-Shittu O, Hannum SM, Salinas AB
The need to expand the infection prevention workforce in home infusion therapy.
This study looked at the prevalence of formal surveillance and infection prevention training for home infusion staff. The authors interviewed home infusion staff who perform surveillance activities about barriers to and facilitators for central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) surveillance and identified barriers to training in CLABSI surveillance. Their findings showed a lack of formal surveillance training which can be addressed by by adapting existing training resources to the home infusion setting.
AHRQ-funded; HS027819.
Citation: Oladapo-Shittu O, Hannum SM, Salinas AB .
The need to expand the infection prevention workforce in home infusion therapy.
Am J Infect Control 2023 May; 51(5):594-96. doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2022.11.008.AHRQ-funded; HS027819..
Keywords: Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs), Prevention, Home Healthcare, Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABSI)
Hobensack M, Song J, Chae S
Capturing concerns about patient deterioration in narrative documentation in home healthcare.
This study aimed to build machine learning algorithms to identify “concerning” narrative notes of home healthcare (HHC) patients and identify emergency themes to support early identification of patients at risk for deterioration. Six algorithms were applied to 4000 narrative notes from a HHC agency to classify notes as either "concerning" or "not concerning." Emerging themes were identified using Latent Dirichlet Allocation bag of words topic modeling. Emerging themes of concern included patient-clinician communication, HHC services provided, gait challenges, mobility concerns, wounds, and caregivers. Most of these themes had already been identified in previous literature as increasing risk for adverse events.
AHRQ-funded; HS027742.
Citation: Hobensack M, Song J, Chae S .
Capturing concerns about patient deterioration in narrative documentation in home healthcare.
AMIA Annu Symp Proc 2023 Apr 29; 2022:552-59..
Keywords: Home Healthcare, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT)
Hobensack M, Song J, Scharp D
Machine learning applied to electronic health record data in home healthcare: a scoping review.
This literature review aimed to synthesize and appraise the literature describing the application of machine learning to predict adverse outcomes (e.g., hospitalization, mortality) using electronic health record (EHR) data in the home healthcare (HHC) setting. The secondary aim was to evaluate the comprehensiveness of predictors used in the machine learning algorithms guided by the Biopsychosocial Model. Studies were included if they 1) described services provided in the HHC setting, 2) applied machine learning algorithms to predict adverse outcomes, defined as outcomes related to patient deterioration, 3) used EHR data and, 4) focused on the adult population. Predictors were mapped to the Biopsychosocial Model. The final sample included 20 studies, of which 18 used predictors from standardized assessments integrated in the EHR. The most common outcome was hospitalization (55%), followed by mortality (25%). About 35% of studies excluded psychological predictors. Most studies (75%) demonstrated high or unclear risk of bias with tree based algorithms most frequently applied (75%).
AHRQ-funded; HS027742.
Citation: Hobensack M, Song J, Scharp D .
Machine learning applied to electronic health record data in home healthcare: a scoping review.
Int J Med Inform 2023 Feb; 170:104978. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2022.104978..
Keywords: Home Healthcare, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT)
Song J, Chae S, Bowles KH
The identification of clusters of risk factors and their association with hospitalizations or emergency department visits in home health care.
The purpose of this retrospective cohort study was to identify risk factor clusters in home health care and assess whether the clusters are related with hospitalizations or emergency department visits. The researchers included 61,454 patients associated with 79,079 episodes receiving home health care from one of the largest home health care organizations in the U.S. The study found that a total of 11.6% of home health episodes resulted in hospitalizations or emergency department visits. Three clusters were formed by the risk factors: 1) Cluster 1- a combination of risk factors related to situations where patients may experience increased pain ("impaired physical comfort with pain"). 2) Cluster 2 - characterized by multiple comorbidities or other risks for hospitalization (e.g., prior falls, called "high comorbidity burden"). 3) Cluster 3 - "impaired cognitive/psychological and skin integrity" which includes dementia or skin ulcer. The risk of hospitalizations or emergency department visits increased by 1.95 times for Cluster 2 and by 2.12 times for Cluster 3 when compared to cluster 1. The study concluded that Varying combinations of risk factors affected the likelihood of negative outcomes.
AHRQ-funded; HS027742.
Citation: Song J, Chae S, Bowles KH .
The identification of clusters of risk factors and their association with hospitalizations or emergency department visits in home health care.
J Adv Nurs 2023 Feb; 79(2):593-604. doi: 10.1111/jan.15498..
Keywords: Emergency Department, Hospitalization, Home Healthcare, Risk
Wang SY, Aldridge MD, Canavan M
Continuous home care reduces hospice disenrollment and hospitalization after hospice enrollment.
The purpose of this paper is to identify hospice and patient characteristics associated with the use of continuous home care (CHC) and to examine the associations between CHC utilization and hospice disenrollment or hospitalization after hospice enrollment. The researchers found that patients who were white, had cancer, and had more comorbidities were more likely to use CHC and that patients who used CHC were less likely to have hospice disenrollment and less likely to be hospitalized after hospice enrollment.
AHRQ-funded; HS023900.
Citation: Wang SY, Aldridge MD, Canavan M .
Continuous home care reduces hospice disenrollment and hospitalization after hospice enrollment.
J Pain Symptom Manage 2016 Dec;52(6):813-21. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2016.05.031.
.
.
Keywords: Elderly, Home Healthcare, Hospitalization, Palliative Care
Thomas KS, Allen SM
Interagency partnership to deliver veteran-directed home and community-based services: interviews with Aging and Disability Network agency personnel regarding their experience with partner Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers.
The objective of this article is to describe the Aging and Disability Network agency (ADNA) personnel's perceptions of the implementation of the VD-HCBS program with partner Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers (VAMCs). Results suggest that the majority of ADNA personnel interviewed perceive the collaboration experience to be positive. Interviewees reported several key mechanisms for facilitating a successful partnership.
AHRQ-funded; HS000011.
Citation: Thomas KS, Allen SM .
Interagency partnership to deliver veteran-directed home and community-based services: interviews with Aging and Disability Network agency personnel regarding their experience with partner Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers.
J Rehabil Res Dev 2016;53(5):611-18. doi: 10.1682/jrrd.2015.02.0019.
.
.
Keywords: Community-Based Practice, Provider: Health Personnel, Home Healthcare, Training
Wang Y, Pandolfi MM, Fine J
Community level association between home health and nursing home performance on quality and hospital 30-day readmissions for Medicare patients.
Using CMS data from 2010 to 2012, the researchers evaluated whether community-level home health agencies and nursing home performance is associated with community-level hospital 30-day all-cause risk-standardized readmission rates for Medicare patients. They found that increasing nursing home performance by one star for all of its 4 measures and home health performance by 10 points for all of its 6 measures is associated with decreases in community-level risk-standardized readmission rates.
AHRQ-funded; HS023000.
Citation: Wang Y, Pandolfi MM, Fine J .
Community level association between home health and nursing home performance on quality and hospital 30-day readmissions for Medicare patients.
Home Health Care Manag Pract 2016 Nov;28(4):201-08. doi: 10.1177/1084822316639032.
.
.
Keywords: Quality of Care, Hospital Readmissions, Home Healthcare, Nursing Homes, Provider Performance
Valdez RS, Holden RJ
Health care human factors/ergonomics fieldwork in home and community settings.
The researchers offered several strategies that human factors and ergonomics professionals can use before, during, and after home and community site visits to optimize fieldwork and mitigate challenges in these settings.
AHRQ-funded; HS022930; HS018809.
Citation: Valdez RS, Holden RJ .
Health care human factors/ergonomics fieldwork in home and community settings.
Ergon Des 2016 Oct;24(4):4-9. doi: 10.1177/1064804615622111.
.
.
Keywords: Caregiving, Community-Based Practice, Home Healthcare, Workflow
Gleason HP, Coyle CE
Mental and behavioral health conditions among older adults: implications for the home care workforce.
The purpose of this study was to identify challenges aides face in providing care to this particular group of clients, as well as the strategies and support they utilize to complete their job responsibilities. In focus group discussions, aides described a lack of prior-knowledge of challenging client behaviors, leaving them unprepared to deal with disruptions to care delivery.
AHRQ-funded; HS017589.
Citation: Gleason HP, Coyle CE .
Mental and behavioral health conditions among older adults: implications for the home care workforce.
Aging Ment Health 2016 Aug;20(8):848-55. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2015.1040725.
.
.
Keywords: Elderly, Home Healthcare, Behavioral Health, Provider
Garfield CF, Lee YS, Kim HN
Supporting parents of premature infants transitioning from the NICU to home: a pilot randomized control trial of a smartphone application.
This study determined whether parents of Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW) infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) transitioning home with the NICU-2-Home smartphone application have greater parenting self-efficacy, are better prepared for discharge and have shorter length of stay (LOS) than control parents. It found that a smartphone application can improve parenting self-efficacy, discharge preparedness, and LOS with improved benefits based on usage.
AHRQ-funded; HS020316.
Citation: Garfield CF, Lee YS, Kim HN .
Supporting parents of premature infants transitioning from the NICU to home: a pilot randomized control trial of a smartphone application.
Internet Interv 2016 May;4(Pt 2):131-37. doi: 10.1016/j.invent.2016.05.004.
.
.
Keywords: Newborns/Infants, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Health Information Technology (HIT), Home Healthcare, Hospital Discharge
Hassol A, Deitz D, Goldberg H
Health information exchange: perspectives from home healthcare.
Home health agencies (HHAs) often lack the timely and accurate patient information that they require for transition planning. The authors argue that health information exchanges (HIEs) offer information that supports timely visit scheduling, safe and appropriate care planning, coding and documentation, and HHA efficiency.
AHRQ-funded; HS018865.
Citation: Hassol A, Deitz D, Goldberg H .
Health information exchange: perspectives from home healthcare.
Comput Inform Nurs 2016 Apr;34(4):145-50. doi: 10.1097/cin.0000000000000240.
.
.
Keywords: Health Information Exchange (HIE), Health Information Technology (HIT), Home Healthcare
Berry JG, Hall M, Dumas H
Pediatric hospital discharges to home health and postacute facility care: a national study.
The researchers assessed the national prevalence of, characteristics of children discharged to, and variation in use across states of home health care (HHC) and facility-based postacute care (PAC) for children. They found that HHC and PAC use after discharge for hospitalized children is infrequent, even for children with multiple chronic conditions. It varies significantly by race/ethnicity and across states.
AHRQ-funded; HS023092.
Citation: Berry JG, Hall M, Dumas H .
Pediatric hospital discharges to home health and postacute facility care: a national study.
JAMA Pediatr 2016 Apr;170(4):326-33. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.4836.
.
.
Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Home Healthcare, Children/Adolescents, Children/Adolescents, Critical Care
Fonarow GG, Liang L, Thomas L
Assessment of home-time after acute ischemic stroke in Medicare beneficiaries.
The researchers evaluated home-time as a patient-centered outcome in Medicare beneficiaries with ischemic stroke in comparison with modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score at 90 days and at 1 year post event. They concluded that in a population of older patients with ischemic stroke, home-time was readily available from administrative data and associated with mRS at 90 days and 1 year.
AHRQ-funded; HS019479; HS016964.
Citation: Fonarow GG, Liang L, Thomas L .
Assessment of home-time after acute ischemic stroke in Medicare beneficiaries.
Stroke 2016 Mar;47(3):836-42. doi: 10.1161/strokeaha.115.011599.
.
.
Keywords: Medicare, Stroke, Elderly, Home Healthcare, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research
Jubelt LE, Goldfeld KS, Chung WY
Changes in discharge location and readmission rates under Medicare bundled payment.
To control costs, NYU Langone Medical Center attempted to shift referrals from facility-based to home-based postacute care. In the context of this shift in referrals, the researchers examined the change in hospital readmission rates. Their findings suggest that institutions may be able to shift some patients from facility-based to home-based postacute care without adversely affecting hospital readmission rates or the length of hospital stay.
AHRQ-funded; HS023683; HS022882.
Citation: Jubelt LE, Goldfeld KS, Chung WY .
Changes in discharge location and readmission rates under Medicare bundled payment.
JAMA Intern Med 2016 Jan;176(1):115-7. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2015.6265.
.
.
Keywords: Medicare, Hospital Discharge, Hospital Readmissions, Home Healthcare, Healthcare Costs
Koru G, Alhuwail D, Topaz M
Investigating the challenges and opportunities in home care to facilitate effective information technology adoption.
This investigation of the pressing challenges and opportunities for achieving effectiveness in IT adoption found that coordinating clinical and administrative workflows was an important challenge. Inadequate access to patients' medical history and difficulties with medication reconciliation detracted from the quality of care. Hiring, training, scheduling, and retaining qualified personnel constituted another important challenge.
AHRQ-funded; HS022352.
Citation: Koru G, Alhuwail D, Topaz M .
Investigating the challenges and opportunities in home care to facilitate effective information technology adoption.
J Am Med Dir Assoc 2016 Jan;17(1):53-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2015.10.008.
.
.
Keywords: Home Healthcare, Health Information Technology (HIT), Quality of Care