National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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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 11 of 11 Research Studies DisplayedHorwood CR, Moffatt-Bruce SD, Fitzgerald M
A qualitative analysis of clinical decompensation in the surgical patient: perceptions of nurses and physicians.
This study is a quantitative analysis of nurse and physician perception of clinical decompensation in postsurgical patients. The study aims to assess how nurses and physicians perceive early warning signs that predict clinical decompensation, changes in clinical acuity, and the need for escalation of care. Many areas showed strong agreement, but there were differences between nurses and physicians in primary indicators of patient stability. There were also differences in the methods and frequency used to monitor medically unstable patients.
AHRQ-funded; HS024379.
Citation: Horwood CR, Moffatt-Bruce SD, Fitzgerald M .
A qualitative analysis of clinical decompensation in the surgical patient: perceptions of nurses and physicians.
Surgery 2018 Dec;164(6):1311-15. doi: 10.1016/j.surg.2018.06.006..
Keywords: Adverse Events, Health Status, Provider: Clinician, Provider: Nurse, Provider: Physician, Surgery
Aiken LH, Sloane DM, Barnes H
Nurses' and patients' appraisals show patient safety in hospitals remains a concern.
This study analyzed if there is a positive correlation between improvements of work environments for nurses and improvements in patient safety. A total of 535 hospitals in four large states at two points in time between 2005 and 2016 were studied. Survey data showed an improvement of work environment with 21% of study hospitals, and 7% had worse scores. For the hospitals with improved work environments, patients and nurses both reported high scores for patient safety indicators. For work environments which deteriorated, favorable patient safety grades went down 21%.
AHRQ-funded; HS022406.
Citation: Aiken LH, Sloane DM, Barnes H .
Nurses' and patients' appraisals show patient safety in hospitals remains a concern.
Health Aff 2018 Nov;37(11):1744-51. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2018.0711..
Keywords: Burnout, Hospitals, Patient Experience, Patient Safety, Provider: Nurse, Quality of Care, Quality Improvement
Rosen MA, Dietz AS, Lee N
Sensor-based measurement of critical care nursing workload: Unobtrusive measures of nursing activity complement traditional task and patient level indicators of workload to predict perceived exertion.
The purpose of this study was to establish the validity of sensor-based measures of work processes for predicting perceived mental and physical exertion of critical care nurses. Environmental sensors worn by staff in a surgical intensive care unit captured work process data. Nurses rated their mental and physical exertion for each four-hour block, and recorded patient and staffing-level workload factors. Analysis of this data yielded highly predictive models of critical care nursing workload to generate insights into workflow and work design. The researchers conclude that sensor-based measures are a viable complement to traditional task demand measures of workload.
AHRQ-funded; HS023553.
Citation: Rosen MA, Dietz AS, Lee N .
Sensor-based measurement of critical care nursing workload: Unobtrusive measures of nursing activity complement traditional task and patient level indicators of workload to predict perceived exertion.
PLoS One 2018 Oct 12;13(10):e0204819. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0204819..
Keywords: Critical Care, Nursing, Provider: Nurse, Patient Safety, Workflow
Auger KA, Shah SS, Tubbs-Cooley HL
Effects of a 1-time nurse-led telephone call after pediatric discharge: the H2O II randomized clinical trial.
The purpose of this study was to determine whether a single nurse-led telephone call after pediatric discharge decreased the 30-day reutilization rate for urgent care services and enhanced overall transition success. The investigators concluded that although postdischarge nurse contact did not decrease the reutilization rate of postdischarge urgent health care services, the method showed promise to bolster postdischarge education.
AHRQ-funded; HS024735.
Citation: Auger KA, Shah SS, Tubbs-Cooley HL .
Effects of a 1-time nurse-led telephone call after pediatric discharge: the H2O II randomized clinical trial.
JAMA Pediatr 2018 Sep;172(9):e181482. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2018.1482..
Keywords: Care Coordination, Children/Adolescents, Health Information Technology (HIT), Health Services Research (HSR), Healthcare Delivery, Healthcare Utilization, Hospital Discharge, Outcomes, Provider, Provider: Nurse, Telehealth, Transitions of Care
Bayramzadeh S, Joseph A, San D
The impact of operating room layout on circulating nurse's work patterns and flow disruptions: a behavioral mapping study.
The purpose of this study was to assess how the adjacencies of functionally different areas within operating rooms (ORs) can influence the circulating nurse's (CN) workflow patterns and disruptions. The investigators video recorded and thematically coded a convenience sample of 25 surgeries for CN's activities, locations, and flow disruptions. The investigators suggest that optimum adjacencies should be considered while designing ORs such that they are more efficient and safer.
AHRQ-funded; HS024380.
Citation: Bayramzadeh S, Joseph A, San D .
The impact of operating room layout on circulating nurse's work patterns and flow disruptions: a behavioral mapping study.
HERD 2018 Jul;11(3):124-38. doi: 10.1177/1937586717751124..
Keywords: Surgery, Workflow, Hospitals, Nursing, Provider: Nurse, Provider, Patient Safety
Hande K, Phillippi JC
DNP project timeline template: a guide for successful completion.
Using Adult Learning Theory and Project Management Principles, course faculty in a DNP program created a DNP project timeline to delineate each step of the project process. This article discusses these project timelines, which have been in continual use since their introduction.
AHRQ-funded; HS024733.
Citation: Hande K, Phillippi JC .
DNP project timeline template: a guide for successful completion.
DNP project timeline template: a guide for successful completion..
Keywords: Education: Continuing Medical Education, Provider: Nurse, Provider
Yao Y, Ahn H, Stifter J
Continuity index measures in the acute care hospital setting: an analytic review and tests using electronic health record data and computer simulation.
This study examined continuity index measures in the acute care hospital setting. These measures can be used to examine the influence of nurse staffing patterns on patient outcomes. The researchers examined the behavior of continuity indexes as applied to clinical practice data that were collected with the Hands-On Automated Nursing Data System (HANDS) and data from computer simulation. The findings provided a deep understanding of the conceptual foundations and properties of various continuity measures.
AHRQ-funded; HS015054; HS023072.
Citation: Yao Y, Ahn H, Stifter J .
Continuity index measures in the acute care hospital setting: an analytic review and tests using electronic health record data and computer simulation.
J Nurs Meas 2018 Apr 1;26(1):20-35. doi: 10.1891/1061-3749.26.1.20..
Keywords: Transitions of Care, Care Coordination, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Provider: Nurse, Provider, Hospitals, Outcomes
Blaz JW, Doig AK, Cloyes KG
The symbolic functions of nurses' cognitive artifacts on a medical oncology unit.
Acute care nurses continue to rely on personally created paper-based tools-their "paper brains"-to support work during a shift, although standardized handoff tools are recommended. This interpretive descriptive study examines the functions these paper brains serve beyond handoff in the medical oncology unit at a cancer specialty hospital.
AHRQ-funded; HS022183.
Citation: Blaz JW, Doig AK, Cloyes KG .
The symbolic functions of nurses' cognitive artifacts on a medical oncology unit.
West J Nurs Res 2018 Apr;40(4):520-36. doi: 10.1177/0193945916683683.
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Keywords: Nursing, Provider: Nurse, Provider, Workflow
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
Irwin MM, Dudley W, Northouse L
Oncology nurses' knowledge, confidence, and practice in addressing caregiver strain and burden.
An email survey of 2,055 Oncology Nursing Society members was conducted to determine their attitudes and knowledge of caregiver strain and burden. The results show that they tended to overestimate the strength of evidence of their knowledge based more on anecdotal evidence from being or having received care from an informal caregiver.
AHRQ-funded; HS021957.
Citation: Irwin MM, Dudley W, Northouse L .
Oncology nurses' knowledge, confidence, and practice in addressing caregiver strain and burden.
Oncol Nurs Forum 2018 Mar 1;45(2):187-96. doi: 10.1188/18.onf.187-196..
Keywords: Cancer, Caregiving, Provider: Nurse
Bleser WK, Miller-Day M, Naughton D
Strategies for achieving whole-practice engagement and buy-in to the patient-centered medical home.
In this paper the authors describe strategies for obtaining organizational buy-in to and whole-staff engagement of patient-centered medical home (PCMH) transformation and practice improvement. The investigators suggest that their study provides a list of strategies useful for facilitating PCMH transformation in primary care. They assert that these strategies could be investigated empirically in future research, used to guide medical practices undergoing or considering PCMH transformation, and used to inform health care policy makers.
AHRQ-funded; HS019150.
Citation: Bleser WK, Miller-Day M, Naughton D .
Strategies for achieving whole-practice engagement and buy-in to the patient-centered medical home.
Ann Fam Med 2014 Jan-Feb;12(1):37-45. doi: 10.1370/afm.1564..
Keywords: Patient-Centered Healthcare, Organizational Change, Primary Care: Models of Care, Primary Care, Practice Improvement, Provider: Nurse, Provider: Physician, Provider: Clinician, Provider