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)
- Care Coordination (1)
- Caregiving (1)
- Children/Adolescents (5)
- Chronic Conditions (1)
- Clinician-Patient Communication (1)
- (-) Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) (18)
- Disparities (1)
- Education: Patient and Caregiver (1)
- Emergency Department (1)
- Health Information Technology (HIT) (1)
- Health Status (1)
- Home Healthcare (1)
- Hospital Discharge (1)
- Hospitalization (2)
- Hospitals (7)
- Inpatient Care (2)
- Long-Term Care (2)
- Medicare (3)
- Nursing Homes (2)
- Patient and Family Engagement (1)
- Patient Experience (14)
- Patient Safety (1)
- Prevention (1)
- Primary Care (1)
- Provider Performance (5)
- Quality Improvement (8)
- Quality Indicators (QIs) (4)
- (-) Quality Measures (18)
- (-) Quality of Care (18)
- Racial and Ethnic Minorities (1)
- Transitions of Care (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 18 of 18 Research Studies DisplayedSchwartz ML, Rahman M, Thomas KS
Consumer selection and home health agency quality and patient experience stars.
The objective of this study was to compare the impact of the introduction of two distinct sets of star ratings, quality of care, and patient experience, on home health agency (HHA) selection. The investigators concluded that the introduction of quality of care and patient experience stars were associated with changes in HHA selection; however, the strength of these relationships was weaker than observed in other health care settings where a single star rating was reported.
AHRQ-funded; HS026440.
Citation: Schwartz ML, Rahman M, Thomas KS .
Consumer selection and home health agency quality and patient experience stars.
Health Serv Res 2022 Feb;57(1):113-24. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.13867..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Home Healthcare, Patient Experience, Quality Measures, Quality of Care, Provider Performance, Quality Indicators (QIs)
Yount 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
Fowler FJ, Brenner PS, Hargraves JL
Comparing web and mail protocols for administering Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems surveys.
This study’s objective was to compare results of using web-based and mail HCAHPS data collection protocols. The cohort included patients who were hospitalized in a New England Hospital. Patients who provided email addresses were randomized to 1 of 3 data collection protocols: web-only, web with postal mail follow-up, and postal mail only. Those who did not provide email addresses were surveyed by postal mail only. The study lasted 8 weeks. Measures looked at included response rates, characteristics of respondents, 6 composite measures of their patient experiences, and two ratings of the hospital. Web-only response rates were significantly lower than for mail or combined protocols, and those who had not provided email addresses also had lower response rates. Older adults over age 65 were more likely to respond to all protocols, especially for mail-only respondents. Respondents without email addresses were older, less educated, and reported worse health than those who had email addresses.
AHRQ-funded; HS016978.
Citation: Fowler FJ, Brenner PS, Hargraves JL .
Comparing web and mail protocols for administering Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems surveys.
Med Care 2021 Oct;59(10):907-12. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001627..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Hospitals, Health Information Technology (HIT), Quality Measures, Provider Performance, Quality of Care
Quigley DD, Slaughter ME, Gidengil C
Usefulness of child HCAHPS survey data for improving inpatient pediatric care experiences.
Quality improvement (QI) requires data, indicators, and national benchmarks. Knowledge about the usefulness of Child Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (Child HCAHPS) data are lacking. In this study the investigators examined quality leader and frontline staff perceptions about patient experience measurement and use of Child HCAHPS data for QI. The investigators surveyed children's hospital leaders and staff about their use of Child HCAHPS for QI, including measures from other studies. They compared scale and item means for leaders and staff and compared means to other studies.
AHRQ-funded; HS025920.
Citation: Quigley DD, Slaughter ME, Gidengil C .
Usefulness of child HCAHPS survey data for improving inpatient pediatric care experiences.
Hosp Pediatr 2021 Oct;11(10):e199-e214. doi: 10.1542/hpeds.2020-004283..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Children/Adolescents, Hospitals, Patient Experience, Quality Improvement, Quality Measures, Quality of Care
Meyers DJ, Rahman M, Mor V
Association of Medicare Advantage Star Ratings with racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in quality of care.
This cross-sectional study looked at racial/ethnic minority and socioeconomic disparities in ratings for Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, which disproportionately enroll these populations. A total of 1,578,564 enrollees were included in this analysis that used 22 measures of quality and satisfaction at the individual enrollee level, aggregated into simulated star ratings from 2-5 stratified by socioeconomic status (SES) and race/ethnicity. Low SES enrollees had simulated stratified star ratings 0.5 stars lower than individuals with high SES in the same contract. Black enrollees had simulated star ratings that were 0.3 stars lower and Hispanic enrollees had 0.1 lower simulated star ratings than White enrollees in the same contract. There was a larger difference in ratings with 4.5 to 5-star contracts with Black and Hispanic enrollees with Whites, and no statistical difference in 2.0 to 2.5 star-rated contracts. There was only low correlation between simulated ratings for enrollees of low SES and high SES.
AHRQ-funded; HS02705101.
Citation: Meyers DJ, Rahman M, Mor V .
Association of Medicare Advantage Star Ratings with racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in quality of care.
JAMA Health Forum 2021 Jun;2(6):e210793..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Medicare, Patient Experience, Disparities, Quality Measures, Provider Performance, Quality of Care, Racial and Ethnic Minorities
Feng JY, Toomey SL, Elliott MN
Factors associated with family experience in pediatric inpatient care.
Researchers assessed which aspects of pediatric inpatient experience have the strongest relationships with parents' willingness to recommend a hospital. Their cross-sectional study examined surveys completed by parents of children hospitalized at hospitals using the Child Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Survey. They found that child comfort and nurse-parent communication showed the strongest relationships with willingness to recommend, followed by preparing to leave the hospital, doctor-parent communication, and keeping parents informed. They recommended improvement efforts focusing on creating an age-appropriate environment, improving the effectiveness of provider interactions, and engaging parents to share their values and concerns.
AHRQ-funded; HS020513; HS025299.
Citation: Feng JY, Toomey SL, Elliott MN .
Factors associated with family experience in pediatric inpatient care.
Pediatrics 2020 Mar;145(3): e20191264. doi: 10.1542/peds.2019-1264..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Children/Adolescents, Quality Measures, Quality of Care, Inpatient Care, Patient Experience, Hospitals, Hospitalization, Patient and Family Engagement, Clinician-Patient Communication
Desai AD, Zhou C, Simon TD
Validation of a parent-reported hospital-to-home transition experience measure.
This study examined the validity of the Pediatric Transition Experience Measure (P-TEM), which is an 8-item, parent-reported measure that globally assesses hospital-to-home transition quality from discharge through follow-up compared to other validation measures. The other measures it was compared to included the 1) Child Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Discharge Composite, 2) Center of Excellence on Quality of Care Measures for Children with Complex Needs parent-reported measures, 3) change in health-related quality of life from admission to postdischarge, and 4) 30-day emergency department revisits or readmissions. The P-TEM measure compared favorably with the Child Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Discharge Composite measure and the other measures as well.
AHRQ-funded; HS024299.
Citation: Desai AD, Zhou C, Simon TD .
Validation of a parent-reported hospital-to-home transition experience measure.
Pediatrics 2020 Feb;145(2):pii: e20192150. doi: 10.1542/peds.2019-2150..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Children/Adolescents, Patient Experience, Transitions of Care, Hospital Discharge, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Quality Measures
Ahluwalia SC, Damberg CL, Haas A
How are medical groups identified as high-performing? The effect of different approaches to classification of performance.
The researchers examined how different classification approaches influence which providers are designated as "high-performers.” They found that classification of medical groups as high performing is sensitive to the domains of performance included, the classification approach, and the choice of threshold. They further suggest that the absence of a consistently applied approach to identifying high performers impedes efforts to reliably compare, select and reward high-performing providers.
AHRQ-funded; HS024067.
Citation: Ahluwalia SC, Damberg CL, Haas A .
How are medical groups identified as high-performing? The effect of different approaches to classification of performance.
BMC Health Serv Res 2019 Jul 18;19(1):500. doi: 10.1186/s12913-019-4293-9..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Patient Experience, Provider Performance, Quality of Care, Quality Measures
Sheetz KH, Nathan H, Dimick JB
Patients' perceptions of hospitals affiliated with America's highest-rated medical centers.
Using the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey to measure how patients perceive a hospital’s overall quality and reputation, the investigators sought to determine whether HCAHPS scores increased for those affiliating with the prominent medical centers named to the U.S. News and World Report Honor Roll.
AHRQ-funded; HS023597.
Citation: Sheetz KH, Nathan H, Dimick JB .
Patients' perceptions of hospitals affiliated with America's highest-rated medical centers.
J Gen Intern Med 2019 Jun;34(6):787-88. doi: 10.1007/s11606-018-4822-y..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Patient Experience, Hospitals, Quality Measures, Quality of Care
Cefalu MS, Elliott MN, Setodji CM
Hospital quality indicators are not unidimensional: a reanalysis of Lieberthal and Comer.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the dimensionality of hospital quality indicators treated as unidimensional in a prior publication. The investigators found that there were four underlying dimensions of hospital quality: patient experience, mortality, and two clinical process dimensions. They concluded that hospital quality should be measured using a variety of indicators reflecting different dimensions of quality.
AHRQ-funded; HS016980; HS016978.
Citation: Cefalu MS, Elliott MN, Setodji CM .
Hospital quality indicators are not unidimensional: a reanalysis of Lieberthal and Comer.
Health Serv Res 2019 Apr;54(2):502-08. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.13056..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Hospitals, Patient Experience, Provider Performance, Quality of Care, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Measures
Parast L, Burkhart Q, Gidengil C
Validation of new care coordination quality measures for children with medical complexity.
The purpose of this paper was to validate new caregiver-reported quality measures assessing care coordination services for children with medical complexity (CMC). Results showed that 19 newly-developed Family Experiences with Coordination of Care quality measures demonstrated convergent validity with previously-validated CAHPS measures. These new measures are valid for assessing the quality of care coordination services provided to CMC and may be useful for evaluating new models of care focused on improving these services.
AHRQ-funded; HS020506.
Citation: Parast L, Burkhart Q, Gidengil C .
Validation of new care coordination quality measures for children with medical complexity.
Acad Pediatr 2018 Jul;18(5):581-88. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2018.03.006..
Keywords: Care Coordination, Children/Adolescents, Chronic Conditions, Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Patient Experience, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Measures, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Hatfield LA, Zaslavsky AM
Separable covariance models for health care quality measures across years and topics.
Public quality reports for Medicare Advantage health plans include 11 measures of patient experiences reported in the annual Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems surveys. To summarize associations among measures and years, the authors model the variance-covariance matrix governing the plan-level vectors of yearly quality measures as a Kronecker product of an across-measure matrix and an across-year matrix, or a sum of such Kronecker products.
AHRQ-funded; HS016978.
Citation: Hatfield LA, Zaslavsky AM .
Separable covariance models for health care quality measures across years and topics.
Stat Med 2018 May 30;37(12):2053-66. doi: 10.1002/sim.7656..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Quality Measures, Quality of Care, Patient Experience, Medicare
Parast L, Bardach NS, Burkhart Q
Development of new quality measures for hospital-based care of suicidal youth.
This study researched the value of 4 new quality measures developed to assess hospital-based care for suicidal youth. The four quality measures focused on counseling caregivers about restricting access to lethal means of self-harm, and the benefits and risks of antidepressant medications. They were divided into measures for the emergency department (ED) and inpatient measures. Survey field tests were conducted with caregivers of youth who were admitted to the ED or inpatient care for suicidality at 1 of 2 children’s hospitals between July 2013 and June 2014. Most caregivers did receive counseling about restricting their child’s access to lethal means of self-harm and also reported higher rates of counseling of benefits on antidepressants both in the ED and in the inpatient setting than the risks.
AHRQ-funded; HS020506.
Citation: Parast L, Bardach NS, Burkhart Q .
Development of new quality measures for hospital-based care of suicidal youth.
Acad Pediatr 2018 Apr;18(3):248-55. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2017.09.017..
Keywords: Caregiving, Children/Adolescents, Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Education: Patient and Caregiver, Emergency Department, Hospitalization, Hospitals, Inpatient Care, Behavioral Health, Prevention, Quality of Care, Quality Measures
Hatfield LA, Zaslavsky AM
Implications of variation in the relationships between beneficiary characteristics and Medicare Advantage CAHPS measures.
The researchers studied how differences in quality score adjustments across Medicare Advantage contracts change comparisons for individuals and contracts. They found that, for average consumers, standard adjustment is sufficient to represent variation in contract quality standardized to a common population. For people with characteristics far from average, personalized reporting using their characteristics and contract-specific coefficients can substantially change the expected quality measures across contracts.
AHRQ-funded; HS016978.
Citation: Hatfield LA, Zaslavsky AM .
Implications of variation in the relationships between beneficiary characteristics and Medicare Advantage CAHPS measures.
Health Serv Res 2017 Aug;52(4):1310-29. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.12544.
.
.
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Medicare, Health Status, Patient Experience, Quality of Care, Quality Improvement, Quality Measures
Martino SC, Shaller D, Schlesinger M
CAHPS and comments: how closed-ended survey questions and narrative accounts interact in the assessment of patient experience.
The authors investigated whether content from patient narratives explains variation in patients' primary care provider (PCP) ratings beyond information from the closed-ended questions of CAHPS Clinician and Group Survey and whether the relative placement of closed- and open-ended survey questions affects either the content of narratives or the CAHPS composite scores. They found that incorporating a protocol for eliciting narratives into a patient experience survey resulted in minimal distortion of patient feedback, and narratives from sicker patients helped explain variation in provider ratings.
AHRQ-funded; HS016980; HS016978; HS021858.
Citation: Martino SC, Shaller D, Schlesinger M .
CAHPS and comments: how closed-ended survey questions and narrative accounts interact in the assessment of patient experience.
J Patient Exp 2017 Mar;4(1):37-45. doi: 10.1177/2374373516685940.
.
.
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Patient Experience, Primary Care, Quality of Care, Quality Measures
Bilimoria KY, Barnard C
The new CMS Hospital Quality Star Ratings: the stars are not aligned.
This viewpoint paper discussed the Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings, released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, including issues concerning stakeholders. The authors recommended continuing vigorous work to improve the availability of meaningful measures. They concluded that current hospital rating systems do not provide comprehensive, relevant, accessible information, and current composites may mislead patients, payers, and hospitals; however, opportunities to provide meaningful hospital quality report cards are within reach.
AHRQ-funded; HS021857; HS024516.
Citation: Bilimoria KY, Barnard C .
The new CMS Hospital Quality Star Ratings: the stars are not aligned.
JAMA 2016 Nov 1;316(17):1761-62. doi: 10.1001/jama.2016.13679.
.
.
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Quality of Care, Hospitals, Quality Improvement, Quality Measures
Anhang Price R, Elliott MN, Zaslavsky AM
Examining the role of patient experience surveys in measuring health care quality.
The authors reviewed the literature on the association between patient experiences and other measures of health care quality. They concluded that patient experience measures that are collected using psychometrically sound instruments, employing recommended sample sizes and adjustment procedures, and implemented according to standard protocols are intrinsically meaningful and are appropriate complements for clinical process and outcome measures in public reporting and pay-for-performance programs.
AHRQ-funded; HS016980; HS016978.
Citation: Anhang Price R, Elliott MN, Zaslavsky AM .
Examining the role of patient experience surveys in measuring health care quality.
Med Care Res Rev 2014 Oct;71(5):522-54. doi: 10.1177/1077558714541480.
.
.
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Patient Experience, Quality of Care, Quality Improvement, Quality Measures
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