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
- Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) (1)
- Decision Making (1)
- Elderly (3)
- Healthcare Costs (1)
- Health Information Technology (HIT) (1)
- Hospitalization (1)
- Injuries and Wounds (1)
- Long-Term Care (5)
- Medicare (1)
- Medication (1)
- Medication: Safety (1)
- (-) Nursing Homes (8)
- Outcomes (1)
- Patient Experience (1)
- Patient Safety (1)
- Policy (1)
- Pressure Ulcers (1)
- Prevention (1)
- Provider Performance (2)
- Quality Improvement (3)
- Quality Measures (3)
- Quality of Care (4)
- Quality of Life (1)
- Rehabilitation (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 8 of 8 Research Studies DisplayedMukamel 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
Moga DC, Carnahan RM, Lund BC
Risks and benefits of bladder antimuscarinics among elderly residents of Veterans Affairs Community Living Centers.
This study evaluated the risks and benefits of drugs to reduce urinary incontinence that were used by elderly VA nursing home residents. It found that the use of these drugs, known as bladder antimuscarinics, resulted in improved continence rates and better social engagement but also led to a higher risk of fractures in new users.
AHRQ-funded; HS016094
Citation: Moga DC, Carnahan RM, Lund BC .
Risks and benefits of bladder antimuscarinics among elderly residents of Veterans Affairs Community Living Centers.
J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2013 Oct;14(10):749-60. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2013.03.008..
Keywords: Elderly, Medication, Medication: Safety, Nursing Homes, Long-Term Care, Injuries and Wounds, Patient Safety
Sheppard KD, Brown CJ, Hearld KR
Symptom burden predicts nursing home admissions among older adults.
Using a sample of community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries in Alabama who were contacted by telephone every 6 months during an eight and a half-year study, researchers found that symptom burden is an independent risk factor for NH admission. The study suggests that symptom assessment and management may reduce NH utilization.
AHRQ-funded; HS013852
Citation: Sheppard KD, Brown CJ, Hearld KR .
Symptom burden predicts nursing home admissions among older adults.
J Pain Symptom Manage. 2013 Oct;46(4):591-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2012.10...
Keywords: Medicare, Long-Term Care, Elderly, Nursing Homes, Healthcare Costs
Spector WD, Limcangco R, Williams C
AHRQ Author: Spector WD
Potentially avoidable hospitalizations for elderly long-stay residents in nursing homes.
The authors sought to determine the relationship between clinical risk factors, facility characteristics and State policy variables, and both avoidable and unavoidable hospitalizations. Using data from the Nursing Home Stay file, 2006-2008, they found that three fifths of hospitalizations were potentially avoidable and most were for infections, injuries, and congestive heart failure. Clinical risk factors included renal disease, diabetes, and a high number of medications. Staffing, quality, and reimbursement affected avoidable, but not unavoidable, hospitalizations.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Spector WD, Limcangco R, Williams C .
Potentially avoidable hospitalizations for elderly long-stay residents in nursing homes.
Med Care 2013 Aug;51(8):673-81. doi: 10.1097/MLR.0b013e3182984bff.
.
.
Keywords: Elderly, Hospitalization, Long-Term Care, Nursing Homes, Policy
Wagner LM, McDonald SM, Castle NG
Impact of voluntary accreditation on short-stay rehabilitative measures in U.S. nursing homes.
The purpose of this paper was to examine accreditation from nursing homes accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) and whether this is associated with improved rehabilitation care. Findings indicated that CARF-accredited nursing homes demonstrate better quality with regard to the short-stay quality measures and that approaches beyond traditional regulation and governmental inspections are necessary to improve the quality of care in nursing homes.
AHRQ-funded; HS013983.
Citation: Wagner LM, McDonald SM, Castle NG .
Impact of voluntary accreditation on short-stay rehabilitative measures in U.S. nursing homes.
Rehabil Nurs 2013 Jul-Aug;38(4):167-77. doi: 10.1002/rnj.94.
.
.
Keywords: Quality of Care, Nursing Homes, Quality Measures, Rehabilitation
Werner RM, Konetzka RT, Kim MM
Quality improvement under nursing home compare: the association between changes in process and outcome measures.
The researchers tested the extent to which improvements in outcomes of care are explained by changes in nursing home processes. Of the 5 outcome measures examined, they found that only improvements in the percentage of nursing home residents in moderate or severe pain were associated with changes in nursing home processes of care. They concluded that understanding the mechanism behind improvements in nursing home outcomes may be key to successfully achieving broad quality improvements across nursing homes.
AHRQ-funded; HS021861.
Citation: Werner RM, Konetzka RT, Kim MM .
Quality improvement under nursing home compare: the association between changes in process and outcome measures.
Med Care 2013 Jul;51(7):582-8. doi: 10.1097/MLR.0b013e31828dbae4.
.
.
Keywords: Nursing Homes, Long-Term Care, Quality Improvement, Quality Measures, Quality of Care, Provider Performance, Outcomes
Pesis-Katz I, Phelps CE, Temkin-Greener H
AHRQ Author: Spector WD
Making difficult decisions: the role of quality of care in choosing a nursing home.
The authors investigated how quality of care affects nursing home choice. They examined choices in California, Ohio, New York, and Texas, in 2001. They found that, in all states, consumers were more likely to choose nursing homes of high hotel services quality but not clinical care quality; choice was also significantly associated with shorter distance from prior residence, not-for-profit status, and larger facility size.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Pesis-Katz I, Phelps CE, Temkin-Greener H .
Making difficult decisions: the role of quality of care in choosing a nursing home.
Am J Public Health 2013 May;103(5):e31-7. doi: 10.2105/ajph.2013.301243.
.
.
Keywords: Decision Making, Quality of Care, Nursing Homes, Provider Performance, Quality of Life
Sharkey S, Hudak S, Horn SD
AHRQ Author: Spector W
Exploratory study of nursing home factors associated with successful implementation of clinical decision support tools for pressure ulcer prevention.
The researchers determined those factors that are associated with nursing homes' success in implementing the On-Time quality improvement (QI) for pressure ulcer prevention program and integrating health information technology (HIT) tools into practice at the unit level. They found that after at least 9 months of implementation effort, 36% of the nursing homes achieved level III of the On-Time QI-HIT program. They concluded that the learning from On-Time QI offers several lessons associated with facility factors that contribute to high level of implementation of a QI-HIT program in a nursing home.
AHRQ-authored; AHRQ-funded; 29020050020.
Citation: Sharkey S, Hudak S, Horn SD .
Exploratory study of nursing home factors associated with successful implementation of clinical decision support tools for pressure ulcer prevention.
Adv Skin Wound Care 2013 Feb;26(2):83-92; quiz p.93-4. doi: 10.1097/01.ASW.0000426718.59326.bb.
.
.
Keywords: Health Information Technology (HIT), Nursing Homes, Pressure Ulcers, Prevention, Quality Improvement