Work Environment and Operational Failures Associated With Nurse Outcomes, Patient Safety, and Patient Satisfaction.

BACKGROUND: Operational failures, defined as the inability of the work system to reliably provide information, services, and supplies needed when, where, and to who, are a pervasive problem in U.S. hospitals that disrupt nurses' ability to provide safe and effective care. OBJECTIVES: We examined the relationship between operational failures, patient satisfaction, nurse-reported quality and safety, and nurse job outcomes (e.g., burnout and job satisfaction) and whether differences in hospital work environments explained the relationship. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis using population-based survey data from 11,709 registered nurses in 415 hospitals who participated in the RN4CAST-US nurse survey (2015-2016) and the 2016 Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey. The RN4CAST-US nurse survey focused on hospital quality and safety, job outcomes, and hospital work environments. The HCAHPS survey collected publicly reported patient data on their satisfaction with their care. Operational failures were evaluated using an eight-item composite measure that assessed missing supplies, orders, medication, missing/wrong patient diet, electronic documentation problems, insufficient staff, and time spent on workarounds and nonnursing tasks. Multilevel regression models were used to test the hypothesized relationships. RESULTS: Operational failures were associated with low patient satisfaction scores, poor quality and safety outcomes, and poor nurse job outcomes, and those associations were partly accounted for by hospital work environments. DISCUSSION: Operational failures prevent high-quality care and positive patient and nurse outcomes. Operational failures and the hospital work environment should be targeted simultaneously to maximize quality improvement efforts. Hospital leadership should work with frontline staff to identify and target the sources of operational failures in nursing units. Improvements to hospital work environments may reduce the occurrence of operational failures.

Methodology for a six-state survey of primary care nurse practitioners.

BACKGROUND: Primary care practices employing nurse practitioners (NPs) can play an important role in improving access to high quality health care services. However, most studies on the NP role in health care use administrative data, which have many limitations. PURPOSE: In this paper, we report the methods of the largest survey of primary care NPs to date. METHODS: To overcome the limitations of administrative data, we fielded a cross-sectional, mixed-mode (mail/online) survey of primary care NPs in six states to collect data directly from NPs on their clinical roles and practice environments. FINDINGS: While we were able to collect data from over 1,200 NPs, we encountered several challenges with our sampling frame, including provider turnover and challenges with identification of NP specialty. DISCUSSION: In future surveys, researchers can employ strategies to avoid the issues we encountered with the sampling frame and enhance large scale survey data collection from NPs.

Surveying Primary Care Nurse Practitioners: An Overview of National Sampling Frames.

Nurse practitioners (NPs) represent the fastest growing segment of the U.S. primary care workforce. Surveys of primary care NPs can help to better understand the care NPs deliver across different health care settings, the factors that impact NP job satisfaction and burnout, and the structural capabilities required to support their practice. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of national sampling frames that can be used by researchers interested in surveying or studying the U.S. primary care NP workforce. We conducted an environmental scan and review of published literature on the NP workforce to identify data sources that can be used to sample primary care NPs. In this article, we (a) identify the data elements needed to develop an NP sampling frame and (b) describe national data sets that can be used to sample primary care NPs, including the strengths and weaknesses of each. This information is intended to facilitate research on the primary care NP workforce to inform practice and policy.

Trends in Prescription Pain Medication Use by Race/Ethnicity Among US Adults With Noncancer Pain, 2000-2015.

OBJECTIVES: To examine national trends in the use of various pharmacological pain medication classes by race/ethnicity among the US pain population. METHODS: We used data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to conduct a nationally representative, serial cross-sectional study of the noninstitutionalized US adult population from 2000 to 2015. We identified adults with moderate or severe self-reported pain and excluded individuals with cancer. We used complex survey design to provide national estimates of the percentage of adults with noncancer pain who received prescription pain medications among 4 groups: non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic or Latino, and other. RESULTS: The age- and gender-adjusted percentage of prescription opioid use increased across all groups, with the greatest increase among non-Hispanic White individuals. By 2015, the percentage of non-Hispanic Black adults using opioids approximated that of non-Hispanic White adults-in 2015, approximately 23% of adults in these 2 groups used opioids. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first evidence of a narrowing divide in opioid prescribing by race. However, in the context of the national epidemic of opioid-related addiction and mortality, opioid-related risks do not appear commensurate with the purported benefits.

Treatment-associated toxicities reported by patients with early-stage invasive breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Patient-reported toxicities help to appraise the breast cancer treatment experience. Yet extant data come from clinical trials and health care claims, which may be biased. Using patient surveys, the authors sought to quantify the frequency, severity, and burden of treatment-associated toxicities. METHODS: Between 2013 and 2014, the iCanCare study surveyed a population-based sample of women residing in Los Angeles County and Georgia with early-stage, invasive breast cancer. The authors assessed the frequency and severity of toxicities; correlated toxicity severity with unscheduled health care use (clinic visits, emergency department visits/hospitalizations) and physical health; and examined patient, tumor, and treatment factors associated with reporting increased toxicity severity. RESULTS: The overall survey response rate was 71%. From the analyzed cohort of 1945 women, 866 (45%) reported at least 1 toxicity that was severe/very severe, 9% reported unscheduled clinic visits for toxicity management, and 5% visited an emergency department or hospital. Factors associated with reporting higher toxicity severity included receipt of chemotherapy (odds ratio [OR], 2.2; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 2.0-2.5), receipt of both chemotherapy and radiotherapy (OR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.0-1.7), and Latina ethnicity (OR vs whites: 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1-1.5). A nonsignificant increase in at least 1 severe/very severe toxicity report was observed for bilateral mastectomy recipients (OR, 1.2; 95% CI, 1.0-1.4). CONCLUSIONS: Women with early-stage invasive breast cancer report substantial treatment-associated toxicities and related burden. Clinicians should collect toxicity data routinely and offer early intervention. Toxicity differences observed by treatment modality may inform decision making. Cancer 2017;123:1925-1934. © 2017 American Cancer Society.

Functional status and quality of life among breast cancer survivors with heart failure: results of the Medicare Health Outcomes Survey.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this population-based study was to examine health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and functional status among breast cancer survivors with heart failure. METHODS: We examined Medicare Health Outcomes Survey data from women aged 65 and older diagnosed with breast cancer in the past 5 years. Surveys were linked to Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results cancer registries. Each woman identified with self-reported heart failure (n = 239) was matched to controls without heart failure (n = 685) using propensity scores. The Short Form-36/Veterans Rand-12 measured eight domains of HRQOL. Functional status impairment was measured by limitations in six activities of daily living (ADLs). Linear models estimated associations between heart failure status and HRQOL. Logistic regression models estimated odds ratios for associations between heart failure and ADL impairment. We examined associations for the total study population and subgroups stratified by cancer stage. RESULTS: Among all study participants, heart failure was associated with significant deficits in every HRQOL domain and impairment in all ADLs (p < 0.01, ORs ranged from 1.74 to 2.47). After stratification by cancer stage, heart failure was associated with physical HRQOL deficits across all cancer stages (physical function, vitality, general health) and mental HRQOL deficits only in women with stage I/II cancer (role-emotional, social function). Women with early stage cancer experienced the greatest HRQOL deficits associated with heart failure. CONCLUSIONS: Heart failure in breast cancer survivors is associated with substantial HRQOL deficits and functional status impairment, particularly in early stage cancer. Tailored interventions are needed to improve physical function and mental wellbeing in this high-risk population.

Cardiotoxic heart failure in breast cancer survivors: a concept analysis.

AIM: To report an analysis of the concept of cardiotoxic heart failure in breast cancer survivors. BACKGROUND: Despite numerous studies describing cardiotoxic effects of breast cancer therapies, the literature lacks consistent terminology to describe cancer treatment-induced heart failure, defined by the authors as 'cardiotoxic heart failure'. Breast cancer survivors who develop heart failure may not fit existing conceptual models. A concept analysis of cardiotoxic heart failure in breast cancer survivors is needed to integrate previous research findings and establish the scientific foundation for future intervention research. DESIGN: Concept analysis. DATA SOURCES: An integrative review (1999-2014) was conducted to examine aetiologies and risk factors for heart failure in female breast cancer survivors. Databases searched were CINAHL, Cochrane Library, EmBase, Medline and Scopus. METHODS: Walker and Avant's method for concept analysis includes: select concept; determine purpose; identify uses; define attributes; identify model case; describe borderline, related and contrary cases; identify antecedents/consequences; define empirical referents. RESULTS: In the literature, substantial variation was noted in terminology for breast cancer treatment-induced cardiotoxicity. The authors define cardiotoxic heart failure in breast cancer survivors as chronic heart failure resulting from breast cancer treatment-induced cardiotoxicity among women without pre-existing heart failure diagnosis. No studies were found that described quality of life or tested interventions to preserve quality of life for this population. CONCLUSION: Prospective studies are needed to develop interventions for symptom management to improve quality of life in breast cancer survivors with heart failure. New conceptual paradigms may be needed to improve outcomes for this vulnerable population.

Refusal to participate in heart failure studies: do age and gender matter?

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The objective of this retrospective study was to evaluate reasons heart failure patients decline study participation, to inform interventions to improve enrollment. BACKGROUND: Failure to enrol older heart failure patients (age > 65) and women in studies may lead to sampling bias, threatening study validity. DESIGN: This study was a retrospective analysis of refusal data from four heart failure studies that enrolled 788 patients in four states. METHODS: Chi-Square and a pooled t-test were computed to analyse refusal data (n = 300) obtained from heart failure patients who were invited to participate in one of the four studies but declined. RESULTS: Refusal reasons from 300 patients (66% men, mean age 65·33) included: not interested (n = 163), too busy (n = 64), travel burden (n = 50), too sick (n = 38), family problems (n = 14), too much commitment (n = 13) and privacy concerns (n = 4). Chi-Square analyses showed no differences in frequency of reasons (p > 0·05) between men and women. Patients who refused were older, on average, than study participants. CONCLUSIONS: Some reasons were patient-dependent; others were study-dependent. With 'not interested' as the most common reason, cited by over 50% of patients who declined, recruitment measures should be targeted at stimulating patients' interest. Additional efforts may be needed to recruit older participants. However, reasons for refusal were consistent regardless of gender. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Heart failure researchers should proactively approach a greater proportion of women and patients over age 65. With no gender differences in type of reasons for refusal, similar recruitment strategies can be used for men and women. However, enrolment of a representative proportion of women in heart failure studies has proven elusive and may require significant effort from researchers. Employing strategies to stimulate interest in studies is essential for recruiting heart failure patients, who overwhelmingly cited lack of interest as the top reason for refusal.

Hospital Quality Indicators for Opioid-Exposed Infants: Results From an Expert Consensus Panel.

OBJECTIVE: To elicit expert consensus on quality indicators for the hospital-based care of opioid-exposed infants. METHODS: We used the ExpertLens online platform to conduct a 3-round modified Delphi panel. Expert panelists included health care providers, parents in recovery, quality experts, and public health experts. We identified 49 candidate quality indicators from a literature review and environmental scan. A total of 32 experts rated the importance and feasibility of the indicators using a 9-point Likert scale (Round 1), reviewed and discussed the initial ratings (round 2), and revised their original ratings (Round 3). Numeric scores corresponded with descriptive ratings of "low" (1-3), "uncertain" (4-6), or "high" (7-9). We measured consensus using the RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method. RESULTS: Candidate quality indicators assessed structures, processes, and outcomes in multiple domains of clinical care. After the final round, 36 indicators were rated "high" on importance and feasibility. Experts had strong consensus on the importance of quality indicators to assess universal screening of pregnant people for substance use disorder, hospital staff training, standardized assessment for neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome, nonpharmacologic interventions, and transitions of care. For indicators focused on processes and outcomes, experts saw feasibility as dependent on the information routinely documented in electronic medical records or billing records. To present a more complete picture of hospital quality, experts suggested development of composite measures that summarize quality across multiple indicators. CONCLUSIONS: A panel of experts reached consensus on a range of quality indicators for hospital-based care of opioid-exposed infants, with potential for use in national benchmarking, intervention studies, or hospital performance measurement.

Health system implementation of the PROMIS Cognitive Function Screener in the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit: framing as abilities versus concerns.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive assessment is a required component of the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit (AWV). In this prospective study, we evaluated acceptability and usefulness of a patient-reported outcome measure (the PROMIS® Cognitive Function Screener, or PRO-CS) to screen for cognitive impairment during the AWV. We compared two versions of the PRO-CS: Abilities and Concerns. METHODS: We developed PRO-CS Abilities and PRO-CS Concerns using items from the PROMIS Cognitive Function item banks. We partnered with a large health system in Pennsylvania to implement an electronic health record (EHR)-integrated version of the 4-item PRO-CS into their AWV workflow. PRO-CS Abilities was implemented in June 2022 and then replaced with PRO-CS Concerns in October 2022. We used EHR data to evaluate scores on Abilities versus Concerns and their association with patient characteristics. We gathered feedback from providers on experiences with the PRO-CS and conducted cognitive interviews with patients to evaluate their preferences for Abilities versus Concerns. RESULTS: Between June 2022 and January 2023, 3,088 patients completed PRO-CS Abilities and 2,614 patients completed PRO-CS Concerns. Mean T-scores for Abilities (54.8) were slightly higher (indicating better cognition) than for Concerns (52.6). 10% of scores on Abilities and 13% of scores on Concerns indicated concern for cognitive impairment (T-score < 45). Both Abilities and Concerns were associated with clinical characteristics as hypothesized, with lower scores for patients with cognitive impairment diagnoses and those requiring assistance with instrumental activities of daily living. Abilities and Concerns had similar negative correlations with depression (r= -0.31 versus r= -0.33) and anxiety (r= -0.28 for both), while Abilities had a slightly stronger positive correlation with self-rated health (r = 0.34 versus r = 0.28). In interviews, providers commented that the PRO-CS could be useful to facilitate conversations about cognition, though several providers noted potential limitations of patient self-report. Feedback from patients indicated a preference for PRO-CS Concerns. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest potential utility of the PRO-CS for cognitive screening in the Medicare AWV. PRO-CS Abilities and Concerns had similar associations with patient clinical characteristics, but the Concerns version was more acceptable to patients.

Policy Decisionmaking in Long-Term Care: Lessons from Infection Control During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic focused attention on long-term care facilities' need for infection-control policies that balanced community safety and individual well-being. Infection-control policies were often developed, implemented, and mandated without the input or involvement of those who are most affected: residents and their family members, administrators, and staff. This failure led to declines in residents' physical and mental health. The pandemic exposed an opportunity-and an imperative-to reimagine long-term care in a way that is centered on the needs and preferences of those who receive care, their family members, and those who provide care. This study lays the groundwork for cultural change and a move toward inclusive policy decisionmaking in long-term care through a review of infection-control policy decisions and action items proposed in guided discussions with a diversity of stakeholders-long-term care residents, direct care staff, and consumer advocates to facility administrators, clinicians, researchers, and industry organizations. Transforming the culture of long-term care to elevate the needs of residents will require attention to facility leadership, along with steps to increase inclusiveness, transparency, and accountability in decisionmaking.

Changes in Nursing Home Use Following Medicaid-Supported Expanded Access to Home- and Community-Based Services for Older Adults With Dementia.

Importance: New York State's Medicaid managed long-term care (MLTC) program expanded access to home- and community-based services, providing an alternative to nursing home care for people with dementia. Between 2012 and 2015, the state implemented mandatory MLTC for dual Medicare and Medicaid enrollees requiring more than 120 days of community-based long-term care. Objective: To evaluate changes in nursing home use among older adults with dementia following MLTC implementation. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study used longitudinal data from January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2019, from the Minimum Data Set and Medicare administrative data. The study sample included New York State Medicare beneficiaries 65 years and older with dementia. New York City residents were excluded due to insufficient pre-study period data. Data were analyzed from January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2019. Exposure: Mandatory MLTC enrollment. Main Outcomes and Measures: Longitudinal models were used to evaluate changes in annual days of nursing home use following the staggered implementation of MLTC across 13 regions of the state. Two models were estimated: (1) a logistic regression model for any nursing home use in a given year and (2) a linear regression model of total nursing home days, conditional on any nursing home use. Models included annual event-time indicators specified as years until or since MLTC implementation. To capture MLTC effects for dual enrollees relative to non-dual Medicare enrollees, models included interaction terms for dual enrollment and event-time indicators. Results: This sample included 463 947 Medicare beneficiaries with dementia who lived in New York State between 2011 and 2019 (50.2% younger than 85 years; 64.4% women). Implementation of MLTC was associated with lower odds of nursing home use among dual enrollees, ranging from 8% lower odds 2 years post implementation (adjusted odds ratio, 0.92 [95% CI, 0.86-0.98]) to 24% lower odds 6 years post implementation (adjusted odds ratio, 0.76 [95% CI, 0.69-0.84]). Compared with a scenario of no MLTC, MLTC implementation was associated with an 8% reduction in annual days of nursing home use between 2013 and 2019 (mean, -5.6 [95% CI, -6.1 to -5.1] days per year). Conclusions and Relevance: The findings of this cohort study suggest that implementation of mandatory MLTC in New York State was associated with less nursing home use among dual enrollees with dementia and that MLTC may help prevent or delay nursing home placement among older adults with dementia.

The Impact of Nurse Practitioner-Led Primary Care on Quality and Cost for Medicaid-Enrolled Patients in States With Pay Parity.

Studies have established that nurse practitioners (NPs) deliver primary care comparable to physicians in quality and cost, but most focus on Medicare, a program that reimburses NPs less than physicians. In this retrospective cohort study, we evaluated the quality and cost implications of receiving primary care from NPs compared to physicians in 14 states that reimburse NPs at the Medicaid fee-for-service (FFS) physician rate (i.e., pay parity). We linked national provider and practice data with Medicaid data for adults with diabetes and children with asthma (2012-2013). We attributed patients to primary care NPs and physicians based on 2012 evaluation & management claims. Using 2013 data, we constructed claims-based primary care quality measures and condition-specific costs of care for FFS enrollees. We estimated the effect of NP-led care on quality and costs using: (1) weighting to balance observable confounders and (2) an instrumental variable (IV) analysis using differential distance from patients' residences to primary care practices. Adults with diabetes received comparable quality of care from NPs and physicians at similar cost. Weighted results showed no differences between NP- and physician-attributed patients in receipt of recommended care or diabetes-related hospitalizations. For children with asthma, costs of NP-led care were lower but quality findings were mixed: NP-led care was associated with lower use of appropriate medications and higher rates of asthma-related emergency department visits but similar rates of asthma-related hospitalization. IV analyses revealed no evidence of differences in quality between NP- and physician-led care. Our findings suggest that in states with Medicaid pay parity, NP-led care is comparable to physician-led care for adults with diabetes, while associations between NP-led care and quality were mixed for children with asthma. Increased use of NP-led primary care may be cost-neutral or cost-saving, even under pay parity.

Patient-Reported Quality Measures for Palliative Care: The Time is now.

CONTEXT: While progress has been made in the ability to measure the quality of hospice and specialty palliative care, there are notable gaps. A recent analysis conducted by Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) revealed a paucity of patient-reported measures, particularly in palliative care domains such as symptom management and communication. OBJECTIVES: The research team, consisting of quality measure and survey developers, psychometricians, and palliative care clinicians, used established state-of-the art methods for developing and testing patient-reported measures. METHODS: We applied a patient-centered, patient-engaged approach throughout the development and testing process. This sequential process included 1) an information gathering phase; 2) a pre-testing phase; 3) a testing phase; and 4) an endorsement phase. RESULTS: To fill quality measure gaps identified during the information gathering phase, we selected two draft measures ("Feeling Heard and Understood" and "Receiving Desired Help for Pain") for testing with patients receiving palliative care in clinic-based settings. In the pre-testing phase, we used an iterative process of cognitive interviews to refine draft items and corresponding response options for the proposed measures. The alpha pilot test supported establishment of protocols for the national beta field test. Measures met conventional criteria for reliability, had strong face and construct validity, and there was diversity in program level scores. The measures received National Quality Forum (NQF) endorsement. CONCLUSION: These measures highlight the key role of patient voices in palliative care and fill a much-needed gap for patient-reported experience measures in our field.

State Policies and Buprenorphine Prescribing by Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants.

Nurse practitioner (NP) and physician assistant (PA) prescribing can increase access to buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder. In this cross-sectional study, we used deidentified claims from approximately 90% of U.S. retail pharmacies (2017-2018) to examine the association of state policies with the odds of receiving buprenorphine treatment from an NP/PA versus a physician, overall and stratified by urban/rural status. From 2017 to 2018, the percentage of buprenorphine treatment episodes prescribed by NPs/PAs varied widely across states, from 0.4% in Alabama to 57.2% in Montana. Policies associated with greater odds of buprenorphine treatment from an NP/PA included full scope of practice (SOP) for NPs, full SOP for PAs, Medicaid pay parity for NPs (reimbursement at 100% of the fee-for-service physician rate), and Medicaid expansion. Although most findings with respect to policies were similar in urban and rural settings, the association of Medicaid expansion with NP/PA buprenorphine treatment was driven by rural counties.

Examining Regional Differences in Nursing Home Palliative Care for Black and Hispanic Residents.

Background: Approximately one-quarter of all deaths in the United States occur in nursing homes (NHs). Palliative care has the potential to improve NH end-of-life care, but more information is needed on the provision of palliative care in NHs serving Black and Hispanic residents. Objective: To determine whether palliative care services in United States NHs are associated with differences in the concentrations of Black and Hispanic residents, respectively, and the impact by region. Design: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis. The outcome was NH palliative care services (measured by an earlier national survey); total scores ranged from 0 to 100 (higher scores indicated more services). Other data included the Minimum Data Set and administrative data. The independent variables were concentration of Black and Hispanic residents (i.e., <3%, 3-10%, >10%), respectively, and models were stratified by region (i.e., Northeast, Midwest, South and West). We compared unadjusted, weighted mean palliative care services by the concentration of Black and Hispanic residents and computed NH-level multivariable linear regressions. Setting/Subjects: Eight hundred sixty-nine (weighted n = 15,020) NHs across the United States. Results: Multivariable analyses showed fewer palliative care services provided in NHs with greater concentrations of Black and Hispanic residents. Fewer palliative care services were reported in NHs in the Northeast, for which >10% of the resident population was Black, and NHs in the West for which >10% was Hispanic versus NHs with <3% of the population being Black and Hispanic (-13.7; p < 0.001 and -9.3; p < 0.05, respectively). Conclusion: We observed differences in NH palliative care by region and with greater concentration of Black and Hispanic residents. Our findings suggest that greater investment in NH palliative care services may be an important strategy to advance health equity in end-of-life care for Black and Hispanic residents.

Urinary catheter policies in home healthcare agencies and hospital transfers due to urinary tract infection.

BACKGROUND: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a frequent cause of hospital transfer for home healthcare (HHC) patients, particularly among patients with urinary catheters. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional, nationally representative HHC agency-level survey (2018-2019) and combined it with patient-level data from the Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS) and Medicare inpatient data (2016-2018) to evaluate the association between HHC agencies' urinary catheter policies and hospital transfers due to UTI. Our sample included 28,205 patients with urinary catheters who received HHC from 473 Medicare-certified agencies between 2016-2018. Our survey assessed whether agencies had written policies in place for (1) replacement of indwelling catheters at fixed intervals, and (2) emptying the drainage bag. We used adjusted logistic regression to estimate the association of these policies with probability of hospital transfer due to UTI during a 60-day HHC episode. RESULTS: Probability of hospital transfer due to UTI during a HHC episode ranged from 5.62% among agencies with neither urinary catheter policy to 4.43% among agencies with both policies. Relative to agencies with neither policy, having both policies was associated with 21% lower probability of hospital transfer due to UTI (P < .05). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest implementation of policies in HHC to promote best practices for care of patients with urinary catheters may be an effective strategy to prevent hospital transfers due to UTI.

Evaluation of PROMIS Cognitive Function Scores and Correlates in a Clinical Sample of Older Adults.

In this study we assessed the utility of self-reported cognitive function using two PROMIS® Cognitive Function (PROMIS-CF) items in an observational clinical sample of patients aged 65 and older (n = 16,249) at a large health system. We evaluated the association of PROMIS-CF scores with clinical characteristics and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores, and we used logistic regression to examine predictors of 1-year decline in PROMIS-CF scores among patients with available data. PROMIS-CF scores were associated with clinical characteristics as hypothesized, with lower (more impaired) scores for patients with cognitive impairment (CI) diagnoses, multiple comorbidities, and those taking cognitive enhancing or interfering medications. PROMIS-CF scores were also positively associated with MoCA scores. Predictors of 1-year decline in PROMIS-CF scores included CI diagnoses, use of cognitive enhancing medications, higher depression scores, and lower social role function. Our findings suggest potential utility of PROMIS-CF items in a brief patient-administered screening tool for CI.

Influenza vaccination of home health care staff and the impact on patient hospitalizations.

BACKGROUND: Influenza is associated with significant morbidity and mortality for adults aged 65 years and older. Influenza vaccination of health care workers is recommended. There is limited evidence regarding influenza vaccinations among health care workers in the home health care (HHC) setting and their impact on HHC patient outcomes. METHODS: A national survey of HHC agencies was conducted in 2018-2019 and linked with patient data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Adjusted logistic regression models were used to estimate the association between hospital transfers due to respiratory infection during a 60 day HHC episode and staff vaccination policies. RESULTS: Only 26.2% of HHC agencies had staff vaccination requirements and 71.2% agencies had staff vaccination rates higher than 75%. Agency policies for staff influenza vaccination were associated with reduced hospital transfers due to respiratory infection among HHC patients. DISCUSSION: Influenza vaccination rates among HHC staff were low during the 2017-2018 influenza season. Policymakers may consider vaccination mandates to improve health care worker vaccination rates and protect patient safety. CONCLUSIONS: This study sheds light on the potential impact of COVID-19 vaccination among HHC workers on patient outcomes. COVID-19 vaccination mandates could prove to be a vital tool in the fight against COVID-19 variants and infection outbreaks.