Nurse practitioner led implementation of huddles for staff in long term care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Staff working in long-term care (LTC) homes during COVID-19 frequently reported a lack of communication, collaboration, and teamwork, all of which are associated with staff dissatisfaction, health concerns, lack of support and moral distress. Our study introduced regular huddles to support LTC staff during COVID-19, led by a Nurse Practitioner (NP). The objectives were to evaluate the process of huddle implementation and to examine differences in outcomes between categories of staff (direct care staff, allied care and support staff, and management) who attended huddles and those who did not. METHODS: All staff and management at one LTC home (< 150 beds) in Ontario, Canada were included in this pre-experimental design study. The process evaluation used a huddle observation tool and focused on the dose (duration, frequency) and fidelity (NP's adherence to the huddle guide) of implementation. The staff attending and non-attending huddles were compared on outcomes measured at post-test: job satisfaction, physical and mental health, perception of support received, and levels of moral distress. The outcomes were assessed with validated measures and compared between categories of staff using Bayesian models. RESULTS: A total of 42 staff enrolled in the study (20 attending and 22 non-attending huddles). Forty-eight huddles were implemented by the NP over 15 weeks and lasted 15 min on average. Huddles were most commonly attended by direct care staff, followed by allied care/support, and management staff. All huddles adhered to the huddle guide as designed by the research team. Topics most often addressed during the huddles were related to resident care (46%) and staff well-being (34%). Differences were found between staff attending and non-attending huddles: direct care staff attending huddles reported lower levels of overall moral distress, and allied care and support staff attending huddles perceived higher levels of support from the NP. CONCLUSIONS: NP-led huddles in LTC homes may positively influence staff outcomes. The process evaluation provided some understanding of why the huddles may have been beneficial: the NP addressed resident care issues which were important to staff, encouraged a collaborative approach to solving issues on the unit, and discussed their well-being. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05387213, registered on 24/05/2022.

Nurse practitioner/physician collaborative models of care: a scoping review protocol.

BACKGROUND: Before the COVID-19 pandemic, many long-term care (LTC) homes experienced difficulties in providing residents with access to primary care, typically delivered by community-based family physicians or nurse practitioners (NPs). During the pandemic, legislative changes in Ontario, Canada enabled NPs to act in the role of Medical Directors thereby empowering NPs to work to their full scope of practice. Emerging from this new context, it remains unclear how NPs and physicians will best work together as primary care providers. NP/physician collaborative models appear key to achieving optimal resident outcomes. This scoping review aims to map available evidence on existing collaborative models of care between NPs and physicians within LTC homes. METHODS: The review will be guided by the research question, "What are the structures, processes and outcomes of collaborative models of care involving NPs and Physicians in LTC homes?" This scoping review will be conducted according to the methods framework for scoping reviews outlined by Arksey and O'Malley and refined by Levac et al., Colquhoun et al., and Daudt et al., as well as the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) Statement. Electronic databases (MEDLINE, Embase + Embase Classic, APA PsycInfo, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, AMED, CINAHL, Ageline, and Scopus), grey literature, and reference lists of included articles will be searched. English language studies that describe NP and physician collaborative models within the LTC setting will be included. DISCUSSION: This scoping review will consolidate what is known about existing NP/physician collaborative models of care in LTC homes. Results will be used to inform the development of a collaborative practice framework for long-term care clinical leadership.

Assessing the implementation of nurse practitioner-led huddles in long-term care using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR).

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic created major challenges in long-term care (LTC) homes across Canada and globally. A nurse practitioner-led interdisciplinary huddle intervention was developed to support staff wellbeing in two LTC homes in Ontario, Canada. The objective of this study was to identify the constructs strongly influencing the process of implementation of huddles across both sites, capturing the overall barriers and facilitators and the intervention's intrinsic properties. METHODS: Nineteen participants were interviewed about their experiences, pre-, post-, and during huddle implementation. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) was used to guide data collection and analysis. CFIR rating rules and a cross-comparison analysis was used to identify differentiating factors between sites. A novel extension to the CFIR analysis process was designed to assess commonly influential factors across both sites. RESULTS: Nineteen of twenty selected CFIR constructs were coded in interviews from both sites. Five constructs were determined to be strongly influential across both implementation sites and a detailed description is provided: evidence strength and quality; needs and resources of those served by the organization; leadership engagement; relative priority; and champions. A summary of ratings and an illustrative quote are provided for each construct. CONCLUSION: Successful huddles require long-term care leaders to consider their involvement, the inclusion all team members to help build relationships and foster cohesion, and the integration of nurse practitioners as full-time staff members within LTC homes to support staff and facilitate initiatives for wellbeing. This research provides an example of a novel approach using the CFIR methodology, extending its use to identify significant factors for implementation when it is not possible to compare differences in success.

Experiences of Essential Care Partners during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Visitor restrictions in long-term care (LTC) have had many consequences for residents, their families and care providers. The value of family presence in LTC was obscured during the COVID-19 pandemic until the designation of essential care partners (ECPs) was introduced to support the re-entry of family caregivers into LTC. Three ECPs share their personal experiences of caring for a loved one in LTC before and during the pandemic. Partnerships with LTC homes, residents, families and ECPs are identified as a unifying way forward to bolster future pandemic preparedness and ensure that current and future residents receive safe and high-quality care.

Understanding transitional care programs for older adults who experience delayed discharge: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Many hospitalized older adults cannot be discharged because they lack the health and social support to meet their post-acute care needs. Transitional care programs (TCPs) are designed to provide short-term and low-intensity restorative care to these older adults experiencing or at risk for delayed discharge. However, little is known about the contextual factors (i.e., patient, staff and environmental characteristics) that may influence the implementation and outcomes of TCPs. This scoping review aims to answer: 1) What are socio-demographic and/or clinical characteristics of older patients served by TCPs?; 2) What are the core components provided by TCPs?; and 3) What patient, caregiver, and health system outcomes have been investigated and what changes in these outcomes have been reported for TCPs? METHODS: The six-step scoping review framework and PRISMA-ScR checklist were followed. Studies were included if they presented models of TCPs and evaluated them in community-dwelling older adults (65+) experiencing or at-risk for delayed discharge. The data synthesis was informed by a framework, consistent with Donabedian's structure-process-outcome model. RESULTS: TCP patients were typically older women with multiple chronic conditions and some cognitive impairment, functionally dependent and living alone. The review identified five core components of TCPs: assessment; care planning and monitoring; treatment; discharge planning; and patient, family and staff education. The main outcomes examined were functional status and discharge destination. The results were discussed with a view to inform policy makers, clinicians and administrators designing and evaluating TCPs as a strategy for addressing delayed hospital discharges. CONCLUSION: TCPs can influence outcomes for older adults, including returning home. TCPs should be designed to incorporate interdisciplinary care teams, proactively admit those at risk of delayed discharge, accommodate persons with cognitive impairment and involve care partners. Additional studies are required to investigate the contributions of TCPs within integrated health care systems.

Work readiness, transition, and integration: The challenge of specialty practice.

AIM: To determine how extended orientation enhances the work readiness of new graduate nurses as they transitioned to their professional role in a specialty care hospital. BACKGROUND: Given increased complexity of care and high-patient acuity, there is concern about the work readiness of new graduate nurses in specialty areas. DESIGN: Qualitative exploratory study using an inductive approach. METHODS: An integrative literature review was conducted to abstract characteristics of work readiness among new graduate nurses. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 41 participants from a large paediatric specialty hospital in Ontario, Canada, in 2014. The sample of nurses was stratified and included nurse managers, new graduates, and preceptors. Interview texts were interpreted using thematic analysis. RESULTS: A framework for enhancing work readiness of new graduates transitioning to specialty care was developed from the interview and literature findings. Interview data demonstrate an extended orientation that includes mentorship, a gradual increase in clinical responsibilities, and involvement in the professional role during the early stages of a nurse's career can enhance work readiness of new graduates. Four key areas of work readiness were identified in the literature: personal characteristics, clinical characteristics, relational characteristics, and organizational acuity. CONCLUSION: Based on the study results, new graduate nurses can be an integral part of the team in specialty care provided certain conditions are met during their transition to practice. Our study gives further evidence that extended orientation enhances new graduates' work readiness as they transit to their professional role.

Identifying and understanding the health and social care needs of older adults with multiple chronic conditions and their caregivers: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND: As the population is aging, the number of persons living with multiple chronic conditions (MCC) is expected to increase. This review seeks to answer two research questions from the perspectives of older adults with MCC, their caregivers and their health care providers (HCPs): 1) What are the health and social care needs of community-dwelling older adults with MCC and their caregivers? and 2) How do social and structural determinants of health impact these health and social care needs? METHODS: We conducted a scoping review guided by a refinement of the Arksey & O'Malley framework. Articles were included if participants were 55 years or older and have at least two chronic conditions. We searched 7 electronic databases. The data were summarized using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Thirty-six studies were included in this review: 28 studies included participants with MCC; 12 studies included HCPs; 5 studies included caregivers. The quality of the studies ranged from moderate to good. Five main areas of needs were identified: need for information; coordination of services and supports; preventive, maintenance and restorative strategies; training for older adults, caregivers and HCPs to help manage the older adults' complex conditions; and the need for person-centred approaches. Structural and social determinants of health such as socioeconomic status, education and access influenced the needs of older adults with MCC. CONCLUSION: The review highlights that most of the needs of older adults with MCC focus on lack of access to information and coordination of care. The main structural and social determinants that influenced older adults' needs were their level of education/health literacy and their socioeconomic status.

Strategic Workforce Planning for Health Human Resources: A Nursing Case Analysis.

Background Health-care organizations provide services in a challenging environment, making the introduction of health human resources initiatives especially critical for safe patient care. Purpose To demonstrate how one specialty hospital in Ontario, Canada, leveraged an employment policy to stabilize its nursing workforce over a six-year period (2007 to 2012). Methods An observational cross-sectional study was conducted in which administrative data were analyzed to compare full-time status and retention of new nurses prepolicy and during the policy. The Professionalism and Environmental Factors in the Workplace Questionnaire® was used to compare new nurses hired into the study hospital with new nurses hired in other health-care settings. Results There was a significant increase in full-time employment and a decrease in part-time employment in the study hospital nursing workforce. On average, 26% of prepolicy new hires left the study hospital within one year of employment compared to 5% of new hires during policy implementation. The hospital nurses scored significantly higher than nurses employed in other health-care settings on 5 out of 13 subscales of professionalism. Conclusions Decision makers can use these findings to develop comprehensive health human resources guidelines and mechanisms that support strategic workforce planning to sustain and strengthen the health-care system.

Examining the relationships between span of control and manager job and unit performance outcomes.

AIM: Our aim was to examine the combination of frontline manager (FLM) personal characteristics and span of control (SOC) on their job and unit performance outcomes. BACKGROUND: Healthcare downsizing and reform have contributed to larger spans for FLMs in Canadian hospitals and increased concerns about manager workload. Despite a heightened awareness of SOC issues among decision makers, there is limited empirical evidence related to the effects of SOC on outcomes. METHODS: A non-experimental predictive survey design was used to examine FLM SOC in 14 Canadian academic hospitals. Managers (n = 121) completed an online survey of work characteristics and The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) SOC tool. Unit turnover data were collected from organisational databases. RESULTS: The combination of SOC and core self-evaluation significantly predicted role overload, work control and job satisfaction, but only SOC predicted unit adverse outcomes and neither significantly predicted unit turnover. CONCLUSIONS: The findings contribute to an understanding of connections between the combination of SOC and core self-evaluation and manager job and unit performance outcomes. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Organisational strategies to create manageable FLM SOC are essential to ensure exemplary job and unit outcomes. Core self-evaluation is a personality characteristic that may enhance manager performance in the face of high spans of control.

Development and Evaluation of a Nurse Practitioner Huddles Toolkit for Long Term Care Homes.

Long-term care homes (LTCHs) were disproportionately affected by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, creating stressful circumstances for LTCH employees, residents, and their care partners. Team huddles may improve staff outcomes and enable a supportive climate. Nurse practitioners (NPs) have a multifaceted role in LTCHs, including facilitating implementation of new practices. Informed by a community-based participatory approach to research, this mixed-methods study aimed to develop and evaluate a toolkit for implementing NP-led huddles in an LTCH. The toolkit consists of two sections. Section one describes the huddles' purpose and implementation strategies. Section two contains six scripts to guide huddle discussions. Acceptability of the intervention was evaluated using a quantitative measure (Treatment Acceptability Questionnaire) and through qualitative interviews with huddle participants. Descriptive statistics and manifest content analysis were used to analyse quantitative and qualitative data. The project team rated the toolkit as acceptable. Qualitative findings provided evidence on design quality, limitations, and recommendations for future huddles.

Enhancing cultural competence for improved access to quality care.

The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) is situated in one of the most diverse cities in the world. This is reflected in the patient population it serves. In 2009, the hospital embarked on a quality improvement initiative to address the existing evidence base on health disparities and to enhance health equity through cultural competence programming. The goal was to achieve optimal health outcomes for all patients and families, with a particular focus on new immigrant and other vulnerable populations. Evaluation results indicate changes in clinical practice as a result of this initiative and increased patient satisfaction with regard to staff members' level of cultural sensitivity. This article provides an overview of this hospital-wide initiative, as well as the evaluation methods and outcomes. Based on a needs assessment, we developed an institutionally meaningful curriculum with SickKids' values of family-centred care, patient safety and service excellence embedded in the program. Educational sessions were delivered to clinical and non-clinical hospital staff, focusing on health disparities, the case for culturally competent care and practical tools for healthcare practitioners. Organizational change strategies, including the use of champions as change agents and role models, were used to embed cultural competence as integral to family-centred care at SickKids.

Interruptions and pediatric patient safety.

This study explored interruptions in pediatric nurses' work and the systems issues related to interruptions in nursing work environments. A total of 5,325 interruptions were observed in this study, providing information on sources, types, and causes of interruptions. The nursing work being performed when interrupted and the outcomes of these interruptions are described.

Understanding transitional care programmes for older adults who experience delayed discharge: a scoping review protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Many hospitalised older adults experience delayed discharges due to increased postacute health and social support needs. Transitional care programmes (TCPs) provide short-term care to these patients to prepare them for transfer to nursing homes or back to the community with supports. There are knowledge gaps related to the development, implementation and evaluation of TCPs. The aims of this scoping review (ScR) are to identify the characteristics of older patients served by TCPs; criteria for transfer, components and services provided by TCPs; and outcomes used to evaluate TCPs. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The study involves six-step ScR and is informed by a collaborative/participatory approach whereby stakeholders engage in the development of the research questions, identification of literature, data abstraction and synthesis; and participation in consultation workshop. The search for scientific literature will be done in the Medline, PsychINFO, Emcare and CINAHL databases; as well, policies and reports that examined models of transitional care and the outcomes used to evaluate them will be reviewed. Records will be selected if they involve community dwelling older adults aged 65 years or older, or indigenous persons 45 years or older; and presented in English, French, Dutch and German languages. Records will be screened, reviewed and abstracted by two independent reviewers. Extracted data will be analysed using descriptive statistics and a narrative analysis, and organised according to Donabedian's model of structure (characteristics of older adults experiencing delayed discharge and served by TCPs), process (TCP components and services) and outcome. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This ScR does not require ethics approval. Dissemination activities include integrated knowledge translation (KT) (consultation with stakeholders throughout the study) and end-of-grant KT strategies (presentations at national and international conferences; and publication in peer-reviewed interdisciplinary journal).

The Canadian Frailty Priority Setting Partnership: Research Priorities for Older Adults Living with Frailty.

BACKGROUND: Patient engagement in research priority-setting is intended to democratize research and increase impact. The objectives of the Canadian Frailty Priority Setting Partnership (PSP) were to engage people with lived or clinical experience of frailty, and produce a list of research priorities related to care, support, and treatment of older adults living with frailty. METHODS: The Canadian Frailty PSP was supported by the Canadian Frailty Network, coordinated by researchers in Toronto, Ontario and followed the methods of the James Lind Alliance, which included establishing a Steering Group, inviting partner organizations, gathering questions related to care, support and treatment of older adults living with frailty, processing the data and prioritizing the questions. RESULTS: In the initial survey, 799 submissions were provided by 389 individuals and groups. The 647 questions that were within scope were categorized, merged, and summarized, then checked against research evidence, creating a list of 41 unanswered questions. Prioritization took place in two stages: first, 146 individuals and groups participated in survey and their responses short-listed 22 questions; and second, an in-person workshop was held on September 26, 2017 in Toronto, Ontario where these 22 questions were discussed and ranked. CONCLUSION: Researchers and research funders can use these results to inform their agendas for research on frailty. Strategies are needed for involving those with lived experience of frailty in research.

Identifying and understanding the health and social care needs of older adults with multiple chronic conditions and their caregivers: a protocol for a scoping review.

INTRODUCTION: People are living longer; however, they are not necessarily experiencing good health and well-being as they age. Many older adults live with multiple chronic conditions (MCC), and complex health issues, which adversely affect their day-to-day functioning and overall quality of life. As a result, they frequently rely on the support of friend and/or family caregivers. Caregivers of older adults with MCC often face challenges to their own well-being and also require support. Currently, not enough is known about the health and social care needs of older adults with MCC and the needs of their caregivers or how best to identify and meet these needs. This study will examine and synthesise the literature on the needs of older adults with MCC and those of their caregivers, and identify gaps in evidence and directions for further research. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will conduct a scoping review of the peer-reviewed and grey literature using the updated Arksey and O'Malley framework. The literature will be identified using a multidatabase and grey literature search strategy developed by a health sciences librarian. Papers, reports and other materials addressing the health and social care needs of older adults and their friend/family caregivers will be included. Search results will be screened, independently, by two reviewers, and data will be abstracted from included literature and charted in duplicate. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This scoping review does not require ethics approval. We anticipate that study findings will inform novel strategies for identifying and ascertaining the health and social care needs of older adults living with MCC and those of their caregivers. Working with knowledge-user members of our team, we will prepare materials and presentations to disseminate findings to relevant stakeholder and end-user groups at local, national and international levels. We will also publish our findings in a peer-reviewed journal.

Medical errors: understanding the parent's perspective.

Health care practitioners who advocate for full and open disclosure of medical errors often are met with opposition from legal advisors, insurance providers, hospital leadership, and colleagues. Although some progress has been made, a culture of fear around blame and retribution persists and continues to stymie the progression toward open discussion and disclosure of adverse events. The following case discussion addresses some common obstacles to disclosure of medical errors and reversals the potential for positive outcomes for patients and their families, hospital staff, and the health care system when those challenges are overcome.

Exploring managers' views on span of control: more than a headcount.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore front-line managers' (FLMs') perceptions of their span of control (SOC) and how they manage it. As part of a larger quantitative study examining relationships between FLMs' SOC and performance outcomes, 10 manager focus groups were conducted by teleconference, involving 48 managers from 14 academic healthcare organizations. Themes and subthemes were identified according to (a) perceptions of the size and scope of SOC; (b) factors influencing the complexity of SOC; (c) supports needed to manage SOC; (d) changing leadership style; and (e) ways of coping with role overload. Participants described system demands as a significant contributor to their work responsibilities and a sense of role overload. About half of managers stated their SOC was unreasonable and that they lacked the necessary supports to manage it. Many managers who described their SOC as reasonable still expressed concerns about internal and external workload pressures that contributed to changing leadership style and role overload. Findings reinforce the importance of organizational strategies to create regular dialogue with FLMs regarding the size, complexity and appropriateness of current spans and to provide the resource supports necessary to ensure they can manage their SOC effectively.

Health services delivery: reframing policies for global nursing migration in North America--a Canadian perspective.

A number of initiatives are currently under way to address the Canadian Nursing Sector Study's recommendations for integrated human resource planning, including some of the particular challenges posted by international nurse migration. This article identifies and discusses some of the initiatives currently being undertaken in Ontario and elsewhere.

An empirical test of the Nursing Role Effectiveness Model.

AIMS OF THE STUDY: This study investigated the propositions depicted in the Nursing Role Effectiveness Model, in which nurse and patient structural variables were expected to influence nurses' role performance, which, in turn was expected to affect patient outcome achievement. RATIONALE/BACKGROUND: Increasingly, nurses are expected to demonstrate their contribution to patient outcome achievement as a basis for evaluating practice and for monitoring improvements in practice. A model was developed that describes nursing practice in relationship to the roles nurses assume in health care, and links patient and system outcomes to nurses' role functions (Nursing Economics 1998: 16, 58-64, 87). RESEARCH METHODS: A cross-sectional design was used to collect data on the structure, process, and outcome variables. Data were collected through structured questionnaires and chart audit, involving a total of 372 patients and 254 nurses from 26 general medical-surgical units in a tertiary care hospital. Patient structural variables included medical diagnosis, age, gender and education. Nurse structural variables included educational preparation and length of hospital experience. The unit structural variables included the adequacy of time to provide care, autonomy, and role tension. The quality of nurses' independent role performance was assessed by collecting data from patients on their perception of the quality of nursing care. Nurses' interdependent role performance was assessed by collecting data from nurses on the quality of nurse communication and co-ordination of care. Patient outcomes were assessed through self-report and consisted of the patients' therapeutic self-care ability, functional status, and mood disturbance at the time of hospital discharge. Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypothesized relationships among the structural, process, and outcome variables. RESULTS: Patients viewed nurses' independent role performance more effective on units where nurses reported less autonomy but more time to provide care. The quality of nurse communication was higher on units where nurses had higher education, more autonomy, less hospital experience, and lower role tension. However, the co-ordination of care was more effective on units where nurses had higher education, greater hospital experience, less autonomy and role tension. The three role performance variables were associated with patients' therapeutic self-care ability at hospital discharge. Nurses' independent role performance was associated with better patient functional status and less mood disturbance at hospital discharge. The role performance variables fully mediated the effect of the structural variables on patient outcomes, lending support for the proposition that nurses' role performance explains the relationship between structural variables, such as nurse education and autonomy, and patient outcome achievement. DISCUSSION: The Nursing Role Effectiveness Model provides a well-defined conceptual framework to guide the evaluation of outcomes of nursing care. For the most part the hypothesized relationships among the variables were supported. However, further work is needed to develop an understanding of how nurses engage in their co-ordinating role functions and how we can measures these role activities.