No Place to Go: The Relationship Between Care Partner Inclusion Practices and the Hospital Environment.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this was to explore how the physical environment in a hospital contributes to care partner inclusion practices. BACKGROUND: Despite their vital efforts in caring for people living with dementia (PLWD), care partners of PLWD often report feeling not included in their loved ones' hospitalizations. This phenomenon goes against research, policy initiatives, and hospital design frameworks that underscore the importance of including care partners in hospital care. To ensure that care partners are systematically included in hospital care, health systems must create an environment that prioritizes care partners' presence. METHODS: This descriptive qualitative design employs a multimethod approach to data collection. Our team conducted direct observations in a large academic hospital and interviewed 23 clinicians/administrators and 15 care partners of PLWD to understand the relationship between hospital environments and care partner inclusion. Observational data were analyzed using a framework analysis, and interview data were analyzed through thematic analysis. RESULTS: Direct observations revealed an underutilization of environmental resources such as family-centered spaces and environmental communication tools. Interview data revealed that adequate space for care partners, the layout of patient rooms, parking accessibility, room personalization, and comfort level of the hospital space all impact care partner inclusion. CONCLUSION: Our findings highlight opportunities for health systems to create hospital environments that support PLWD and their care partners. In pursuit of systematic care partner inclusion, health systems can make adequate space for care partners, allocate dementia-friendly parking spaces, increase utilization of environmental communication tools, and increase comfort level of the environment.

Using Systems Engineering and Implementation Science to Design an Implementation Package for Preoperative Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment Among Older Adults Having Major Abdominal Surgery: Protocol for a 3-Phase Study.

BACKGROUND: Older Americans, a growing segment of the population, have an increasing need for surgical services, and they experience a disproportionate burden of postoperative complications compared to their younger counterparts. A preoperative comprehensive geriatric assessment (pCGA) is recommended to reduce risk and improve surgical care delivery for this population, which has been identified as vulnerable. The pCGA optimizes multiple chronic conditions and factors commonly overlooked in routine preoperative planning, including physical function, polypharmacy, nutrition, cognition, mental health, and social and environmental support. The pCGA has been shown to decrease postoperative morbidity, mortality, and length of stay in a variety of surgical specialties. Although national guidelines recommend the use of the pCGA, a paucity of strategic guidance for implementation limits its uptake to a few academic medical centers. By applying implementation science and human factors engineering methods, this study will provide the necessary evidence to optimize the implementation of the pCGA in a variety of health care settings. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this paper is to describe the study protocol to design an adaptable, user-centered pCGA implementation package for use among older adults before major abdominal surgery. METHODS: This protocol uses systems engineering methods to develop, tailor, and pilot-test a user-centered pCGA implementation package, which can be adapted to community-based hospitals in preparation for a multisite implementation trial. The protocol is based upon the National Institutes of Health Stage Model for Behavioral Intervention Development and aligns with the goal to develop behavioral interventions with an eye to real-world implementation. In phase 1, we will use observation and interviews to map the pCGA process and identify system-based barriers and facilitators to its use among older adults undergoing major abdominal surgery. In phase 2, we will apply user-centered design methods, engaging health care providers, patients, and caregivers to co-design a pCGA implementation package. This package will be applicable to a diverse population of older patients undergoing major abdominal surgery at a large academic hospital and an affiliate community site. In phase 3, we will pilot-test and refine the pCGA implementation package in preparation for a future randomized controlled implementation-effectiveness trial. We anticipate that this study will take approximately 60 months (April 2023-March 2028). RESULTS: This study protocol will generate (1) a detailed process map of the pCGA; (2) an adaptable, user-centered pCGA implementation package ready for feasibility testing in a pilot trial; and (3) preliminary pilot data on the implementation and effectiveness of the package. We anticipate that these data will serve as the basis for future multisite hybrid implementation-effectiveness clinical trials of the pCGA in older adults undergoing major abdominal surgery. CONCLUSIONS: The expected results of this study will contribute to improving perioperative care processes for older adults before major abdominal surgery. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/59428.

Effectiveness of a Mobile App (Meds@HOME) to Improve Medication Safety for Children With Medical Complexity: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: This study will pilot-test the mobile app, Medication Safety @HOME-Meds@HOME intervention to improve medication administration accuracy, reduce preventable adverse drug events, and ultimately improve chronic care management for children with medical complexity (CMC). The Meds@HOME app was co-designed with CMC families, secondary caregivers (SCGs), and health professionals to support medication management for primary caregivers (PCGs) and SCGs of CMC. We hypothesize that Meds@HOME will improve caregivers' medication administration accuracy, reduce preventable adverse drug events, and ultimately improve chronic care management. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Meds@HOME on medication administration accuracy for PCGs and SCGs. METHODS: This study will recruit up to 152 PCGs and 304 SCGs of CMC who are prescribed at least 1 scheduled high-risk medication and receive care at the University of Wisconsin American Family Children's Hospital. PCGs will be randomly assigned, for the 6-month trial, to either the control group (not trialing Meds@HOME) or the intervention group (trialing Meds@HOME) using 1:1 ratio. The Meds@HOME app allows caregivers to create a child profile, store medication and care instructions, and receive reminders for upcoming and overdue care routines and medication refills. Surveys completed both at the start and end of the trial measure demographics, medication delivery knowledge, confidence in the CMC's caregiving network, and comfort with medical information. Univariate and multivariate generalized estimation equations will be used for primary statistical analysis. The primary outcome is the PCG's rate of medication administration accuracy measured as correct identification of each of the following for a randomly selected high-risk medication: indication, formulation, dose, frequency, and route at baseline and after 6 months. Secondary outcomes include SCG medication administration accuracy (indication, formulation, dose, frequency, and route), count of University of Wisconsin hospital and emergency department encounters, PCG-reported medication adherence, count of deaths, and PCG medication confidence and understanding. RESULTS: Recruitment for this study began on November 29, 2023. As of May 15, 2024, we have enrolled 94/152 (62%) PCGs. We expect recruitment to end by August 1, 2024, and the final participant will complete the study by January 28, 2025, at which point we will start analyzing the complete responses. We expect publication of results at the end of 2025. CONCLUSIONS: The Meds@HOME mobile app provides a promising strategy for improving PCG medication safety for CMC who take high-risk medications. In addition, this protocol highlights novel procedures for recruiting SCGs of CMC. In the future, this app could be used more broadly across diverse caregiving networks to navigate complex medication routines and promote medication safety. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05816590; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05816590. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/60621.

Factors associated with care partner identification and education among hospitalized persons living with dementia.

Objective: Care partners of persons living with dementia (PLWD) often feel unprepared to care for their loved ones. Improving PLWD care partner identification and education during hospital stays can improve preparedness. This retrospective EHR study investigated PLWD characteristics that may relate to care partner identification, education, and teaching methods during hospital stays. Methods: Encounters from a Midwestern academic healthcare system were used. Patients were over 18, had a documented dementia diagnosis, were admitted to the hospital for at least 24 h, and had information documented in care partner or education data fields (N = 7982). Logistic regressions assessed patient's demographics, care partner identification and education. Chi-square tests compared education teaching methods and patient discharge location. Results: PLWD's who were unmarried, discharged to other care facilities, or received the diagnosis "degeneration of nervous system due to alcohol" were associated with lacking care partner identification. Care partners of unmarried PLWDs or those with the diagnosis "Alzheimer's disease, unspecified" received less education. Multiple teaching methods were associated with discharge location. Conclusion: Multiple characteristics were related to PLWD care partner identification and education differences during hospital stays. Innovation: Novel analyses highlight need for a protocol to systematically prepare dementia care partners.

Exploring confidence in financial planning topics among care partners of persons living with dementia.

OBJECTIVE: Care partners of persons living with dementia perform significant financial planning in partnership with the person for whom they care. However, research is scarce on care partners' confidence and experiences with financial planning. The purpose of this study was, first, to quantify care partners' confidence across different financial planning topics. We sought to understand whether income, education, relationship type, and years of experience are related to care partners' level of confidence in financial planning. Second, we sought to better understand the reasons for these confidence ratings by examining care partners' experiences of financial planning. METHODS: We conducted an online survey that asked a combination of quantitative and qualitative questions to understand care partners' confidence and experiences with financial planning. Participants were nationally recruited care partners of persons living with dementia. Multivariate linear regression was used to understand different subgroups' levels of confidence in each financial planning topic. Inductive thematic analysis was used to understand qualitative data. RESULTS: The financial planning topics in which participants (N = 318) felt the least confident were: options when there is not enough money to provide care; tax deductions available to cut care costs; and sources of money from government programs for which the care recipient is eligible. Differences in confidence were observed among care partners with lower incomes, less experience, and caring for a parent. Qualitatively, participants described the challenges of care budgeting and protecting personal finances; confusion about long-term care insurance and accessing resources; and, among confident care partners, reasons for this sense of preparedness. CONCLUSIONS: These results underscore the need for tailored interventions and technologies that increase care partners' confidence in specific aspects of financial planning, including long-term care insurance, available financial support, and what to do when money runs out.

Evaluating the feasibility and acceptability of a co-designed physical activity intervention for rural middle schoolers: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Lack of physical activity is a concern for children across diverse backgrounds, particularly affecting those in rural areas who face distinct challenges compared to their urban counterparts. Community-derived interventions are needed that consider the unique context and additional physical activity barriers in under-resourced rural settings. Therefore, a prospective pre-post pilot/feasibility study of Hoosier Sport was conducted over 8-weeks with 6th and 7th grade children in a low-socioeconomic rural middle school setting. The primary objective of the present study was to assess trial- and intervention-related feasibility indicators; and the secondary objective was to collect preliminary assessment data for physical activity levels, fitness, psychological needs satisfaction, and knowledge of physical activity and nutrition among participating youth. METHODS: This prospective 8-week pilot/feasibility study took place in the rural Midwestern United States where twenty-four middle school students participated in a mixed-methods pre-post intervention during physical education classes. The intervention included elements like sport-based youth development, individualized goal setting, physical activity monitoring, pedometer usage, and health education. Data were collected at baseline (T1) and post-intervention (T3), with intermediate measures during the intervention (T2). Qualitative data were integrated through semi-structured interviews. Analytical methods encompassed descriptive statistics, correlations, repeated measures ANOVA, and thematic analysis. RESULTS: Key findings indicate robust feasibility, with intervention-related scores (FIM, AIM, and IAM) consistently surpassing the "good" threshold and 100% retention and recruitment success. Additionally, participants showed significant physical performance improvement, shifting from the 25th to the 50th percentile in the 6-minute walk test (p < 0.05). Autonomy and competence remained high, reflecting positive perceptions of program practicality. Nutrition knowledge, initially low, significantly improved at post-intervention (p < 0.01), highlighting the efficacy of targeted nutritional education in Hoosier Sport. CONCLUSIONS: This study pioneers a community-engaged model for physical activity intervention in under-resourced rural settings. Positive participant feedback, coupled with improvements in physical fitness and psychosocial factors, highlights the potential of the co-design approach. The findings offer valuable insights and a practical template for future community-based research, signaling the promising impact of such interventions on holistic well-being. This research lays the foundation for subsequent phases of the ORBIT model, emphasizing collaborative, community-driven approaches to address the complex issue of declining physical activity levels among adolescents.

Social Media Discourse Related to Caregiving for Older Adults Living With Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias: Computational and Qualitative Study.

BACKGROUND: In the United States, caregivers of people living with Alzheimer disease and Alzheimer disease-related dementias (AD/ADRD) provide >16 billion hours of unpaid care annually. These caregivers experience high levels of stress and burden related to the challenges associated with providing care. Social media is an emerging space for individuals to seek various forms of support. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to explore the primary topics of conversation on the social media site Reddit related to AD/ADRD. We then aimed to explore these topics in depth, specifically examining elements of social support and behavioral symptomology discussed by users. METHODS: We first generated an unsupervised topic model from 6563 posts made to 2 dementia-specific subreddit forums (r/Alzheimers and r/dementia). Then, we conducted a manual qualitative content analysis of a random subset of these data to further explore salient themes in the corpus. RESULTS: The topic model with the highest overall coherence score (0.38) included 10 topics, including caregiver burden, anxiety, support-seeking, and AD/ADRD behavioral symptomology. Qualitative analyses provided added context, wherein users sought emotional and informational support for many aspects of the care experience, including assistance in making key care-related decisions. Users expressed challenging and complex emotions on Reddit, which may be taboo to express in person. CONCLUSIONS: Reddit users seek many different forms of support, including emotional and specific informational support, from others on the internet. Users expressed a variety of concerns, challenges, and behavioral symptoms to manage as part of the care experience. The unique (ie, anonymous and moderated) nature of the forum allowed for a safe space to express emotions free from documented caregiver stigma. Additional support structures are needed to assist caregivers of people living with AD/ADRD.

"I'm dealing with a health care system that doesn't get it": Barriers and facilitators to inclusive healthcare for autistic adults.

LAY ABSTRACT: Research has suggested that autistic adults may have a bigger chance of having mental health and physical health conditions such as depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, diabetes, obesity, and heart problems than adults without autism. Unfortunately, the unique healthcare needs of autistic adults are often overlooked, so it is not clear why autistic adults have worse health or what can be done to improve it. This study wants to find out the challenges autistic adults experience in taking care of their health and in going to different doctors. Researchers interviewed autistic adults across the country about their healthcare experiences. The interviewed autistic adults told the researchers about the barriers (things that did not help) and facilitators (things that did help) that impacted whether they received the care they needed. The researchers then organized what they learned from the autistic adults into a model called the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety model of work system and patient safety. This model explains how different parts of a healthcare system (person, tasks, technology and tools, environment, and organization) interact with one another and impact the healthcare experiences and outcomes of the patients in their care, like autistic adults. Overall, this study advocates for a systems-level approach to improving the healthcare experiences of autistic adults and their health outcomes.

Designing for caregiving networks: a case study of primary caregivers of children with medical complexity.

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to characterize the experiences of primary caregivers of children with medical complexity (CMC) in engaging with other members of the child's caregiving network, thereby informing the design of health information technology (IT) for the caregiving network. Caregiving networks include friends, family, community members, and other trusted individuals who provide resources, information, health, or childcare. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a secondary analysis of two qualitative studies. Primary studies conducted semi-structured interviews (n = 50) with family caregivers of CMC. Interviews were held in the Midwest (n = 30) and the mid-Atlantic region (n = 20). Interviews were transcribed verbatim for thematic analysis. Emergent themes were mapped to implications for the design of future health IT. RESULTS: Thematic analysis identified 8 themes characterizing a wide range of primary caregivers' experiences in constructing, managing, and ensuring high-quality care delivery across the caregiving network. DISCUSSION: Findings evidence a critical need to create flexible and customizable tools designed to support hiring/training processes, coordinating daily care across the caregiving network, communicating changing needs and care updates across the caregiving network, and creating contingency plans for instances where caregivers are unavailable to provide care to the CMC. Informaticists should additionally design accessible platforms that allow primary caregivers to connect with and learn from other caregivers while minimizing exposure to sensitive or emotional content as indicated by the user. CONCLUSION: This article contributes to the design of health IT for CMC caregiving networks by uncovering previously underrecognized needs and experiences of CMC primary caregivers and drawing direct connections to design implications.

Human-centered participatory co-design with children and adults for a prototype lifestyle intervention and implementation strategy in a rural middle school.

PURPOSE: The significance of regular physical activity (PA) in reducing cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk is widely acknowledged. However, children in rural areas encounter specific barriers to PA compared to their urban counterparts. This study employs human-centered participatory co-design, involving community stakeholders in developing a multi-level PA intervention named Hoosier Sport. The primary hypothesis is the co-design sessions leading to the development of a testable intervention protocol. METHODS: Two co-design teams, each consisting of six children and six adults, were formed using human-centered participatory co-design facilitated by research faculty and graduate students. The process involved five co-design sessions addressing problem identification, solution generation, solution evaluation, operationalization, and prototype evaluation. Thematic analysis was employed to identify key themes and intervention components. RESULTS: Child co-designers (n = 6) ranged from 6th to 8th grade, averaging 12.6 years (SD = 1.8), while adult co-designers (n = 6) averaged 43.3 years (SD = 8.08). Thematic analysis revealed children emphasizing autonomy, the freedom to choose physical and non-physical activities, and the importance of building peer relationships during PA. Adult interviews echoed the importance of autonomy and choice in activities, with a focus on relatedness through positive role modeling. CONCLUSION: The prototype intervention and implementation strategies developed constitute a testable intervention aligned with Phase 1 of the ORBIT model. This testable prototype lays the groundwork for a collaborative campus-community partnership between the university and the local community, ensuring mutual benefits and sustainable impact.

Older Adults' Process of Collaborating With a Support Team During Transitions From Hospital to Home: A Grounded Theory Study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Little is known about how older adults engage with multiple sources of support and resources during transitions from hospital to home, a period of high vulnerability. This study aims to describe how older adults identify and collaborate with a support team, including unpaid/family caregivers, health care providers, and professional and social networks, during the transition. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This study utilized grounded theory methodology. One-on-one interviews were conducted with adults aged 60 and older following their discharge from a medical/surgical inpatient unit in a large midwestern teaching hospital. Data were analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding. RESULTS: Participants (N = 25) ranged from 60 to 82 years of age, 11 were female, and all participants were White, non-Hispanic. They described a process of identifying a support team and collaborating with that team to manage at home and progress their health, mobility, and engagement. Support teams varied, but included collaborations between the older person, unpaid/family caregiver(s), and their health care providers. Their collaboration was impacted by the participant's professional and social networks. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Older adults collaborate with multiple sources of support and this collaboration is a dynamic process that varies across phases of their transition from hospital to home. Findings reveal opportunities for assessing individual's support and social networks, in addition to health and functional status, to determine needs and leverage resources during transitions in care.

Feasibility of social network analysis to study outcomes of children with medical complexity.

Since most care for children with medical complexity (CMC) is delivered daily in communities by multiple caregiving individuals, that is, caregiving networks, tools to assess and intervene across these networks are needed. This study evaluated the feasibility of applying social network analysis (SNA) to describe caregiving networks. Because hospitalization is among the most frequently used outcomes for CMC, exploratory correlations between network characteristics and CMC hospital use were evaluated. Within 3 weeks, the goal network enrollment was achieved, and all feasibility measures were favorable. Network characteristics correlated with hospital use, that is, smaller, denser networks, with more closed-loop communication correlated with fewer hospital days. Networks with more professional caregivers also correlated with fewer hospital days. SNA is a feasible tool to study CMC caregiving networks. Preliminary data support rigorous hypothesis testing using SNA methods. Network-based interventions to improve CMC health may be an important future direction.

An mHealth Design to Promote Medication Safety in Children with Medical Complexity.

BACKGROUND: Children with medical complexity (CMC) are uniquely vulnerable to medication errors and preventable adverse drug events because of their extreme polypharmacy, medical fragility, and reliance on complicated medication schedules and routes managed by undersupported family caregivers. There is an opportunity to improve CMC outcomes by designing health information technologies that support medication administration accuracy, timeliness, and communication within CMC caregiving networks. OBJECTIVES: The present study engaged family caregivers, secondary caregivers, and clinicians who work with CMC in a codesign process to identify: (1) medication safety challenges experienced by CMC caregivers and (2) design requirements for a mobile health application to improve medication safety for CMC in the home. METHODS: Study staff recruited family caregivers, secondary caregivers, and clinicians from a children's hospital-based pediatric complex care program to participate in virtual codesign sessions. During sessions, the facilitator-guided codesigners in generating and converging upon medication safety challenges and design requirements. Between sessions, the research team reviewed notes from the session to identify design specifications and modify the prototype. After design sessions concluded, each session recording was reviewed to confirm that all designer comments had been captured. RESULTS: A total of N = 16 codesigners participated. Analyses yielded 11 challenges to medication safety and 11 corresponding design requirements that fit into three broader challenges: giving the right medication at the right time; communicating with others about medications; and accommodating complex medical routines. Supporting quotations from codesigners and prototype features associated with each design requirement are presented. CONCLUSION: This study generated design requirements for a tool that may improve medication safety by creating distributed situation awareness within the caregiving network. The next steps are to pilot test tools that integrate these design requirements for usability and feasibility, and to conduct a randomized control trial to determine if use of these tools reduces medication errors.

Care Partner Confidence and Experiences in Legal Planning for People Living with Dementia: A Mixed Methods Study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Care partners of persons living with dementia perform complex legal planning tasks. The purpose of this study was to survey care partners in the United States to understand their confidence and experience in performing legal planning tasks. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This study used a parallel-mixed methods research design. We administered a web-based survey to 318 adults who self-identified as care partners of persons living with dementia. The survey contained Likert scale questions and open-ended questions about legal planning tasks. Multivariate linear regression was used to analyze quantitative data and inductive thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data. RESULTS: Care partners were on average 53 years of age and 78% female. The three topics in which participants were least confident were: protecting oneself legally as a care partner; options when legal documents are not in place and a family member is not legally competent; and circumstances when legal documents should be updated or renewed. We observed significant differences in legal planning confidence between newer and more experienced care partners (p<.001); lower- and higher-income care partners (p=.01); and adult child versus spousal care partners (p<.001). Thematic analysis revealed that legal planning challenges include initiating a conversation with the person living with dementia, understanding and using legal materials, and accessing materials that accommodate individual differences. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: It is vital to develop legal planning interventions that are tailored to specific subgroups of care partners, and to maximize the clarity, comprehensiveness, and accessibility of available legal planning education.

A scoping review of unpaid caregivers' experiences during older adults' hospital-to-home transitions.

The objective of this scoping review is to examine current evidence regarding unpaid/family caregivers' experiences during older adults' hospital-to-home transitions to identify gaps and opportunities to involve caregivers in transitional care improvement efforts. Eligible articles focused on caregiver experience, outcomes, or interventions during older adults' hospital-to-home transitions. Our review identified several descriptive studies focused on exploring the caregiver experience of older adult hospital-to-home transitions and caregiver outcomes (such as preparedness, strain, burden, health, and well-being). Qualitative studies revealed challenges at multiple levels, including individual, interpersonal, and systemic. Few interventions have targeted or included caregivers to improve discharge education and address support needs during the transition. Future work should target underrepresented and marginalized groups of caregivers, and caregivers' collaboration with community-based services, social networks, or professional services. Work remains in developing and implementing interventions to support both older adult and caregiver needs.

Hoosier Sport: a research protocol for a multilevel physical activity-based intervention in rural Indiana.

Introduction: Currently, only 1 in 4 children in the U.S. engage in the recommended amount of physical activity (PA) and disparities in PA participation increase as income inequities increase. Moreover, leading health organizations have identified rural health as a critical area of need for programming, research, and policy. Thus, there is a critical need for the development and testing of evidence-based PA interventions that have the potential to be scalable to improve health disparities in children from under-resourced rural backgrounds. As such, the present study utilizes human-centered design, a technique that puts community stakeholders at the center of the intervention development process, to increase our specific understanding about how the PA-based needs of children from rural communities manifest themselves in context, at the level of detail needed to make intervention design decisions. The present study connects the first two stages of the NIH Stage Model for Behavioral Intervention Development with a promising conceptual foundation and potentially sustainable college student mentor implementation strategy. Methods: We will conduct a three-phase study utilizing human-centered community-based participatory research (CBPR) in three aims: (Aim 1) conduct a CBPR needs assessment with middle school students, parents, and teachers/administrators to identify perceptions, attributes, barriers, and facilitators of PA that are responsive to the community context and preferences; (Aim 2) co-design with children and adults to develop a prototype multi-level PA intervention protocol called Hoosier Sport; (Aim 3) assess Hoosier Sport's trial- and intervention-related feasibility indicators. The conceptual foundation of this study is built on three complementary theoretical elements: (1) Basic Psychological Needs mini-theory within Self-Determination Theory; (2) the Biopsychosocial Model; and (3) the multilevel Research Framework from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. Discussion: Our CBPR protocol takes a human-centered approach to integrating the first two stages of the NIH Stage Model with a potentially sustainable college student mentor implementation strategy. This multidisciplinary approach can be used by researchers pursuing multilevel PA-based intervention development for children.

Health system and patient-level factors associated with multidisciplinary care and patient education among hospitalized, older cancer survivors.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine system- and patient-level factors associated with the number of healthcare disciplines involved in delivery of patient education among hospitalized older cancer survivors. Methods: We used electronic health record (EHR) data from a single institution documenting patient education among hospitalized older patients (≥65 years) with a history of cancer between 9/1/2018 and 10/1/2019. We used parametric ordinal logistic regression to assess the number of healthcare disciplines involved in documented education activities. Results: The sample (n = 446) was predominantly male, White, and on average 74 years old. Adjusting for patient and system-level variables, men and larger department units had higher odds of receiving education from fewer healthcare disciplines. Patients with a history of breast or prostate cancer and longer lenths of stay had lower odds of receiving patient education from fewer healthcare disciplines. Conclusion: Hospital size, severity of illness, and cancer type are associated with delivery of multidisciplinary education in this sample. Innovation: EHR provides an opportunity to identify patterns in patient education among cancer survivors. Future research should investigate provider perspectives of the findings to inform provider- and system-level strategies to improve patient education.

Co-Design of a Financial and Legal Planning Tool for Care Partners of People Living With Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias.

Background and Objectives: Care partners of people living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) are faced with substantial legal and financial planning related to their care partner role. However, many care partners lack the legal and financial support needed to manage this role. The purpose of this study was to engage ADRD care partners in a remote participatory design process to create a technology-based financial and legal planning tool that meets care partner needs. Research Design and Methods: We formed 2 researcher-facilitated co-design teams comprised of n = 5 ADRD care partners each. We conducted a series of 5 parallel co-design sessions aimed to engage co-designers in interactive discussions and design activities to create the financial and legal planning tool. We used inductive thematic analysis of design session recordings to identify design requirements. Results: Co-designers were 70% female with a mean age of 67.3 years (standard deviation 9.07) and cared for a spouse (80%) or a parent (20%). Between Sessions 3 and 5, the average system usability scale score of the prototype increased from 89.5 to 93.6, indicating high usability. Analyses yielded 7 overarching design requirements for a legal and financial planning tool: support for action now (eg, prioritized to-do lists); support for action later (eg, reminders for keeping legal documents up-to-date); knowledge when I need it (eg, tailored learning modules); connection to resources I need (eg, state-specific financial support opportunities); everything where I can see it (eg, comprehensive care budgeting tool); sense of privacy and security (eg, password protection); and accessibility for all (eg, tailoring for low-income care partners). Discussion and Implications: The design requirements identified by co-designers provide a foundation from which we can build technology-based solutions to support ADRD care partners in financial and legal planning.

Development and Validation of the Hospital-to-Home-Health Transition Quality (H3TQ) Index: A Novel Measure to Engage Patients and Home Health Providers in Evaluating Hospital-to-Home Care Transition Quality.

BACKGROUND: Patients requiring skilled home health care (HH) after hospitalization are at high risk of adverse events. Human factors engineering (HFE) approaches can be useful for measure development to optimize hospital-to-home transitions. OBJECTIVE: To describe the development, initial psychometric validation, and feasibility of the Hospital-to-Home-Health-Transition Quality (H3TQ) Index to identify patient safety risks. METHODS: Development: A multisite, mixed-methods study at 5 HH agencies in rural and urban sites across the United States. Testing: Prospective H3TQ implementation on older adults' hospital-to-HH transitions. Populations Studied: Older adults and caregivers receiving HH services after hospital discharge, and their HH providers (nurses and rehabilitation therapists). RESULTS: The H3TQ is a 12-item count of hospital-to-HH transitions best practices for safety that we developed through more than 180 hours of observations and more than 80 hours of interviews. The H3TQ demonstrated feasibility of use, stability, construct validity, and concurrent validity when tested on 75 transitions. The vast majority (70%) of hospital-to-HH transitions had at least one safety issue, and HH providers identified more patient safety threats than did patients/caregivers. The most frequently identified issues were unsafe home environments (32%), medication issues (29%), incomplete information (27%), and patients' lack of general understanding of care plans (27%). CONCLUSIONS: The H3TQ is a novel measure to assess the quality of hospital-to-HH transitions and proactively identify transitions issues. Patients, caregivers, and HH providers offered valuable perspectives and should be included in safety reporting. Study findings can guide the design of interventions to optimize quality during the high-risk hospital-to-HH transition.

Evaluating the Usability of an Emergency Department After Visit Summary: Staged Heuristic Evaluation.

BACKGROUND: Heuristic evaluations, while commonly used, may inadequately capture the severity of identified usability issues. In the domain of health care, usability issues can pose different levels of risk to patients. Incorporating diverse expertise (eg, clinical and patient) in the heuristic evaluation process can help assess and address potential negative impacts on patient safety that may otherwise go unnoticed. One document that should be highly usable for patients-with the potential to prevent adverse outcomes-is the after visit summary (AVS). The AVS is the document given to a patient upon discharge from the emergency department (ED), which contains instructions on how to manage symptoms, medications, and follow-up care. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess a multistage method for integrating diverse expertise (ie, clinical, an older adult care partner, and health IT) with human factors engineering (HFE) expertise in the usability evaluation of the patient-facing ED AVS. METHODS: We conducted a three-staged heuristic evaluation of an ED AVS using heuristics developed for use in evaluating patient-facing documentation. In stage 1, HFE experts reviewed the AVS to identify usability issues. In stage 2, 6 experts of varying expertise (ie, emergency medicine physicians, ED nurses, geriatricians, transitional care nurses, and an older adult care partner) rated each previously identified usability issue on its potential impact on patient comprehension and patient safety. Finally, in stage 3, an IT expert reviewed each usability issue to identify the likelihood of successfully addressing the issue. RESULTS: In stage 1, we identified 60 usability issues that violated a total of 108 heuristics. In stage 2, 18 additional usability issues that violated 27 heuristics were identified by the study experts. Impact ratings ranged from all experts rating the issue as "no impact" to 5 out of 6 experts rating the issue as having a "large negative impact." On average, the older adult care partner representative rated usability issues as being more significant more of the time. In stage 3, 31 usability issues were rated by an IT professional as "impossible to address," 21 as "maybe," and 24 as "can be addressed." CONCLUSIONS: Integrating diverse expertise when evaluating usability is important when patient safety is at stake. The non-HFE experts, included in stage 2 of our evaluation, identified 23% (18/78) of all the usability issues and, depending on their expertise, rated those issues as having differing impacts on patient comprehension and safety. Our findings suggest that, to conduct a comprehensive heuristic evaluation, expertise from all the contexts in which the AVS is used must be considered. Combining those findings with ratings from an IT expert, usability issues can be strategically addressed through redesign. Thus, a 3-staged heuristic evaluation method offers a framework for integrating context-specific expertise efficiently, while providing practical insights to guide human-centered design.