Capturing the Dynamics of Homelessness Through Ethnography and Mobile Technology: Protocol for the Development and Testing of a Smartphone Technology-Supported Intervention.

BACKGROUND: US military veterans who have experienced homelessness often have high rates of housing transition. Disruptions caused by these transitions likely exacerbate this population's health problems and interfere with access to care and treatment engagement. Individuals experiencing homelessness increasingly use smartphones, contributing to improved access to medical and social services. Few studies have used smartphones as a data collection tool to systematically collect information about the daily life events that precede and contribute to housing transitions, in-the-moment emotions, behaviors, geographic movements, and perceived social support. OBJECTIVE: The study aims to develop and test a smartphone app to collect longitudinal data from veterans experiencing homelessness (VEH) and to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of using the app in a population that is unstably housed or homeless. METHODS: This study's design had 3 phases. Phase 1 used ethnographic methods to capture detailed data on day-to-day lived experiences of up to 30 VEH on topics such as housing stability, health, and health behaviors. Phase 2 involved focus groups and usability testing to develop and refine mobile phone data collection methods. Phase 3 piloted the smartphone mobile data collection with 30 VEH. We included mobile ethnography, real-time surveys through an app, and the collection of GPS data in phase 3. RESULTS: The project was launched in June 2020, and at this point, some data collection and analysis for phases 1 and 2 are complete. This project is currently in progress. CONCLUSIONS: This multiphase study will provide rich data on the context and immediate events leading to housing transitions among VEH. This study will ensure the development of a smartphone app that will match the actual needs of VEH by involving them in the design process from the beginning. Finally, this study will offer important insights into how best to develop a smartphone app that can help intervene among VEH to reduce housing transitions. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/53022.

Home and Community-Based Service Use Varies by Health Care Team and Comorbidity Level of Veterans with Dementia.

Home and community-based services (HCBSs) such as home care and adult day centers are vital to supporting adults with dementia in community settings. We investigated whether HCBS use (use of both home care and adult day, use of one service, and use of neither service) varied between adults receiving care from three types of health-care teams with case management from social workers and nurses, and by comorbidity level, using 2019 data of 143,281 patients with dementia in the Veterans Health Administration. We compared HCBS use by patients' type of case-managed team (Home-Based Primary Care, geriatrics-based primary care, and dementia-focused specialty care) to patients in none of these teams, stratified by patients' non-dementia comorbidities (<4 or ≥4). Each type of health-care team was associated with both home care and adult day services, at each level of comorbidity. Home-Based Primary Care was most consistently associated with other forms of HCBS use, followed by Dementia Clinics and geriatrics-based primary care, for patients with ≥4 non-dementia comorbidities. Our findings suggest that case management in primary and specialty care settings is a contributor to the use of critical community supports by patients with the most complex needs.

Organizational readiness to change as a leverage point for improving safety: a national nursing home survey.

BACKGROUND: A stronger safety climate in nursing homes may reduce avoidable adverse events. Yet efforts to strengthen safety climate may fail if nursing homes are not ready to change. To inform improvement efforts, we examined the link between organizational readiness to change and safety climate. METHODS: Seven safety climate domains and organizational readiness to change were measured with validated Community Living Center/CLC Employee Survey of Attitudes about Resident Safety and Organizational Readiness to Change Assessment. Safety climate domains comprised of safety priorities, supervisor commitment to safety, senior management commitment to safety, safety attitudes, environmental safety, coworker interactions around safety, and global rating of CLC. We specified models with and without readiness to change to explain CLC- and person-level variance in safety climate domains. RESULTS: One thousand three hundred ninety seven workers (frontline staff and managers) responded from 56 US Veterans Health Administration CLCs located throughout the US. Adding readiness to change reduced baseline CLC-level variance of outcomes (2.3-9.3%) by > 70% for interpersonal domains (co-workers, supervisors, and senior management). Readiness to change explained person-level variance of every safety climate domain (P < 0.05), especially for interpersonal domains. CONCLUSIONS: Organizational readiness to change predicted safety climate. Safety climate initiatives that address readiness to change among frontline staff and managers may be more likely to succeed and eventually increase resident safety.

Nursing Home Senior Managers and Direct Care Staff: Are There Differences in Their Perceptions of Safety Climate?

OBJECTIVES: Improving nursing home safety is important to the quality of resident care. Increasing evidence points to the relationship between actual safety and a strong safety climate, i.e., staff agreement about safety norms. This national study focused on Veterans Health Administration nursing homes (Community Living Centers [CLCs]), assessing direct care staff and senior managers' agreement about safety norms. METHODS: We recruited all 134 CLCs to participate in the previously validated CLC Employee Survey of Attitudes about Resident Safety. To assess whether safety climate domains (7) differed by management level and by direct care staff occupation, we estimated multilevel linear regression models with random effects clustered by CLCs, medical center, Department of Veterans Affairs 2017 integrated service network (n = 20), and region. RESULTS: Of the 5288 individuals we e-mailed, 1397 (25.7%) completed surveys, with participation from 56 CLCs or 41.8% of 134 CLCs. In our analysis of 1316 nurses, nursing assistants, clinicians/specialists, and senior managers, senior managers rated co-worker interactions around safety (P < 0.0013) and overall safety in their CLC (P < 0.0001) more positively than did direct care staff. In contrast, on these same two domains, direct care groups had similar perceptions, though differing significantly in safety priorities, safety attitudes, and senior management commitment to safety. CONCLUSIONS: In this national sample of nursing homes in one of the largest integrated U.S. healthcare systems, direct care staff generally perceived weaker safety processes than did senior managers, pointing to future targets for interventions to strengthen safety climate.

Safety Climate Associated With Adverse Events in Nursing Homes: A National VA Study.

OBJECTIVES: Adverse events in nursing homes are leading causes of morbidity and mortality, prompting facilities to investigate their antecedents. This study examined the contribution of safety climate-how frontline staff typically think about safety and act on safety issues-to adverse events in Veterans Affairs (VA) nursing homes or Community Living Centers (CLCs). DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A total of 56 CLCs nationwide, 1397 and 1645 CLC staff (including nurses, nursing assistants, and clinicians/specialists), respectively, responded to the CLC Employee Survey of Attitudes about Resident Safety (CESARS) in 2017 and 2018. METHODS: Adverse events (pressure ulcers, falls, major injuries from falls, and catheter use) were measured using the FY2017-FY2018 Minimum Data Set (MDS). Safety climate was defined as 7 CESARS domains (safety priorities, supervisor commitment to safety, senior management commitment to safety, personal attitudes toward safety, environmental safety, coworker interactions around safety, and global rating of CLC). The associations between safety climate domains and each adverse event were determined separately for each frontline group, using beta-logistic regression with random effects. RESULTS: Better ratings of supervisor commitment to safety were associated with lower rates of major injuries from falls [odds ratio (OR) 0.33, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.11-0.97, clinicians] and catheter use (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.21-0.85, nurses), and better ratings of environmental safety were associated with lower rates of pressure ulcers (OR 0.23, 95% CI 0.09-0.61, clinicians), major injuries from falls (OR 0.48, 95% CI 0.24-0.93, nurses), and catheter use (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.32-0.93, nursing assistants). Better global CLC ratings were associated with higher rates of catheter use. No other safety climate domains had significant associations. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Nursing homes may reduce adverse events by fostering supportive supervision of frontline staff and a safer physical environment.

Relationship Between Work Experience and Safety Climate in Veterans Affairs Nursing Homes Nationwide.

OBJECTIVES: Staff values and beliefs about resident safety (safety climate) represent one potential driver of nursing home safety. Staff with more work experience (length of service) may possess richer knowledge of resident safety for strengthening safety climate. We investigated the association of length of service with safety climate in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs nursing homes or Community Living Centers (CLCs). METHODS: Fifty-six of 134 CLCs participated in 2017 and then 2018 in the previously validated CLC Employee Survey of Attitudes about Resident Safety, which comprised 7 safety climate domains and employee characteristics. We conducted 2 cross-sectional analyses of length of service on each safety climate domain, controlling for occupation, shift, work hours, and clustering by VA hospital, service network, and geographic region, in mixed random-effect regression models. RESULTS: A total of 1397 and 1645 staff participated in the survey (26% and 28% response rates) at round 1 and 2, respectively. At each round participants working greater than 6 months were less positive than those working less than 6 months about supervisor commitment to safety, coworker interactions around safety, and CLC global ratings. CONCLUSIONS: Differences in work experience contributed to incongruence in perceptions about supervisors, coworkers, and the facility. Workers with more experience may have higher perceived job aptitude and thus higher expectations of supervisory recognition and more criticisms of coworkers. Pairing experienced workers with newer ones may narrow the knowledge gap and increase collaboration. Huddles, team meetings, and organizational initiatives represent opportunities to recognize and leverage experienced workers' accumulated safety knowledge.

Participating in Complementary and Integrative Health Approaches Is Associated With Veterans' Patient-reported Outcomes Over Time.

BACKGROUND: Veterans Affairs is dedicated to providing a Whole Health approach to care, including offering complementary and integrative health (CIH) approaches to Veterans. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine the association of CIH participation with Veterans' patient-reported outcomes over time. RESEARCH DESIGN: A survey of patient-reported outcomes at 5 timepoints: baseline, 2, 4, 6, and 12 months. SUBJECTS: Veterans participating in any type of CIH approach at 2 Veterans Affairs medical centers. MEASURES: Mixed hierarchical models with repeated variables were used to test the hypothesis that participating in any CIH approach would be associated with Veterans' overall physical/mental health [Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System 28 (PROMIS 28)], pain intensity, perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale-4), and engagement in their care (Patient Activation Measure-13), controlling for age, male sex, site, participation in other CIH approaches, and surveys completed. RESULTS: We received 401 surveys from 119 Veterans (72% male, age range: 29-85 y) across all timepoints. Yoga participation was related to decreases in perceived stress (P<0.001), while tai chi participation was associated with improvements in overall PROMIS 28 physical and mental health functioning (P<0.02). Specific types of CIH were associated with significant improvements in PROMIS 28 subscales: meditation participation with physical functioning at 2, 6, and 12 months; tai chi participation with anxiety at 2 and 6 months, and ability to participate in social role activities at 2 months. No CIH approach was associated with Veterans' pain or engagement in their care. CONCLUSION: As specific CIH approaches are associated with improvements in patient-reported outcomes, clinicians, Veterans, and family members may use this information in discussions of nonpharmacological options to address health and well-being.

The relationship between nursing home quality and costs: Evidence from the VA.

Ensuring quality of care in nursing homes is a public health priority, yet how nursing home quality relates to cost is not well understood. This paper addresses this relationship for 132 VA community living centers (nursing homes), for fiscal years 2014 and 2015. We estimated cost models using the VA Decision Support System which tracks total direct costs and nursing direct costs for individual resident segments of care. We summed residents' total costs and nursing costs to the community living center level for each year. Annual facility costs then were regressed on quality of care measured with composite scores based on 13 distinct adverse events. Results indicated that higher quality was associated with higher predicted cost. However, we did not find evidence that higher costs were driven by high nurse staffing levels.

Individual Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Using Mantram Repetition: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies suggest that group "mantram" (sacred word) repetition therapy, a non-trauma-focused complementary therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), may be an effective treatment for veterans. The authors compared individually delivered mantram repetition therapy and another non-trauma-focused treatment for PTSD. METHOD: The study was a two-site, open-allocation, blinded-assessment randomized trial involving 173 veterans diagnosed with military-related PTSD from two Veterans Affairs outpatient clinics (January 2012 to March 2014). The mantram group (N=89) learned skills for silent mantram repetition, slowing thoughts, and one-pointed attention. The comparison group (N=84) received present-centered therapy, focusing on currently stressful events and problem-solving skills. Both treatments were delivered individually in eight weekly 1-hour sessions. The primary outcome measure was change in PTSD symptom severity, as measured by the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) and by self-report. Secondary outcome measures included insomnia, depression, anger, spiritual well-being, mindfulness, and quality of life. Intent-to-treat analysis was conducted using linear mixed models. RESULTS: The mantram group had significantly greater improvements in CAPS score than the present-centered therapy group, both at the posttreatment assessment (between-group difference across time, -9.98, 95% CI=-3.63, -16.00; d=0.49) and at the 2-month follow-up (between-group difference, -9.34, 95% CI=-1.50, -17.18; d=0.46). Self-reported PTSD symptom severity was also lower in the mantram group compared with the present-centered therapy group at the posttreatment assessment, but there was no difference at the 2-month follow-up. Significantly more participants in the mantram group (59%) than in the present-centered therapy group (40%) who completed the 2-month follow-up no longer met criteria for PTSD (p<0.04). However, the percentage of participants in the mantram group (75%) compared with participants in the present-centered therapy group (61%) who experienced clinically meaningful changes (≥10-point improvements) in CAPS score did not differ significantly between groups. Reductions in insomnia were significantly greater for participants in the mantram group at both posttreatment assessment and 2-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: In a sample of veterans with PTSD, individually delivered mantram repetition therapy was generally more effective than present-centered therapy for reducing PTSD symptom severity and insomnia.

Impact of Intervention to Improve Nursing Home Resident-Staff Interactions and Engagement.

Background and Objectives: For nursing home residents, positive interactions with staff and engagement in daily life contribute meaningfully to quality of life. We sought to improve these aspects of person-centered care in an opportunistic snowball sample of six Veterans Health Administration nursing homes (e.g., Community Living Centers-CLCs) using an intervention that targeted staff behavior change, focusing on improving interactions between residents and staff and thereby ultimately aiming to improve resident engagement. Research Design and Methods: We grounded this mixed-methods study in the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, Behavior (COM-B) model of behavior change. We implemented the intervention by (a) using a set of evidence-based practices for implementing quality improvement and (b) combining primarily CLC-based staff facilitation with some researcher-led facilitation. Validated resident and staff surveys and structured observations collected pre and post intervention, as well as semi-structured staff interviews conducted post intervention, helped assess intervention success. Results: Sixty-two CLC residents and 308 staff members responded to the surveys. Researchers conducted 1,490 discrete observations. Intervention implementation was associated with increased staff communication with residents during the provision of direct care and decreased negative staff interactions with residents. In the 66 interviews, staff consistently credited the intervention with helping them (a) develop awareness of the importance of identifying opportunities for engagement and (b) act to improve the quality of interactions between residents and staff. Discussion and Implications: The intervention proved feasible and influenced staff to make simple enhancements to their behaviors that improved resident-staff interactions and staff-assessed resident engagement.

An analysis of patient-provider secure messaging at two Veterans Health Administration medical centers: message content and resolution through secure messaging.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to understand how patients and primary care teams use secure messaging (SM) to communicate with one another by analyzing secure message threads from 2 Department of Veterans Affairs facilities. METHODS: We coded 1000 threads of SM communication sampled from 40 primary care teams. RESULTS: Most threads (94.5%) were initiated by patients (90.4%) or caregivers (4.1%); only 5.5% were initiated by primary care team members proactively reaching out to patients. Medication renewals and refills (47.2%), scheduling requests (17.6%), medication issues (12.9%), and health issues (12.7%) were the most common patient-initiated requests, followed by referrals (7.0%), administrative issues (6.5%), test results (5.4%), test issues (5.2%), informing messages (4.9%), comments about the patient portal or SM (4.1%), appreciation (3.9%), self-reported data (2.8%), life issues (1.5%), and complaints (1.5%). Very few messages were clinically urgent (0.7%) or contained other potentially challenging content. Message threads were mostly short (2.7 messages), comprising an average of 1.35 discrete content types. A substantial proportion of issues (24.2%) did not show any evidence of being resolved through SM. Time to response and extent of resolution via SM varied by message content. Proactive SM use by teams varied, but was most often for test results (32.7%), medication-related issues (21.8%), medication renewals (16.4%), or scheduling issues (18.2%). CONCLUSIONS: The majority of messages were transactional and initiated by patients or caregivers. Not all content categories were fully addressed over SM. Further education and training for both patients and clinical teams could improve the quality and efficiency of SM communication.

Patient Use of Electronic Prescription Refill and Secure Messaging and Its Association With Undetectable HIV Viral Load: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Electronic personal health records (PHRs) can support patient self-management of chronic conditions. Managing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) viral load, through taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) is crucial to long term survival of persons with HIV. Many persons with HIV have difficulty adhering to their ART over long periods of time. PHRs contribute to chronic disease self-care and may help persons with HIV remain adherent to ART. Proportionally veterans with HIV are among the most active users of the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) PHR, called My HealtheVet. Little is known about whether the use of the PHR is associated with improved HIV outcomes in this population. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate whether there are associations between the use of PHR tools (electronic prescription refill and secure messaging [SM] with providers) and HIV viral load in US veterans. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using data from the VA's electronic health record (EHR) and the PHR. We identified veterans in VA care from 2009-2012 who had HIV and who used the PHR. We examined which ones had achieved the positive outcome of suppressed HIV viral load, and whether achievement of this outcome was associated with electronic prescription refill or SM. From 18,913 veterans with HIV, there were 3374 who both had a detectable viral load in 2009 and who had had a follow-up viral load test in 2012. To assess relationships between electronic prescription refill and viral control, and SM and viral control, we fit a series of multivariable generalized estimating equation models, accounting for clustering in VA facilities. We adjusted for patient demographic and clinical characteristics associated with portal use. In the initial models, the predictor variables were included in dichotomous format. Subsequently, to evaluate a potential dose-effect, the predictor variables were included as ordinal variables. RESULTS: Among our sample of 3374 veterans with HIV who received VA care from 2009-2012, those who had transitioned from detectable HIV viral load in 2009 to undetectable viral load in 2012 tended to be older (P=.004), more likely to be white (P<.001), and less likely to have a substance use disorder, problem alcohol use, or psychosis (P=.006, P=.03, P=.004, respectively). There was a statistically significant positive association between use of electronic prescription refill and change in HIV viral load status from 2009-2012, from detectable to undetectable (OR 1.36, CI 1.11-1.66). There was a similar association between SM use and viral load status, but without achieving statistical significance (OR 1.28, CI 0.89-1.85). Analyses did not demonstrate a dose-response of prescription refill or SM use for change in viral load. CONCLUSIONS: PHR use, specifically use of electronic prescription refill, was associated with greater control of HIV. Additional studies are needed to understand the mechanisms by which this may be occurring.

Continued Use of Warfarin in Veterans with Atrial Fibrillation After Dementia Diagnosis.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the effectiveness of warfarin in older adults with dementia. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Department of Veterans Affairs national healthcare system. PARTICIPANTS: Veterans aged 65 and older (73% aged ≥75, 99% male, 91% white) who had been receiving warfarin for nonvalvular atrial fibrillation for at least 6 months, were newly diagnosed with dementia in fiscal year 2007 or 2008, and were not enrolled in Medicare Advantage (n = 2,572). MEASUREMENTS: The onset of dementia was defined according to International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, code. Participants were followed for up to 4 years for persistence of warfarin therapy, anticoagulation control, major hemorrhage, ischemic stroke, and all-cause mortality. RESULTS: The average CHADS2 score was 3.3 ± 1.3. After a diagnosis of dementia, 405 individuals (16%) persisted on warfarin therapy. Unadjusted Cox proportional hazards analysis demonstrated a protective effect of warfarin in prevention of ischemic stroke (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.64, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.46-0.89, P = .008), major bleeding (HR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.55-0.94, P = .02), and all-cause mortality (HR = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.55-0.79, P < .001). Using propensity score matching, the protective effect of continuing warfarin persisted in prevention of stroke (HR = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.54-0.996, P = .047) and mortality (HR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.60-0.87, P < .001), with no statistically significant decrease in risk of major bleeding (HR = 0.78, 95% CI = 0.61-1.01, P = .06). CONCLUSION: Discontinuing warfarin after a diagnosis of dementia is associated with a significant increase in stroke and mortality.

Surgeons' Disclosures of Clinical Adverse Events.

Importance: Surgeons are frequently faced with clinical adverse events owing to the nature of their specialty, yet not all surgeons disclose these events to patients. To sustain open disclosure programs, it is essential to understand how surgeons are disclosing adverse events, factors that are associated with reporting such events, and the effect of disclosure on surgeons. Objective: To quantitatively assess surgeons' reports of disclosure of adverse events and aspects of their experiences with the disclosure process. Design, Setting, and Participants: An observational study was conducted from January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2013, involving a 21-item baseline questionnaire administered to 67 of 75 surgeons (89%) representing 12 specialties at 3 Veterans Affairs medical centers. Sixty-two surveys of their communication about adverse events and experiences with disclosing such events were completed by 35 of these 67 surgeons (52%). Data were analyzed using mixed linear random-effects and logistic regression models. Main Outcomes and Measures: Self-reports of disclosure assessed by 8 items from guidelines and pilot research, surgeons' perceptions of the adverse event, reported personal effects from disclosure, and baseline attitudes toward disclosure. Results: Most of the surgeons completing the web-based surveys (41 responses from men and 21 responses from women) used 5 of the 8 recommended disclosure items: explained why the event happened (55 of 60 surveys [92%]), expressed regret for what happened (52 of 60 [87%]), expressed concern for the patient's welfare (57 of 60 [95%]), disclosed the adverse event within 24 hours (58 of 60 [97%]), and discussed steps taken to treat any subsequent problems (59 of 60 [98%]). Fewer surgeons apologized to patients (33 of 60 [55%]), discussed whether the event was preventable (33 of 60 [55%]), or how recurrences could be prevented (19 of 59 [32%]). Surgeons who were less likely to have discussed prevention (33 of 60 [55%]), those who stated the event was very or extremely serious (40 of 61 surveys [66%]), or reported very or somewhat difficult experiences discussing the event (16 of 61 [26%]) were more likely to have been negatively affected by the event. Surgeons with more negative attitudes about disclosure at baseline reported more anxiety about patients' surgical outcomes or events following disclosure (odds ratio, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.16-2.06). Conclusions and Relevance: Surgeons who reported they were less likely to discuss preventability of the adverse event, or who reported difficult communication experiences, were more negatively affected by disclosure than others. Quality improvement efforts focused on recognizing the association between disclosure and surgeons' well-being may help sustain open disclosure policies.

Longitudinal Pressure Ulcer Rates After Adoption of Culture Change in Veterans Health Administration Nursing Homes.

OBJECTIVES: To examine facility-level pressure ulcer (PrU) development rates and variations in these rates after a system-wide adoption of culture change in Veterans Health Administration (VHA) nursing homes. DESIGN: Four-year retrospective longitudinal design. SETTING: VHA facilities (N=109) representing 132 nursing homes known as community living centers (CLCs). PARTICIPANTS: VHA nursing home residents. MEASUREMENTS: PrUs were identified using fiscal year (FY) 2008-11 Minimum Data Set (MDS) data. PrU development was defined as a Stage 2 or larger PrU on an MDS assessment with no PrU on the previous assessment. A risk adjustment model was developed using 105,274 MDS observations to predict the likelihood of PrUs (c-statistic=0.72). A Bayesian hierarchical model that adjusted for differences in the precision of PrU rates from different-size facilities was used to calculate smoothed risk-adjusted (SRA) rates for each facility. The statistical significance of the trend over the 4 years was determined by examining the 95% interval estimate for the slope. RESULTS: Over the 4-year period, the beginning of which coincided with the VHA's system-wide adoption of culture change as a performance measure, median SRA facility PrU development rates were fairly consistent at approximately 4%. The range in SRA rates declined over the years, from a 14.8-percentage point spread to 10.1-percentage point spread. Some facilities had significantly improving SRA rates (e.g., declined steadily from 5.5% to 3.9%) and some had significantly worsening SRA rates (e.g., increased steadily from 5.1% to 7.9%). Seven sites had significantly improving rates (P<.001) that were below the median across all 4 years. CONCLUSION: A system-wide culture change implementation did not affect CLC PrU development rates, but there was significant variation in facility rates, and some facilities had sustained high performance.

Using Mixed Methods to Examine the Role of Veterans' Illness Perceptions on Depression Treatment Utilization and HEDIS Concordance.

BACKGROUND: Although depression screening occurs annually in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) primary care, many veterans may not be receiving guideline-concordant depression treatment. OBJECTIVES: To determine whether veterans' illness perceptions of depression may be serving as barriers to guideline-concordant treatment. RESEARCH DESIGN: We used a prospective, observational design involving a mailed questionnaire and chart review data collection to assess depression treatment utilization and concordance with Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set guidelines adopted by the VA. The Self-Regulation Model of Illness Behavior guided the study. SUBJECTS: Veterans who screened positive for a new episode of depression at 3 VA primary care clinics in the US northeast. MEASURES: The Illness Perceptions Questionnaire-Revised, measuring patients' perceptions of their symptoms, cause, timeline, consequences, cure or controllability, and coherence of depression and its symptoms, was our primary measure to calculate veterans' illness perceptions. Treatment utilization was assessed 3 months after the positive depression screen through chart review. Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) guideline-concordant treatment was determined according to a checklist created for the study. RESULTS: A total of 839 veterans screened positive for a new episode of depression from May 2009-June 2011; 275 (32.8%) completed the survey. Ninety-two (33.9%) received HEDIS guideline-concordant depression treatment. Veterans' illness perceptions of their symptoms, cause, timeline, and controllability of depression predicted receiving guideline-concordant treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Many veterans are not receiving guideline-concordant treatment for depression. HEDIS guideline measures may not be assessing all aspects of quality depression care. Conversations about veterans' illness perceptions and their specific needs are encouraged to ensure that appropriate treatment is achieved.

Improving Anticoagulation Measurement Novel Warfarin Composite Measure.

BACKGROUND: Percent time in therapeutic range (TTR) and international normalized ratio (INR) variability both measure warfarin control and are associated with outcomes independently. Here, we examine the advantages of a warfarin composite measure (WCM), which summarizes the 2 when measuring patient outcomes. We also examine how the measure chosen would affect anticoagulation clinic performance rankings. METHODS AND RESULTS: We constructed WCM using an equally weighted method, adding standardized TTR to standardized log-transformed INR variability using 103 897 warfarin-experienced patients from 100 anticoagulation clinics. We examined the association of WCM with ischemic stroke, major bleeding, and fatal bleeding, using a subset of patients with atrial fibrillation (n=40 404). We divided patients into quintiles based on their level of control for TTR, log INR variability, and WCM. We calculated the hazard ratios for ischemic stroke, major bleeding, and fatal bleeding stratified by these quintiles. WCM hazard ratios for stroke and fatal bleeding showed the largest difference between excellent control and poorest control quintile compared with TTR and log INR variability, but not for major bleeding. In addition, we compared site rankings obtained using each of our 3 performance measures. Kappa scores for identifying outlier and nonoutlier clinics between WCM and its components were moderate (κ=0.56 for TTR and κ=0.62 for log INR variability) but was weak between TTR and log INR variability (κ=0.13). CONCLUSIONS: WCM produces the largest range of risk for warfarin complications, widening the floor ceiling effects that limit the use of TTR and INR variability as separate measures. Anticoagulation clinics ranking changed considerably according to the anticoagulation measure that was selected.

Predicting outcomes among patients with atrial fibrillation and heart failure receiving anticoagulation with warfarin.

Among patients receiving oral anticoagulation for atrial fibrillation (AF), heart failure (HF) is associated with poor anticoagulation control. However, it is not known which patients with heart failure are at greatest risk of adverse outcomes. We evaluated 62,156 Veterans Health Administration (VA) patients receiving warfarin for AF between 10/1/06-9/30/08 using merged VA-Medicare dataset. We predicted time in therapeutic range (TTR) and rates of adverse events by categorising patients into those with 0, 1, 2, or 3+ of five putative markers of HF severity such as aspartate aminotransferase (AST)> 80 U/l, alkaline phosphatase> 150 U/l, serum sodium< 130 mEq/l, any receipt of metolazone, and any inpatient admission for HF exacerbation. These risk categories predicted TTR: patients without HF (referent) had a mean TTR of 65.0 %, while HF patients with 0, 1, 2, 3 or more markers had mean TTRs of 62.2 %, 57.2 %, 53.5 %, and 50.7 %, respectively (p< 0.001). These categories also discriminated for major haemorrhage well; compared to patients without HF, HF patients with increasing severity had hazard ratios of 1.84, 3.06, 3.52 and 5.14 respectively (p< 0.001). However, although patients with HF had an elevated hazard for bleeding compared to those without HF, these categories did not effectively discriminate risk of ischaemic stroke across HF. In conclusion, we developed a HF severity model using easily available clinical characteristics that performed well to risk-stratify patients with HF who are receiving anticoagulation for AF with regard to major haemorrhage.

Explaining racial disparities in anticoagulation control: results from a study of patients at the Veterans Administration.

Higher rates of stroke, major hemorrhage, and death among black patients receiving warfarin, compared with white patients, is likely related to poorer anticoagulation control. The research team investigated patient-level and site-level factors that might account for this group difference. A summary measure of anticoagulation control (percent time in therapeutic range [TTR]), patient characteristics, and site-level process of care measures were obtained for 9572 black and 88 481 white patients at the Veterans Health Administration. The research team studied disparity in TTR adjusting for patient and site characteristics. Mean unadjusted TTR for black patients was 6.5% lower than for white patients (P<.001). After accounting for the younger age of blacks, greater degrees of medication use, hospitalization, poverty, living in the South, and 11 other patient characteristics, only 2.0% of this racial disparity persisted. Process of care measures had minimal additional effect. These findings may inform efforts to reduce this racial disparity in achieving good anticoagulation control.

Improving quality measurement for anticoagulation: adding international normalized ratio variability to percent time in therapeutic range.

BACKGROUND: Among patients receiving warfarin, percent time in therapeutic range (TTR) and international normalized ratio (INR) variability predict adverse events individually. Here, we examined what is added to the prediction of adverse events by using both measures together. METHODS AND RESULTS: We included 40 404 patients anticoagulated for atrial fibrillation, aged 65+, within the Veterans Health Administration. TTR and log-transformed INR variability were calculated for each patient. Our study outcomes were ischemic stroke and major bleeding, defined using International Classification of Diseases-9 codes. We estimated the hazard ratios (HRs) for the study outcomes using 3 nested Cox regression models, including (1) TTR or log INR variability separately; (2) TTR and log INR variability together; and (3) both predictors together plus an interaction term. We divided TTR into 3 categories (high, >70%; moderate, 50% to 70%; low, <50%) and log INR variability into 2 categories (stable and unstable). The reference groups high TTR and stable anticoagulation each denote good control. Higher log INR variability (ie, unstable control) predicted ischemic stroke (HR=1.45, P<0.001) and major bleeding (HR=1.57, P<0.001) independently, regardless of TTR levels. Our model with interaction terms showed that High log INR variability predicted a significantly higher risk for ischemic stroke and major bleeding compared with low log INR variability, at moderate TTR levels (HR= 1.27 and HR=1.29, respectively) and at high TTR levels (HR=1.55 and HR=1.56, respectively), but not at low TTR levels. CONCLUSIONS: Unstable anticoagulation predicts warfarin adverse effects independent of TTR. Moreover, knowledge about anticoagulation stability further stratifies the risk for adverse events at given levels of TTR.