Data Sharing Between Home Care Professionals: A Feasibility Study Using the RAI Home Care Instrument

Background: Across Ontario, home care professionals collect standardized information on each client using the Resident Assessment for Home Care (RAI-HC). However, this information is not consistently shared with those professionals who provide services in the client’s home. In this pilot study, we examined the feasibility of sharing data, from the RAI-HC, between care coordinators and service providers. Methods: All participants were involved in a one-day training session on the RAI-HC. The care coordinators shared specific outputs from the RAI-HC, including the embedded health index scales, with their contracted physiotherapy and occupational therapy service providers. Two focus groups were held, one with care coordinators (n = 4) and one with contracted service providers (n = 6). They were asked for their opinions on the positive aspects of the project and areas for improvement. Results: The focus groups revealed a number of positive outcomes related to the project including the use of a falls prevention brochure and an increased level of communication between professionals. The participants also cited multiple areas for improvement related to data sharing (e.g., time constraints, data being sent in a timely fashion) and to their standard practices in the community (e.g., busy workloads, difficulties in data sharing, duplication of assessments between professionals). Conclusions: Home care professionals were able to share select pieces of information generated from the RAI-HC system and this project enhanced the level of communication between the two groups of professionals. However, a single information session was not adequate training for the rehabilitation professionals, who do not use the RAI-HC as part of normal practice. Better education, ongoing support and timely access to the RAI-HC data are some ways to improve the usefulness of this information for busy home care providers

EVAP-2 and EVAP-3 - Modifications of a code to calculate particle evaporation from excited compound nuclei

Modifications of computer code to calculate particle evaporation from excited compound nucle

Development of a Case-Mix Funding System for Adults with Combined Vision and Hearing Loss

Background: Adults with vision and hearing loss, or dual sensory loss (DSL), present with a wide range of needs and abilities. This creates many challenges when attempting to set the most appropriate and equitable funding levels. Case-mix (CM) funding models represent one method for understanding client characteristics that correlate with resource intensity. Methods: A CM model was developed based on a derivation sample (n = 182) and tested with a replication sample (n = 135) of adults aged 18+ with known DSL who were living in the community. All items within the CM model came from a standardized, multidimensional assessment, the interRAI Community Health Assessment and the Deafblind Supplement. The main outcome was a summary of formal and informal service costs which included intervenor and interpreter support, in-home nursing, personal support and rehabilitation services. Informal costs were estimated based on a wage rate of half that for a professional service provider ($10/hour). Decision-tree analysis was used to create groups with homogeneous resource utilization. Results: The resulting CM model had 9 terminal nodes. The CM index (CMI) showed a 35-fold range for total costs. In both the derivation and replication sample, 4 groups (out of a total of 18 or 22.2%) had a coefficient of variation value that exceeded the overall level of variation. Explained variance in the derivation sample was 67.7% for total costs versus 28.2% in the replication sample. A strong correlation was observed between the CMI values in the two samples (r = 0.82; p = 0.006). Conclusions: The derived CM funding model for adults with DSL differentiates resource intensity across 9 main groups and in both datasets there is evidence that these CM groups appropriately identify clients based on need for formal and informal support

EXAMINING QUALITY INDICATOR RATES FOR OLDER HOME CARE CLIENTS WITH DUAL SENSORY IMPAIRMENT (DSI) AND EXPLORING THE HETEROGENEITY WITHIN DSI.

Older adults with impairments in both hearing and vision, called dual sensory impairment (DSI), are at an increased risk of negative health outcomes such as impaired communication and difficulties with mobility. It is unknown whether DSI is associated with potential quality of care issues. This study used a set of home care quality indicators (HCQIs) to examine potential quality issues in older clients (65+) with DSI. Further, it looked to explore how HCQI rates differed based on the geographic region of care and whether the client’s level of hearing and vision impairment was related to certain HCQIs. The HCQIs were generated from data collected using the Resident Assessment Instrument for Home Care and capture undesirable outcomes (e.g., falls, cognitive decline). Higher rates indicate a greater frequency of experiencing the issue. In this sample (n=352,656), the average age was 82.8 years (sd=7.9), the majority were female (63.2%), and 20.5% experienced DSI. Compared to those without DSI, clients with DSI had higher rates across 20 of the 22 HCQIs. The HCQI rates differed by geographic region, with specific regions consistently performing worse than others. Finally, the level of hearing and vision impairment was related to certain HCQIs more than others, for example hearing impairment appeared to be more related to the quality indicator measuring communication difficulty. Overall, the hope is that this information can help to identify some of the potential issues around quality and in turn, assist in continually improving the services being provided to these clients

Developing a complex intervention to improve prescribing safety in primary care:mixed methods feasibility and optimisation pilot study

Objectives (A) To measure the extent to which different candidate outcome measures identified high-risk prescribing that is potentially changeable by the data-driven quality improvement in primary care (DQIP) intervention.(B) To explore the value of reviewing identified high-risk prescribing to clinicians.(C) To optimise the components of the DQIP intervention.  Design Mixed method study.  Setting General practices in two Scottish Health boards.  Participants 4 purposively sampled general practices of varying size and socioeconomic deprivation.  Outcome measures Prescribing measures targeting (1) high-risk use of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and antiplatelets; (2) ‘Asthma control’ and (3) ‘Antithrombotics in atrial fibrillation (AF)’.  Intervention The prescribing measures were used to identify patients for review by general practices. The ability of the measures to identify potentially changeable high-risk prescribing was measured as the proportion of patients reviewed where practices identified a need for action. Field notes were recorded from meetings between researchers and staff and key staff participated in semistructured interviews exploring their experience of the piloted intervention processes.  Results Practices identified a need for action in 68%, 25% and 18% of patients reviewed for prescribing measures (1), (2) and (3), respectively. General practitioners valued being prompted to review patients, and perceived that (1) ‘NSAID and antiplatelet’ and (2) ‘antithrombotics in AF’ were the most important to act on. Barriers to initial and ongoing engagement and to sustaining improvements in prescribing were identified.  Conclusions ‘NSAIDs and antiplatelets’ measures were selected as the most suitable outcome measures for the DQIP trial, based on evidence of this prescribing being more easily changeable. In response to the barriers identified, the intervention was designed to include a financial incentive, additional ongoing feedback on progress and reprompting review of patients, whose high-risk prescribing was restarted after a decision to stop.  Trial registration number Clinicaltrials.govNCT01425502

Influenza control can be achieved in a custodial setting: pandemic (H1N1) 2009 and 2011 in an Australian prison

OBJECTIVES: Information on the effectiveness of interventions regarding control in closed institutional settings, including prisons, is limited. This study gathered evidence relating to influenza control in an Australian prison. STUDY DESIGN: This study built on a 2009 H1N1 outbreak investigation at the Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC) in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). METHODS: Influenza surveillance data, ACT 2010 Inmate Health Survey data, New South Wales 2001 and 2009 Inmate Health Survey data, ACT Department of Corrective Services administrative data, and ACT Health clinical data were analysed. RESULTS: In 2011, the AMC was exposed to influenza virus, resulting in a single case. Public health activities included exclusion of symptomatic cases from the health facility, isolation of cases, and quarantine of contacts. Contact between prisoners and the ACT community was maintained; the AMC detainee visitor rate was one visitor per prisoner every 10 days. CONCLUSIONS: The rehabilitative benefits of human contact for AMC detainees were not compromised during the surveillance period, despite the potential that a higher visitor rate may suggest. This highlights some features of the AMC which make its operational context different from many other correctional settings, but gives some indication of how good public health practice supports human rights.NHMRC (National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia

HRM and Firm Productivity: Does Industry Matter?

Recent years have witnessed burgeoning interest in the degree to which human resource systems contribute to organizational effectiveness. We argue that extant research has not fully considered important contextual conditions which moderate the efficacy of these practices. Specifically, we invoke a contingency perspective in proposing that industry characteristics affect the relative importance and value of high performance work practices (HPWPs). We test this proposition on a sample of non-diversified manufacturing firms. After controlling for the influence of a number of other factors, study findings support the argument that industry characteristics moderate the influence of HPWPs on firm productivity. Specifically, the impact of a system of HPWPs on firm productivity is significantly influenced by the industry conditions of capital intensity, growth and differentiation

Peeling Back the Onion Competitive Advantage Through People: Test of a Causal Model

Proponents of the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm have identified human resource management (HRM) and human capital as organizational resources that can contribute to sustainable competitive success. A number of empirical studies have documented the relationship between systems of human resource policies and practices and firm performance. The mechanisms by which HRM leads to firm performance, however, remain largely unexplored. In this study, we explore the pathways leading from HRM to firm performance. Specifically, we use structural equation modeling to test a model positing a set of causal relationships between high performance work systems (HPWS), employee retention, workforce productivity and firm market value. Within a set of manufacturing firms, results indicate the primary impact of HPWS on productivity and market value is through its influence on employee retention

Postpartum Safety and Satisfaction Following Early Discharge

Two Ontario sites were involved in the evaluation of an obstetrical discharge program. Before program implementation a group of eligible women were enrolled as the preprogram control group (n = 542). During the program, eligible women who agreed to early discharge (ED) became the ED group (n = 319), and those opting not to go home early but consenting to participate in the evaluation became the concurrent group (n = 456). All groups were mailed a self-administered postpartum questionnaire. On demographic characteristics, safety and satisfaction, the ED group was comparable to the concurrent group. Hospital readmission rates did not differ across groups after stratification by site or hospital. Multiple classification analyses revealed a similar pattern for overall satisfaction levels. This unique ED program, which allowed pre- or postnatal enrollment and did not require an initial home assessment, appears to be a safe, effective and flexible approach to obstetrical care