The relationship between professional care environments, nurse-rated quality of care, service utilization and functional status of patients with heart failure receiving Medicare certified home health services
PDF
PDF format is widely accepted and good for printing.
Kleber, Elizabeth. The relationship between professional care environments, nurse-rated quality of care, service utilization and functional status of patients with heart failure receiving Medicare certified home health services. Retrieved from https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3RJ4GRM
TitleThe relationship between professional care environments, nurse-rated quality of care, service utilization and functional status of patients with heart failure receiving Medicare certified home health services
DescriptionHeart failure (HF) is one of the leading causes of death and disability in the United States and it has grown to near-epidemic proportions. Among the costly sequela of HF are functional impairments. If not reversed, these functional limitations may lead to increased risk of hospitalization. Left untreated, functional impairments are a significant predictor of mortality among elderly persons living at home. Consequently, HF patients represent the largest group of patients receiving home health nursing services, and impaired functional status remains the most frequent predictor of home health need. The overarching conceptual framework for this study was the Nursing Organization and Outcomes Model (Aiken et al., 2002). This study examined the relationship between nurse-rated quality of care, the nursing practice environment, service utilization and functional outcomes in patients receiving Medicare certified home health care services, as well as nurse practice environment, service utilization and nurse-rated quality of care in patients receiving Medicare certified home health care services. Data were analyzed from 364 nurses working in 53 home health offices. Major findings indicate a correlation between a supportive care environment and nurse-rated quality of care. The number of occupational therapy visits provided was found to be associated with a decline in functional status at time of discharge from home health services. In addition, patient age was found to be negatively correlated with functional status at time of discharge form home health services. Findings also suggest a competent and supportive front line manager may contribute to nurse-rated quality of care, suggesting investment in nurse manager development may be beneficial to the organization.