Ongoing problems with nursing home care mandates understanding nursing home staff’s perspectives on innovative quality improvement programs. This follow-up study used focus groups to examine the experiences of staff who participated in a clinical trial that involved Quality Indicator (QI) feedback reports, quality improvement training, and APN consultation. The authors found that QI reports provided staff with a benchmark to judge their care and a means to track problems; APN consultation was essential for staff to learn best practices; and staff questioned the validity of the QI reports, which hindered them from seeking new solutions to problems identified in the QI reports. Findings indicate that innovative QI programs and APN consultation can positively influence nursing home quality improvement efforts and improve care.
ABSTRACT
Ongoing problems with nursing home care mandates understanding nursing home staff’s perspectives on innovative quality improvement programs. This follow-up study used focus groups to examine the experiences of staff who participated in a clinical trial that involved Quality Indicator (QI) feedback reports, quality improvement training, and APN consultation. The authors found that QI reports provided staff with a benchmark to judge their care and a means to track problems; APN consultation was essential for staff to learn best practices; and staff questioned the validity of the QI reports, which hindered them from seeking new solutions to problems identified in the QI reports. Findings indicate that innovative QI programs and APN consultation can positively influence nursing home quality improvement efforts and improve care.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Victoria T. Grando, PhD, APRN, BC, is Associate Professor, College of Nursing, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas. Marilyn J. Rantz, PhD, RN, FAAN, is Professor, University of Missouri-Columbia, Sinclair School of Nursing, Columbia, Missouri. Meridean Maas, PhD, RN, FAAN, is Professor, College of Nursing, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa.
This study was funded in part by the Gerontological Nursing Interventions Research Center NIH #30 NR03979 [Principal Investigator: Toni Tripp-Reimer].
Address correspondence to Victoria T. Grando, PhD, APRN, BC, Associate Professor, 4301 West Markham, # 529, Little Rock AR 72207; e-mail: GrandoVictoria@uams.edu.