RESUMO
PURPOSE: There is a need to increase palliative care access for hospitalized older adults with cancer discharged to a skilled nursing facility (SNF) at risk of poor outcomes. Assessing and Listening to Individual Goals and Needs (ALIGN) is a palliative care intervention developed to address this gap. This study gathered perspectives from clinicians across care settings to describe perceptions on serious illness communication and care coordination for patients with cancer after discharge to a SNF to guide ALIGN refinements. METHODS: We conducted 37 semistructured interviews with clinicians and leaders in hospital medicine (n = 12), oncology (n = 9), palliative care (n = 12), home health care (n = 6), and hospice (n = 4). Some participants had experience working in more than one specialty. The Practical Robust Implementation and Sustainability Model framework was used to develop the interview guide that explored barriers to care, prognosis discussions, and hospice recommendations. Interviews were coded and analyzed using thematic content analysis. RESULTS: Analysis identified four themes: (1) discharge to a SNF is recognized as a time of worsening prognosis; (2) care silos create communication and information barriers during a period of increasing palliative care need; (3) family caregiver distress escalates following care transitions; and (4) lack of clarity of roles and respect for the patient-oncologist relationship limits prognostic communication and changes in focus of treatment. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that acute and postacute care clinicians defer serious illness conversations to the oncologist when patients are on a steep trajectory of decline, experiencing multiple care transitions, and may have limited contact with their oncologist. There is a need to clarify roles among nononcology and oncology clinicians in discussing prognosis and recommending hospice for older adults discharged to SNF.
RESUMO
Despite multiple initiatives in post-acute and long-term nursing home care settings (NHs) to improve the quality of care while reducing health care costs, research in NHs can prove challenging. Extensive regulation for both research and NHs is designed to protect a highly vulnerable population but can be a deterrent to conducting research. This article outlines regulatory challenges faced by NHs and researchers, such as protecting resident privacy as well as health information and obtaining informed consent. The article provides lessons learned to help form mutually beneficial partnerships between researchers and NHs to conduct studies that grow and advance NH research initiatives and clinical care.
Assuntos
Pesquisa sobre Serviços de Saúde/legislação & jurisprudência , Casas de Saúde , Cuidados Semi-Intensivos , Confidencialidade , Humanos , Consentimento Livre e Esclarecido , Segurança do PacienteRESUMO
Residential care facilities (RCF) provide assistance to older adults who cannot live independently, but it is unclear whether these residents have retired from driving. Here, we characterize older adults living in RCFs who still drive from a national cross-sectional survey of residents (2010 National Survey of Residential Care Facilities), representing ~733,000 adults living in RCFs such as assisted living facilities and personal care homes. Key resident characteristics were health, function, mobility and community activity indicators, which could be associated with increased driving risk. Of 8,087 residents, 4.5% (95%CI=3.9-5.1) were current drivers. Many drivers were older than 80 years (74%, 95%CI=67-79), in very good health (31%, 95%CI=25-38) or good health (35%, 95%CI=29-42), and had a median of two medical conditions. Most were independent with activities of daily living, though some needed assistance with walking and used gait devices. Given these results, RCF staff and healthcare providers need a heightened awareness of factors associated with driving risk to promote safety of older drivers and provide resources for likely transition to other transportation.