Nursing Home Care Services Research Articles

Integrative nursing interventions: knowledge, attitudes and practice in home nursing services in Germany-a quantitative and qualitative online survey.

Integrative nursing interventions (INI) play a significant role in healthcare, particularly in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. Integrating evidence-based INI into healthcare aligns with global initiatives such as the WHO's Decade of Healthy Aging 2020-2030. Many INI are low-threshold practices, empowering patients to independently manage health. However, the extent to which INI are used by home-care nursing-services (HNS) remains largely unknown. This study aims to explore the field of INI in German HNS regarding nurses' use of INI as well as attitudes, subjective knowledge, and information needs on the subject. A cross-sectional anonymous online survey with 29 Likert scale items and two open-ended questions was conducted between April 2023 and July 2023. The survey targeted nurse managers of HNS in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Descriptive analysis was performed for quantitative data, while content analysis according to Kuckartz was applied to analyze open-ended text responses. In total, n = 68 out of n = 1,331 HNS took part in the survey yielding a response rate of 5.1%. Their overall attitude toward INI was clearly positive (10-point Likert scale M ± SD: 8.37 ± 2.22). The average self-assessed knowledge level about INI was moderate (M ± SD: 5.39 ± 2.76). Almost half of the participants (45.6%) declared to incorporate INI in patient care. Most participants (84.2%) lacked employees with additional qualifications in INI. The INI used most were medicinal herbal teas (61%), compresses (57%), and aromatherapy (48%). Acupressure showed the greatest disparity between actual use in participating HNS (4.3%) and interest in further education (61%). The most common symptoms for which INI are used are pain, respiratory problems, anxiety, and palliative care. The main challenges reported for the use of INI in HNS are financial aspects, qualification and limited resources (staff and time). This exploratory study provides the first insights into nurses' attitudes, self-assessed knowledge, and utilization of INI in German HNS. Overall response rate was low (5.1%), therefore, the results should be interpreted with caution. Urgent action is needed to address financial aspects and further education on INI, to promote integration of INI in HNS to the best possible extent.

Challenges and conditions for successfully implementing and adopting the telematics infrastructure in German outpatient healthcare: A qualitative study applying the NASSS framework.

Germany's healthcare system provides high-quality, universal health coverage to almost all residents. However, a major challenge lies in the strong separation of healthcare structures, which hinders efficient interprofessional and intersectoral communication and collaboration. The mandatory nationwide implementation of the telematics infrastructure may offer a solution to enhance healthcare professionals' communication and collaboration. Our study aims to elicit participants' perceptions of and attitudes towards the implementation and usage of the telematics infrastructure in fostering interprofessional communication and collaboration between home-care nursing services and general practitioner practices. We conducted interviews with seven members of general practitioner practices and 10 in home-care nursing services. Using thematic content analysis, we identified five themes, of which four along with 10 subthemes were integrated into Greenhalgh et al.'s 'nonadoption, abandonment, scale-up, spread and sustainability' framework. Participants recognised the potential of digital technology to enhance interprofessional communication and collaboration. However, this potential largely depended on individual healthcare actors' willingness to seek information, invest and adapt. Attitudes towards the telematics infrastructure varied widely from hopeful confidence to outright rejection. Home-care nursing services generally viewed the telematics infrastructure with optimism, while general practitioners expressed reservations, particularly due to technological disruptions, lack of user-friendliness, and organisational structures. Our findings highlight the potential of digital technology to enhance interprofessional communication. Successful implementation of technological innovations, however, goes beyond technological aspects and involves social, political and organisational processes. Future implementation strategies for such innovations in healthcare should involve users early and ensure clear communication.

Malnutrition and Polypharmacy in Older Adult Patients Receiving Home Care Nursing Services: A Cross-sectional Study

ObjectiveWe studied the nutritional status of older adult adults receiving home nursing care using demographic data, household category, polypharmacy, and potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs). DesignCross-sectional study. Setting and ParticipantsTwo Norwegian municipalities during 2017-2019; home nursing service clients aged ≥70 years. MethodsInclusion of patients and data collection were done by nurses working in the home services. Recorded data were participants’ age, sex, living alone or with others, nutritional status (Mini Nutritional Assessment–Short Form and body mass index), regular prescription drugs, and potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) according to the Norwegian General Practice Nursing home (NORGEP-NH) criteria. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used. ResultsOf the 270 patients (mean age 84.2 years; 64.8% females; 188 living alone), 25 (9.3%) were malnourished and 154 (57%) at risk of malnutrition; in addition, 14.8% had a BMI <21 and 27.8% had lost weight in the previous 3 months. The odds for being at malnutrition risk was higher if living with others vs living alone: adjusted odds ratio (OR) 2.23 (1.20-4.13). Female sex, older age, and better mobility was associated with living alone. The mean number of regular drugs was 7.3. Overall, 43.3% of the participants used at least 1 PIM. Using 0 to 5 drugs vs ≥6 drugs (polypharmacy) was associated with higher odds for malnutrition risk: adjusted OR 1.97 (1.04-3.75). Compared with well-nourished patients, those at risk for or who were malnourished used fewer cardiovascular and musculoskeletal drugs. Exposure to PIMs was not associated with nutritional status. Conclusions and ImplicationsTwo-thirds of home nurse clients were either malnourished or at risk for malnutrition. Living with others or using fewer daily drugs implied increased risk for malnourishment, probably reflecting differences in morbidity and possible inappropriateness of medication use. Future research on nutritional status and medication use should aim for including more clinical data than simple drug counts.

The organisation of paediatric hospital-at-home care: a multi-country comparative study

PurposeMany countries have developed hospital-at-home (HAH) models to bring hospital services closer to home. Although some countries already have a long tradition of HAH for adults, paediatric HAH has been developed more recently. Specificities of paediatric care make it difficult to directly extend an adult HAH model to the paediatric population. The objective of this study is to compare the organisation of paediatric HAH in four countries: France, Australia (states of Victoria and New South Wales), the Netherlands and Belgium. Ultimately, lessons can be drawn for further development in the countries analysed and/or for implementation in other countries.Design/methodology/approachLegal documents and other grey literature were analysed to describe the legal context for the provision of paediatric HAH in the selected countries. In addition, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with key informants from paediatric HAH organisations in these countries, addressing the following topics: historical background, legal framework, functioning of HAH models, workforce, number of services, profile of children, type of care activities, funding, coordination with other providers and quality of care. Results were reviewed by a content expert from the respective country.FindingsOrganisational differences were highlighted in terms of coordinating actor (hospital or home nursing care services), decision-making process, range of clinical conditions treated, territorial organisation, qualifications and expertise of the team members, medical expertise, financing, responsibilities, etc.Originality/valueThere is no single preferred model for the provision of HAH care for children. There is a large variety in almost all aspects of organisation. There are, however, also some common characteristics across the different models. Notably, paediatric expertise of nurses within the HAH team was considered indispensable in all programmes.

The development and implementation of an interactive application for new ostomy patients.

Guidance throughout the entire process of ostomy surgery is warranted to improve self-management and reduce healthcare consumption. The aim of this study was to develop an interactive application to educate patients scheduled for ostomy surgery and to evaluate patient satisfaction and implementation. A literature study and a cross-sectional study among patients and nurses was performed to evaluate the relevance of different topics (e.g., ostomy materials, self-care, complications, impact) for an interactive application in ostomy surgery. The interactive application, StoManager, was developed in collaboration with patients and healthcare providers. The implementation of the application was evaluated among 30 patients scheduled for ostomy surgery to investigate usability, patient satisfaction, compliance, the need for home nursing care services, and the number of contact moments with the ostomy nurse. StoManager contained all topics considered relevant by patients and healthcare providers, including information on ostomy surgery, ostomy self-care and ostomy-related complications. Patient-reported outcome measures were incorporated to monitor the patient's health status during treatment. The usability scores of StoManager were above average. Patients rated StoManager with an overall score of 7.5 (SD 1.5) out of 10. The response rate to the patient-reported outcome measures was 79.3%. At discharge, 28/30 (93.3%) patients did not need home nursing care services for ostomy care. An interactive application to support patients throughout the entire process of ostomy surgery is feasible. Patients were satisfied with StoManager and its usability, which might result in improved self-management and decreased healthcare consumption. A more patient-specific approach could further improve the perceived quality and value of the application.

Factors Associated with Home Health Aides' Turnover Intention and Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Long-Term Care Services.

Background: The elderly and disabled population has rapidly increased in the world, and the demand for long-term care is also increasing. Home nursing care services are the main service demand. However, the high turnover rate of home health aides has led to a continuous shortage of staff, which affects the quality of care provided. Objective: This research established a model based on the theory of reasoned action to explore the relationships among home health aides’ work engagement, job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and organizational citizenship behavior for long-term care providers. Method: In this cross-sectional study, a structured questionnaire was sent to 455 participants, and 402 (response rate 88.4%) took part in the study. The goodness-of-fit test and path analysis of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to test the proposed model. Results: Through the goodness-of-fit test of SEM, it was found that the data results have a good model fit. The results of path analysis displayed that home health aides’ work engagement and job satisfaction had a significantly negative impact on turnover intention and a significantly positive impact on organizational citizenship behavior; turnover intention had a significantly negative impact on organizational citizenship behavior. Conclusion: This research deduces the theory of reasoned action has sufficient explanatory power for the home health aides’ turnover intention and provides evidence that home health aides’ work engagement and job satisfaction reduce their turnover intention and promote organizational citizenship behavior.

Nurse-Filled versus Pharmacy-Filled Medication Organization Devices—Survey on Current Practices and Views of Home Care Nursing Services

Medication organization devices (MODs) are widely used among home care nursing services. However, current practices such as the responsibility for filling MODs, different MOD types used and requirements of home care nursing services are largely unknown. The study aimed at analyzing home care nursing services’ current practices regarding MOD use, investigating their requirements and determining whether different practices met these requirements. A survey was administered online to German home care nursing services in February 2021. The importance of requirements and the extent of satisfaction were measured using a five-point scale. Attitudes towards disposable, pharmacy-filled MODs were recorded as free text. In total, 690 nursing services responded (67.5% privately owned and 34.5% based in large cities), 92.2% filled MODs themselves and used predominantly reusable, rigid MODs. Pharmacies filling MODs used primarily disposable MODs. Satisfaction with current practices was generally high. Respondents filling MODs themselves were more satisfied with nurses’ medication knowledge, but less satisfied with cost effectiveness than those who had pharmacies fill MODs. Of all respondents filling MODs themselves who expressed an opinion on disposable, pharmacy-filled MODs, 50.9% were skeptical, primarily due to fear of losing flexibility. However, no difference in satisfaction with flexibility was found between respondents filling MODs themselves and those using pharmacy-filled MODs. In conclusion, employment of MODs in the professional care setting is a complex task with nursing services as key constituents. There is potential for improvement in the inter-professional collaboration between pharmacies and home care nursing services on the use of MODs. Measures for improvement have to address home care nursing services’ requirements with respect to flexibility and medication knowledge.

Caring Needs of Cancer Patients from the Perspective of Home Care Nurses: A Qualitative Study.

Objective:Cancer is the third leading cause of death in Iran. Todays, caregiving to patients with cancer is shifting towards home based care, and home care needs from a caregiver’s perspective can help improve the patient care. This qualitative study aimed to examine the home care needs of cancer patients from the perspective of home care nurses. Methods:This is a qualitative descriptive study carried out at home care centers in the northwest of Iran. A total of 15 participants were recruited through purposive sampling and underwent face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed through Conventional content analysis method in MAXQDA software. Measures of trustworthiness were established throughout the study using Lincoln and Guba’s (1985) criteria (dependability, credibility, transferability, and confirmability). Results:Data analysis resulted in the extraction of four main categories including physical needs (pain relief, gastrointestinal problems including nausea and anorexia and nutritional problems, lethargy, wound care), psychological support (need for hope and emotional support), educational needs (need for information and self-care) and financial support (service insurance coverage, charity support). To promote these patients home care, insurance coverage of nursing home care services was emphasized by the participants. Conclusion:Various aspects of cancer patients home care needs were identified. Interdisciplinary home-based palliative care collaboration is needed to address their physical, psychological, and moral needs.

Current conditions and significance of outpatient cardiac rehabilitation and home nursing-care services in heart failure patients with mid-range or preserved ejection fraction: post-hoc analysis of the REAL-HF registry.

The effects of outpatient cardiac rehabilitation (OCR) implementation and home nursing-care services (HNS) use are not well defined in patients with heart failure (HF) with mid-range or preserved left-ventricular ejection fraction (EF) (HFmrEF or HFpEF). Through a post-hoc analysis of the HF registry in Hiroshima Prefecture of Japan (REAL-HF), we investigated the current conditions and significance of OCR and HNS in HFmrEF or HFpEF patients. The REAL-HF enrolled adult patients hospitalized with HF in eight regional core hospitals. Patients discharged home were followed for conditions of OCR and HNS and the primary endpoints (all-cause death or unscheduled readmission) for 1year. The patients were classified into HF with reduced EF (< 40%) (HFrEF) or HFmrEF (40% ≤ EF < 50%) or HFpEF (EF ≥ 50%) group. We followed 195 HFrEF and 381 HFmrEF or HFpEF patients. OCR was generally underutilized, especially in HFmrEF or HFpEF patients (rate of completion [5-month program], 3.2%), whereas HFmrEF or HFpEF patients were more likely to use HNS after discharge home than HFrEF patients (44.1% vs. 27.2%, P < 0.0001). Patients with the use of HNS generally had lower scores of Mini-Mental State Examination and EuroQol 5 dimensions than those without. Multivariate analysis adjusted for medical and social factors showed that the completion of OCR was a strong negative predictor of the primary endpoints both in HFrEF (hazard ratio [HR] 0.10; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.01-0.75; P = 0.025) and HFmrEF or HFpEF (HR 0.11; 95% CI 0.01-0.78; P = 0.028) patients, whereas the use of HNS was a positive predictor only in HFmrEF or HFpEF patients (HR 1.41; 95% CI 1.00-1.97; P = 0.047). In conclusion, continuous OCR, despite its inadequate implementation, was associated with favorable overall outcomes, while the necessity for HNS related to impaired cognitive function and quality of life was associated with poorer overall outcomes in HFmrEF or HFpEF patients discharged home. Further study is warranted to fully consider the factors related to OCR implementation and HNS use.

Assessing acute functional decline in older patients in home nursing care settings using the Modified Early Warning Score: A qualitative study of nurses' and general practitioners' experiences.

The study describes experiences of registered nurses and general practitioners when using the Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS) to assess acute functional decline in older home nursing care patients. Acute functional decline is common among older home nursing care patients; typically characterised by nonspecific symptoms and a mix of manifestations. Early warning score systems for detecting clinical deterioration have been thoroughly evaluated in hospital settings, but few studies have evaluated these systems used with older people in a community care setting. A descriptive exploratory research design and a qualitative approach. 36 nurses and eight general practitioners were purposively sampled. Data were collected in seven mixed focus groups and analysed using an inductive thematic content analysis in an iterative process that moved between text, codes, categories and themes. The COREQ checklist was used. Two main themes were developed in the analysis. The first theme derived, was that the MEWS along with medical-technical equipment and clinical judgement, was used to support nurses' and general practitioners' clinical decisions in assessing older deteriorating patients. The second theme referred to nurses' and general practitioners' experiences with several adjustments when using the MEWS with the older patient group and in complying with its trigger recommendations. The use of the MEWS when assessing older patients in home nursing care is potentially useful in supporting clinical reasoning. However, the tool's usefulness is limited because it is not experienced as sufficiently adapted to neither the home nursing care services nor to older patients. This study increases our knowledge of how the MEWS tool is used in a community care setting and highlights the importance of adjustment of assessment procedures for older persons with acute functional decline.

Experiences and Suggestions Regarding Home Care Nursing Services Directed by Family Physician in a Tertiary Hospital

Experiences and Suggestions Regarding Home Care Nursing Services Directed by Family Physician in a Tertiary Hospital

Malnutrition Is Associated With Impaired Functional Status in Older People Receiving Home Care Nursing Service.

Objective: This study aimed to explore the magnitude and significance of associations among nutritional status, functional status, comorbidities, age, and gender in older adults receiving assistance from the in-home nursing care service.Method: In this cross-sectional study, 210 home-dwelling persons 65 years or older who received in-home nursing care service were evaluated. Demographic variables, nutritional status, comorbidities, and the dependency levels of activities of daily living were analyzed. To assess the correlation among the factors that influence nutritional status, a theoretical model was developed and adjusted using the path analysis model.Results: The primary finding is that functional status is directly associated with nutritional status (β = 0.32; p < 0.001) and severity of comorbidities is indirectly associated with nutritional status (β = −0.07; p < 0.017).Conclusion: The elicited outcomes in this study reinforce the concept that nutritional status is linked with functional status in older adults receiving in-home care nursing service.

Analysis on the Utilization of Home Nursing Care Service

Purpose: This study was analyzed the service utilization of subjects who participated in the home nursing care pilot project to improve the home nursing care service management system. Methods: The participants were 944 patients who received home nursing care services during the first and the second pilot project period. The study design was descriptive study to analyze the general characteristics, sickness characteristics, and records of the types of requests and use of home nursing care services. Results: There were many cases of home care nursing patients in the order of cesarean section, cerebral vascular disease, and cancer. The most common types of home care requests were suture removal and OP site dressing. The performance of home care was in the order of patient and caregiver education/training, dressing, removal of sutures, and breast massage. Conclusion: To activate the home nursing care service of medical institutions, it is necessary to supply more professional, efficient, and appropriate home nursing care services and establish a linkage system with other welfare services.

Long-term Dependency Outcomes in Older Adults Following Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgery for Cancer: A Population-based Analysis.

To evaluate healthcare dependency following hepatopancreato-biliary cancer surgery in older adults (OA). Functional outcomes are central to decisionmaking by OA, but long-term risks of dependency have not been described beyond 1 year in this population. All patients over age 70 undergoing hepatectomy or pancreatec-tomy for cancer between 2007 and 2017 in Ontario were analyzed. Outcomes were 1) receipt of homecare and 2) time at home. Homecare was analyzed with cumulative incidence functions, and time at home with Kaplan-Meier and Cox multivariate models. A total of 902 and 1283 patients underwent hepatectomy and pancreatectomy, respectively. Homecare use was highest (72.3%) in postoperative month-1, decreasing to stabilize between year-1 (25.5%) and year-5 (18.3%). Repeated receipt of homecare was associated with female sex (HR 1.18, 95% CI 1.05-1.32), receipt of adjuvant therapy (HR 1.56, 1.37-1.78), and more recent year of surgery (HR 3.80, 3.05-4.72). The ratio of home nursing care versus personal support services reversed from 68%/26% in year-1, to 29/64% in year-5. High time at home (>350 days) at 1 and 5 years were 40.6% (95% CI 38.5%-42.6%) and 28.1% (25.9%-30.3%), respectively. The ratio of institution-days in acute care versus nursing homes went from 77%/14% in year-1 to 23%/70% in year-5. Low time at home was associated with duodenal (HR 1.45, 1.15-1.70) and pancreas cancer (HR 1.20, 1.02-1.42), and with rural residence (HR 1.24, 1.04-1.48). High time at home was associated with more recent year of surgery (HR 0.84, 0.76-0.93) and perioperative cancer therapy (HR 0.88, 0.78-0.99). Increasing age was neither associated with homecare receipt nor time at home. Following hepatopancreatobiliary cancer surgery, there is a high rate of long-term healthcare dependency for OA. There is an immediate high need for homecare that reaches a new baseline after 6 months, and the majority of OA will have at least 1 year with low time at home, most commonly the first year. These findings can aid in preoperative preparation and transitional care planning.

Home-care nurses' community involvement activities and preference regarding the place for end-of-life period among single older adults: A cross-sectional study in Japan.

Older adults' preference regarding where they want to spend their end-of-life (EOL) has been reported to be a significant predictor of the actual EOL location. Home-care nurses have often been reported to try involving single older adults' neighbours in the support network of the older adults (community involvement activities) to allow them to stay at home. Hence, nurses' community involvement activities may be among the significant factors of older adults' preference to stay at home during EOL. Therefore, this study explored home-care nurses' community involvement activities and its association with single older adults' EOL preference. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted with older adults (aged 65years or older) who lived alone and used home-care nursing services for more than 6months, their home-care nurses, and managers of their home-care nursing agencies. Questions included participants' characteristics, nurses' community involvement activities and older adults' preference to remain at home during EOL. We conducted multiple logistic regression analyses to explore the relationship between nurses' community involvement activities and older adults' preference to remain at home during EOL while controlling for their demographic variables. In total, 103 pairs of home-care nurses and single older adults from 27 home-care nursing agencies participated. Approximately 70% of older adults preferred to remain at home during EOL, and 50% of nurses implemented community involvement activities. Older adults' preference to remain at home during EOL was associated with implementation of community involvement activities (Odds Ratio [OR]: 3.4; 95% Confidence Interval [95%CI]:1.1-9.8), home-care nurses' higher practical clinical ability (OR: 1.4, 95%CI:1.0-1.8), and older adult's longer use of home-care nursing service (OR: 2.2, 95%CI:1.2-4.1). Community involvement activities may be essential in helping single older adults to stay at home as per their preference for EOL.

Current Medical and Social Issues for Hospitalized Heart Failure Patients in Japan and Factors for Improving Their Outcomes - Insights From the REAL-HF Registry.

Background: We investigated the current medical and social conditions and outcomes of heart failure (HF) patients in Hiroshima Prefecture, a local district in Japan.Methods and Results: From March 2017 to February 2018 we enrolled all adult patients with hospitalized HF in 8 regional core hospitals that provided an interprofessional team approach for HF patients. We collected patients’ clinical characteristics and information regarding living circumstances, cognitive function, quality of life, and interprofessional team approach. For patients discharged home, we followed up the primary endpoint (all-cause death and all-cause unscheduled readmission), conditions of outpatient cardiac rehabilitation, and home nursing-care services over a 1-year period after discharge. Of the registered patients (n=1,218), 39.2% were super-elderly (≥85 years old); more than half of these patients had preserved ejection fraction (≥50%). In the follow-up cohort (n=632), 140 patients (22.2%) were readmitted with HF exacerbation as the primary endpoint, and almost half (n=295, 46.7%) experienced any primary endpoint. The multivariate analysis adjusted for medical and social factors showed that completion of outpatient cardiac rehabilitation (5-month program) remained a strong negative predictor of the primary endpoint (hazard ratio: 0.15; 95% confidence interval: 0.05–0.48; P=0.0013).Conclusions: Our cohort study highlighted the super-aging of current HF patients in Japan. Cardiac rehabilitation through continuous team approach appears to be associated with favorable overall outcomes in this population.

Implementation of an easy in-hospital educational stoma pathway results in decrease of home nursing care services after discharge.

New stoma patients often rely heavily on the assistance of the ward nursing staff during the hospital stay and on the availability of home nursing care services (HNCS) after discharge. An easily executable 4-day in-hospital educational stoma pathway was developed and implemented. The aim was to increase their level of independence (LOI) in order to reduce the need for HNCS after discharge. All new stoma patients on the gastrointestinal surgery ward, physically and psychologically capable of performing independent stoma care (SC), were enrolled in this pathway. They were compared to a retrospective control group of new stoma patients before the onset of the stoma pathway. The primary outcome is the need and frequency of HNCS for SC at the moment of discharge. Secondary outcome is the LOI in SC at discharge. A total of 145 patients [m:f=102:43, median age 67 (range 27-90) years] were included in the present study. Patients requiring daily HNCS for SC decreased from 80% to 50%, P<0.001; patients discharged without HNCS for SC increased from 5% to 27%. Patients' independence in SC at discharge increased from 8% to 68%, P<0.001. This study shows that a clinical 4-day in-hospital educational stoma pathway is feasible and effective in increasing the LOI in SC of new stoma patients and significantly reducing their need for HNCS. Cost-benefit analysis and applicability of this pathway in multicentre settings are currently being investigated.

Assessment of Medico-economic Relevance of Care of Polypathological Patients by a Reinforced Home Nursing Care Services (SSIAD) Device

Assessment of Medico-economic Relevance of Care of Polypathological Patients by a Reinforced Home Nursing Care Services (SSIAD) Device

Are community health workers more effective in identifying persons in need of home and community-based long-term services than standard-passive approaches

ABSTRACTConsumers prefer home and community-based long-term care (LTC) services (HCBS) but lack information on those services. We examined the use of community health workers (CHWs) to find and help Medicaid beneficiaries with unmet LTC needs access HCBS compared to standard HCBS outreach approaches. We found that CHWs were very effective at finding persons with greater needs and were better able to help them access a greater range of HCBS services. We also found that five times fewer HCBS beneficiaries helped by CHWs had to use nursing home care services than those not helped by the CHWs despite the fact that their health status was poorer than those not helped by the CHWs. Our study provides evidence of the effectiveness of CHWs for HCBS service awareness and navigation.

Current Medical and Social Conditions and Outcomes of Hospitalized Heart Failure Patients - Design and Baseline Information of the Cohort Study in Hiroshima.

Background: Information regarding current medical and social conditions and outcome of Japanese heart failure (HF) patients is needed. Methods and Results: The registry and follow-up study regarding the medical and social conditions and outcomes of hospitalized heart failure patients (REAL-HF) is maintained by 8 regional core hospitals, which provide an interprofessional team approach for HF patients, in Hiroshima Prefecture. We planned to enroll all adult patients hospitalized with symptomatic HF (congestive HF and/or low output syndrome) in 1 year from March 2017. We registered the clinical characteristics of each patient, including physical activity (able to walk independently), during the indexed hospitalization. Information regarding living circumstances, cognitive function test, questionnaire for quality of life (QOL), and interprofessional team approaches was also collected. For patients discharged home, we planned to follow all-cause death, all-cause unscheduled readmission, and the conditions of outpatient cardiac rehabilitation and home nursing-care services at 3 and 12 months after discharge. A total of 1,218 patients has been registered initially. Follow-up is ongoing, and data analysis is expected to be completed in 2019. Conclusions: The REAL-HF will provide a significant database on the current real conditions of hospitalized HF patients in a local district of Japan, elucidating medical and social risk factors of worsened QOL and prognosis.