Quality Of Care Outcomes Research Articles

The Promises and Perils of Hospital Mergers

Over the course of several decades, mergers have been regular occurrences within the business sector. Since healthcare is an industry, it is common knowledge that hospitals – for better or worse – have not been immune from this business-driven phenomenon. Utilizing select sources from both the management and financial literature, this paper will briefly examine how and why hospital mergers have occurred and changed, how they have achieved or failed their intended purposes, and some of the potential obstacles that may surface in existing and future healthcare consolidations that include hospitals and other provider groups. Consequently, solid evidence must be made available to prove that current and future mergers deliver what they promise – namely, clear communications, quality care outcomes, and reduced costs.

Home Health Agency Ownership and Quality of Care Outcomes Among Medicare Beneficiaries

Medicare restructured home healthcare reimbursement from a cost-basis to a 60- day risk-based prospective payment system (PPS) in 2000 to implement the value-based payment model for home healthcare services. Currently home healthcare market in the U.S. is dominated by the presence of for-profit (FP) agencies instead of being primarily served by not-for-profit (NFP) agencies. Using data from the 2016-2018 OASIS for beneficiaries participated in the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) (N=6,115), the current study examines whether home health agency ownership status is associated with length of stay (LOS) and discharge outcome Medicare home health care patients. Our first outcome variable is discharge status (modeled via ordered probit) with three categories: discharge to the community, inpatient hospital and other long-term care facilities. The second outcome variable is LOS and two dummy variables LOS ≤ 30 days and LOS ≥ 99 days were modeled via binary probit. The key independent variable was the ownership status of the agency (FP vs. NFP). Patient level covariates includes demographics (age, gender, race/ethnicity, marital status), comorbidity index, agency characteristics (metropolitan statistical area, hospital-based). Patients in FP agencies were 5.1% (p<0.01) less likely to discharge to community, 15.3% (p<0.001) less likely to have LOS ≤ 30 days but 7.5% (p<0.001) more likely to have LOS ≥ 99 higher compared to patients from NFP agencies under the PPS. Our results have important implications for clinicians, patients and healthcare professionals to be cognizant about the influence of agency ownership on the delivery of healthcare services in home healthcare sector.

Dementia Ready: Comparing Approaches for Building Caregiver Readiness and Knowledge of Dementia

Despite the rising prevalence of dementia and the high cost and complexity of care for people with dementia, most dementia care is provided at home by informal caregivers who are not clinically trained. Building caregiver readiness and knowledge of dementia is key to supporting quality care and desirable health outcomes, such as preventing falls and reducing nursing home admissions. We sought to determine and compare the impact of two interventions—Resilient Living with Dementia (RLWD) and Care of Persons with Dementia in their Environments (COPE)—and of their combined delivery (both RLWD and COPE) on increasing caregiver readiness and knowledge of dementia. Between January 2019 and March 2021, 77 caregivers of people with dementia in Connecticut participated in RLWD and/or COPE and completed the Alzheimer’s Disease Knowledge Scale (ADKS) and the Preparedness for Caregiving Scale (PCGS) at baseline and at four-month and ten-month follow-ups. Analyses were conducted to compare outcomes by intervention(s). From baseline to four months and to ten months, we observed statistically significant (p < .05) improvement on the ADKS among participants in RLWD, and on the PCGS among participants in COPE and among participants in RLWD. The most substantial impact on PCGS was observed among participants in both COPE and RLWD. No improvement in the ADKS was observed among participants in only COPE, but ADKS improvement was observed at four months among participants in COPE and RLWD. Findings suggest that the benefits of COPE and RLWD for building dementia caregiver readiness are complementary and mutually reinforcing.

Acute Care Nurse Practitioner-Led Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Simulation Training.

Acute Care Nurse Practitioner-Led Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Simulation Training.

Telehealth in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: before, during, and after the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Purpose of reviewMany healthcare systems rapidly implemented telehealth as a substitute for in-person care during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The purpose of this review is to describe the evidence base supporting the use of telehealth for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, discuss the barriers to implementing telehealth during the pandemic, and share our opinion about the future of telehealth in COPD.Recent findingsThe evidence from randomized clinical trials in COPD completed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic indicate that the effectiveness of telehealth interventions compared to in-person usual care on clinical outcomes is inconclusive. Recent experience during the COVID-19 pandemic indicates that telehealth may increase access to healthcare and satisfaction with care when delivered in addition to usual in-person care. While some reimbursement-related barriers to telehealth have been alleviated during the COVID-19 pandemic, several patient, provider, and health-system barriers to implementation remain.SummaryThere is a need to further evaluate the delivery of telehealth services as an adjunct to traditional in-person models of COPD care. Standardization and reporting of core clinical, satisfaction, accessibility, and quality of care outcomes are needed to promote cross-study learning and more rapid translation of research evidence into practice.

Impact of workforce flexibility on quality of care: moderating effects of workload and severity of illness

PurposeAs a way of alleviating nursing workforce shortages, health care managers are employing two types of workforce flexibility: supplemental staffing and floating among units. In this paper, the authors investigate the moderating effects of two critical situational variables – namely, job-level workload and severity of illness (SOI) in a given unit – on the relationship between workforce flexibility and quality of care as assessed by the nurses at the unit-level.Design/methodology/approachThe authors empirically test the relationship between a unit's floating of nurses and the use of supplemental workforce on the quality of patient care and the moderating role of patient SOI and job-level workload on this relationship using 357 hospital-unit observations.FindingsThe authors find that situational variables play a critical role in flexible staffing strategies and they should be accounted for carefully to obtain the best quality of care outcomes. The authors find that the well-known negative effect of supplemental staffing on quality of care is not universal and appears to be moderated by the situational factors studied in this paper.Practical implicationsFor best outcomes, staffing manager who oversee multiple units should use supplemental staff on units that have lower job-level workload and on units that have high severity of illness. The authors also find that managers of units with patients who are less-severely ill should encourage nurses to float out and return to their home unit. This strategy will improve quality of patient care in the home unit.Originality/valueWhile some research analyzes the direct link between flexibility and quality performance, how this relationship is affected by varying situational factors within a unit has not been studied so far.

A Narrative Review of Slow Medicine Outcomes.

Primary care practice in the United States suffers from short consultation duration and distracting electronic health record tasks. This leads to patient and physician dissatisfaction and physician burnout, as well as potentially unnecessary referrals and interventions. Slow medicine - providing longer and higher-quality consultations - has been proposed to improve medical care quality and patient outcomes. However, definitive outcome data for US settings are lacking. Following a structured narrative approach, we identified, reviewed, and synthesized existing reports (peer-reviewed and grey) to determine if there is sufficient evidence to support systematic evaluation of slow medicine in the US. We assessed whether longer versus shorter face-to-face primary care consultations were associated with quantitative patient outcomes including utilization; prevention; visit elements; medication adherence and prescription volume; mortality; and costs. We found suggestive evidence of substantial savings in hospital use and costs in varied geographic and clinical settings. However, this evidence lacks investigative rigor such as convincing prospective or natural randomization. With potentially significant health and financial benefits from slow medicine and little risk to subjects, randomized trials, natural experiments, and mixed methods evaluations are strongly indicated. We discuss the need for modified payment practices to facilitate a slow medicine approach.

The Association of Hospital Magnet® Status and Pay-for-Performance Penalties.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Pay-for-Performance (P4P) programs aim to improve hospital care through financial incentives for care quality and patient outcomes. Magnet® recognition-a potential pathway for improving nurse work environments-is associated with better patient outcomes and P4P program scores, but whether these indicators of higher quality are substantial enough to avoid penalties and thereby impact hospital reimbursements is unknown. This cross-sectional study used a national sample of 2,860 hospitals to examine the relationship between hospital Magnet® status and P4P penalties under P4P programs: Hospital Readmission Reduction Program, Hospital-Acquired Conditions (HAC) Reduction Program, Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program. Magnet® hospitals were matched 1:1 with non-Magnet hospitals accounting for 13 organizational characteristics including hospital size and location. Post-match logistic regression models were used to compute a hospital's odds of penalties. In a national sample of hospitals, 77% of hospitals experienced P4P penalties. Magnet® hospitals were less likely to be penalized in the VBP program compared to their matched non-Magnet counterparts (40% vs. 48%). Magnet® status was associated with 30% lower odds of VBP penalties relative to non-Magnet hospitals. Lower P4P program penalties is one benefit associated with achieving Magnet® status or otherwise maintaining high-quality nurse work environments.

The level of quality care nurse practitioners provide compared with their physician colleagues in the primary care setting: A systematic review.

There is an increasing demand for high-quality primary care providers without adequate supply to meet the need. Nurse practitioners (NPs) are uniquely positioned to fill this demand but influence on regulatory practice authority from concerned groups regarding patient safety and quality of care has delayed this as an effective solution. The objective was to address concerns abovt NP-led care by examining evidence regarding patient safety, clinical outcomes, cost, and patient satisfaction that reflect on the ability of NPs to provide high-quality care within the primary care setting and to compare their ability with standard models of care led by physicians. A systematic review was completed using PubMed, CINHAL Complete, and Scopus. Using PRISMA guidelines to critique literature and the John's Hopkins Research Evidence Appraisal tool, articles were analyzed comparing the quality of care between NP and physician providers in the primary care setting. A total of 11 articles met the criteria and reveal that NPs provide equal or better quality of care for all outcomes outcomes when compared with their physician colleagues. Quality patient care provided by NPs in the primary care setting is equal to, and in several cases superior to, that of physicians. Concerns for patient safety and quality care outcomes seem unsupported by data, and state legislatures should continue to grant full practice authority. as an effective source of providing high-quality primary health care.

The Perception of Quality Nursing Work Environment among Hospital Nurses

Background: Nurses, the more significant health care provider, need an excellent work environment that adequately expresses their skills and knowledge on providing optimum care quality outcomes to the patients. Objective: This study aimed to determine the current state of the nurses’ perceived work environment quality and examine differences in perceived work environment quality among nurses with different characteristics. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional correlation design and a probability sampling method recruit 334 hospital nurses. The self-report questionnaire scale of the Quality Nursing Work Environment (QNWE) was used to collect data. Descriptive statistics, variant analysis (ANOVA), independent-sample t-test, and Pearson correlation were utilized to analyze comprehensive data. Result: The participants reported a perceived moderate level of quality of the work environment. The perceived QNWE levels were found to differ across participants' ages statistically (p<0.05), work experience (p<0.01), and department (p<0.05). Most participants rated their working environment as high quality on the domain Professional specialization and cooperation (M=2.81; SD=0.53). Contrarily, the responses to domain 2, Staff quality, were ranked lower (M= 3.32; SD=0.63). Nurses who worked in the special care units and had three years or more experience perceived lower work environment quality than others did. Recommendation: The finding of this study can be utilized as a guideline to the policymakers, hospital administrators, nurse supervisors, and educators to determine areas to improve nurses' work environment; which could translate into a significant improvement in patient outcome

Impact of COVID-19 and other infectious conditions requiring isolation on the provision of and adaptations to fundamental nursing care in hospital in terms of overall patient experience, care quality, functional ability, and treatment outcomes: systematic review.

AimThis systematic review identifies, appraises and synthesizes the evidence on the provision of fundamental nursing care to hospitalized patients with a highly infectious virus and the effectiveness of adaptations to overcome barriers to care.DesignSystematic review.Data SourcesIn July 2020, we searched Medline, PsycINFO (OvidSP), CINAHL (EBSCOhost), BNI (ProQuest), WHO COVID‐19 Database (https://search.bvsalud.org/) MedRxiv (https://www.medrxiv.org/), bioRxiv (https://www.biorxiv.org/) and also Google Scholar, TRIP database and NICE Evidence, forwards citation searching and reference checking of included papers, from 2016 onwards.Review MethodsWe included quantitative and qualitative research reporting (i) the views, perceptions and experiences of patients who have received fundamental nursing care whilst in hospital with COVID‐19, MERS, SARS, H1N1 or EVD or (ii) the views, perceptions and experiences of professional nurses and non‐professionally registered care workers who have provided that care. We included review articles, commentaries, protocols and guidance documents. One reviewer performed data extraction and quality appraisal and was checked by another person.ResultsOf 3086 references, we included 64 articles; 19 empirical research and 45 review articles, commentaries, protocols and guidance documents spanning five pandemics. Four main themes (and 11 sub‐themes) were identified. Barriers to delivering fundamental care were wearing personal protective equipment, adequate staffing, infection control procedures and emotional challenges of care. These barriers were addressed by multiple adaptations to communication, organization of care, staff support and leadership.ConclusionTo prepare for continuation of the COVID‐19 pandemic and future pandemics, evaluative studies of adaptations to fundamental healthcare delivery must be prioritized to enable evidence‐based care to be provided in future.ImpactOur review identifies the barriers nurses experience in providing fundamental care during a pandemic, highlights potential adaptations that address barriers and ensure positive healthcare experiences and draws attention to the need for evaluative research on fundamental care practices during pandemics.

Cultural adaptation and psychometric properties of the Jefferson empathy scale health professions students\u2019 version in SpanishOccupational therapy students

BackgroundIn occupational therapy, empathy is a fundamental concept and has a positive impact on health and quality of care outcomes for patients. It is a basic and essential concept that should prevail in the training of occupational therapy students. The aim of this study is to validate and cross-culturally adapt the Jefferson Medical Empathy Scale, version for health professionals (JSE-HPS) in a sample of Spanish university students of occupational therapy.MethodsA cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted between 2019 and 2020. A convenience sample was selected, consisting of 221 students from the four courses of the Occupational Therapy degree at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos during the 2019–20 academic year. Each of the participants voluntarily and anonymously completed a sociodemographic data sheet (including age and sex), in addition to the following assessment scales: JSE-HPS and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI).ResultsA culturally adapted version of the JSE-HPS that guarantees conceptual and grammatical equivalence specific to the study population was obtained. The psychometric analysis of the translated version showed a Cronbach coefficient α of 0.786. The test-retest reliability analysis showed an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.90 (95% CI = 0.86–0.93, p < 0.0001). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed positive results (χ2 = 269.095, df = 167, p < 0.001, Confirmatory Fit Index [CFI] = 0.90, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation [RMSEA] = 0.04).ConclusionThe cultural adaptation and psychometric results suggest that the Spanish version of the JSE-HPS is a valid and reliable way to evaluate the empathic ability of occupational therapy students.

Strategies to Improve the Quality of Team-Based Care for Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome.

Prioritizing nonpharmacologic care for neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) requires a team-based care (TBC) approach to facilitate staff and family engagement. We aimed to identify the important structures and processes of care for TBC of infants with NAS and quality of care outcomes that are meaningful to care team members (including parents). Using a Donabedian framework, we conducted semistructured interviews from May to October 2019 with care team members at 3 community hospitals, including parents, nurses, social workers, physicians, lactation nurses, child protective services, volunteers, and hospital administrators. We used thematic analysis to identify important structures, processes of care, and outcomes. We interviewed 45 interprofessional care team members: 35 providers and 10 parents. Structures critical to providing TBC included (1) building a comprehensive network of interprofessional team members and (2) creating an NAS specialized unit. Necessary processes of care included (1) prioritizing early involvement of interprofessional team members, (2) emphasizing nonjudgmental incorporation of previous experience with addiction, (3) establishing clear roles and expectations, and (4) maintaining transparency with social services. Lastly, we identified 9 outcomes resulting from these identified structures and processes that are meaningful to care team members to assess the quality of care for infants with NAS. In this study, we identify important structures, processes of care, and meaningful outcomes to enhance and evaluate TBC for infants with NAS. Hospitals that adopt and implement these structures and processes have the potential to improve the quality of care for infants, caregivers, and providers who care for these infants.

Narrative Inquiry Into Nursing Care of Pregnant Women and Families in Specialized Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment Settings

ObjectiveTo examine how nurses describe caring for women and families in specialized fetal diagnosis and treatment settings. DesignWe used narrative inquiry. SettingA secure online survey platform. ParticipantsWe recruited 26 nurses from the Fetal Therapy Nurse Network as a subsample from a prior Delphi study on the essential structures, processes, outcomes, and challenges of nursing practice in the emerging field of fetal diagnosis and treatment. MethodsWe used narrative inquiry and Clandinin’s three-dimensional space narrative analysis to interpret the stories provided by participants to illustrate their practice and the relationship between their practice and care quality and health outcomes. ResultsParticipants described three primary types of fetal diagnoses and management scenarios: prenatal intervention (maternal–fetal surgery to treat a fetal anomaly), postnatal intervention (neonatal surgery), and perinatal palliative care (continuation of a pregnancy after a life-limiting fetal diagnosis). We identified three overarching themes related to nursing processes: A Sounding Board: Counseling the Pregnant Woman and Family, A Care Coordinator: Orchestrating a Complex Journey, and A Constant Presence: Being With the Pregnant Woman and Family. We also identified specific outcomes related to nursing care. ConclusionWe used narrative inquiry to expand on prior research and advance the conceptualization of a model of nursing practice in fetal diagnosis and treatment settings. Our results provide a basis to begin to test theories that connect nursing practice to care quality and outcomes in clinical practice settings. To comprehensively evaluate and enhance care as it evolves and expands, the immediate and long-term effects of nursing practice must be identified.

Urban, Low-Income, African American Well-Child Care: Comparison of Parent and Healthcare Provider Experiences and Expectations

Urban, low-income, African American children and parents report lower quality primary care and face negative social determinants of health. High-quality well-child care is critical for this population. The purpose of this qualitative study was to compare and contrast parent and health care provider experiences of well-child care for urban, low-income, African American families to better understand the complex factors involved in care quality and health outcomes. Two data sets were analyzed using conventional content analysis, parent focus group data, and provider interviews. After analysis, results were sorted into similar categories, and convergence coding was completed to identify areas of agreement, partial agreement, dissonance, and silence. Thirty-five parents took part in four focus groups, and nine providers were interviewed. Following convergence coding, five categories and 31 subcategories were identified. The five categories included: social determinants of health, sources of advice and support, challenges with the healthcare system, parent-provider relationships, and anticipatory guidance topics. Triangulation demonstrated convergence between parents and providers understanding of the concepts and functions of well-child care, however the prominence and meaning varied within each category and sub-category. The variance in agreement, areas of silence, and dissonance shed light on why the population reports lower overall quality primary care.

Family Caregiver and Provider Perspectives on Inclusive Care: Aligning Needs and Expectations.

Home-based and community-based health care for individuals with complex medical conditions is often provided by family caregivers. Yet caregivers often are not meaningfully included in interactions with clinical health care teams. Inclusive care means inviting the caregiver to participate in shared decision-making and treatment planning. For aging or medically vulnerable adults, caregiver inclusion is an important facet of patient-centered care. We apply a mixed-methods approach using a survey (n=50) and semistructured interview data (n=13) from a national sample of caregivers of veterans and semistructured interview data from (n=24) providers from 3 Veterans Affairs regional networks. We elicited data from caregivers about their experiences with inclusive care and how providers communicate with them and assess their capacity. We juxtaposed these data with provider perspectives to see where there was alignment. We determined that caregivers play important roles in trust-building, communications management, implementation of care plans at home or in the community, and improving the care of care recipients-while maintaining a balance between competing tensions. Our findings suggest that expanding inclusive care could improve care quality and health outcomes of individuals with complex health care needs. Further, our findings bolster recent policy efforts at the federal and state levels to increase recognition of caregivers as key members of the health care team.

Mitigating unintended consequences of co-design in health care.

BackgroundCo‐design and associated terms are increasingly being used to facilitate values‐based approaches to health‐care improvement. It is messy and complex, involving diverse actors.MethodsWe explore the notion that initiatives have outcomes other than initially planned is neither new nor novel but is overlooked when thinking about co‐design. We explore some of the unintended consequences and outline some optimal conditions that can mitigate challenges.DiscussionAlthough co‐design approaches are being applied in health care, questions remain regarding its ability to produce gains in health outcomes. Little is known about determining whether co‐design is the most suitable approach to achieve the given project goals, the levels of involvement required to realize the benefits of co‐design or the potential unintended consequences. There is a risk of further marginalizing or adding burden to under‐represented populations and/or over‐researched populations.ConclusionUndertaking a co‐design approach without the optimal conditions for inclusive involvement by all may not result in an equal partnership or improve health or care quality outcomes. Co‐design requires on‐going reflective discussions and deliberative thinking to remove any power imbalances. However, without adequate resources, a focus on implementation and support from senior leaders, it is a tough ask to achieve.Patient or Public ContributionThis viewpoint article was written by two academics who have undertaken a significant amount of PPI and co‐design work with members of the public and patient's right across the health system. Our work guided the focus of this viewpoint as we reflected on our experiences.

Health boards' governance of quality and risk: quality improvement agenda for the board

PurposeThis study explores key governance, leadership and management activities that have impact on quality, risk and safety within Australian healthcare organisations.Design/methodology/approachCurrent non-executive directors (n = 12) of public and private health boards were interviewed about contemporary approaches to fiduciary and corporate responsibilities for quality assurance and improvement outcomes in the context of risk and safety management for patient care. Verbatim transcripts were subjected to thematic analysis triangulated with Leximancer-based text mining.FindingsBoards operate in a strong legislative, healthcare standards and normative environment of quality and risk management. Support and influence that create a positive quality and risk management culture within the organisation, actions that disseminate quality and risk broadly and at depth for all levels, and implementation and sustained development of quality and risk systems that report on and contain risk were critical tasks for boards and their directors.Practical implicationsFindings from this study may provide health directors with key quality and risk management agenda points to expand or deepen the impact of governance around health facilities' quality and risk management.Originality/valueThis study has identified key governance activities and responsibilities where boards demonstrate that they add value in terms of potential improvement to hospital and health service quality care outcomes. The demonstrable influence identified makes an important contribution to our understanding of healthcare governance.

Will Improvements in Patient Experience With Care Impact Clinical and Quality of Care Outcomes?: A Systematic Review.

Patient experiences with health care have been widely used as benchmark indicators of quality for providers, health care practices, and health plans. The objective of this study was to summarize the literature regarding the associations between Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) patient experiences and clinical and quality outcomes. A systematic review of the literature was completed using PubMed, Embase, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature on December 14, 2019. Separate searches were conducted to query terms identifying CAHPS surveys with clinical and quality outcomes of care. Two reviewers completed all components of the search process. Studies investigating associations between CAHPS composite ratings and health care sensitive clinical outcomes or quality measures of care were included in this review. Studies were excluded if they did not investigate patient experiences using CAHPS composite ratings or if CAHPS composites were not treated as the independent variable. Nineteen studies met inclusion criteria, 10 investigating associations of CAHPS composite ratings with clinical outcomes and 9 investigating these associations with quality measures. Patient-provider communication was the most studied CAHPS composite rating and was significantly associated with self-reported physical and mental health, frequency of emergency room visits and inpatient hospital stays, hospitalization length, and CAHPS personal physician global ratings. Ratings of patient experience with care may influence clinical and quality outcomes of care. However, key inconsistencies between studies affirm that more research is needed to solidify this conclusion and investigate how patient experiences differentially relate to outcomes for various patient groups.

Benefits Conferred by Peer-Support Nursing Intervention to Pulmonary Function and Quality of Life in Nonsmoking Patients with COPD.

Objective Peer support is a concept of substantial significance to health scientists and practitioners today due to its focus shifting from disease treatment to health promotion. Effective incorporation peer relationships in support-enhancing interventions could improve quality care and health outcomes. More and more cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have been diagnosed in nonsmokers. In this study, the effects of peer-support nursing intervention on the pulmonary function and quality of life of nonsmoking patients with COPD were investigated. Methods A total of 100 COPD nonsmoking patients admitted to our hospital from October 2018 to October 2020 were selected as study subjects. All nonsmoking patients were in accordance with the guidelines of COPD diagnosis and treatment issued by the Respiratory Medicine Branch of Chinese Medical Association, and they were not in the habit of smoking. According to the different interventions, the nonsmoking patients were divided into the control group (n = 50) and the observation group (n = 50). Among them, nonsmoking patients in the control group received routine care, and nonsmoking patients in the observation group received routine care and peer-support nursing. The difference on the scores of social support, self-management efficacy, healthy lifestyle, and the distance of six-minute walking were to be compared between the two groups before and after the intervention. Results There was no significant statistical difference on the general information between the two groups in terms of age, gender, and course of disease (P > 0.05). Before intervention, the social support score involving subjective support, objective support, utilization of support, and total score revealed slight difference between the two groups (P > 0.05). However, after the intervention, the subjective support, utilization of support, and total score remained statistically different between the two groups (P < 0.05), and the objective support showed no significant difference between the two groups (P > 0.05). Before intervention, there was no statistical difference in the self-management efficacy scores such as positive attitude, stress reduction, self-decision-making, and total score between the two groups (P > 0.05). After the intervention, the two groups indicated statistical difference in the self-management efficacy scores (P < 0.05). Before intervention, there was no significant difference between the two groups in the healthy lifestyle score in terms of health responsibility, self-realization, interpersonal support, and stress management (P > 0.05), and the abovementioned outcome measures indicated significant difference between the two groups after intervention (P < 0.05). There was no statistical difference in six-minute walking distance between the two groups before the intervention (P > 0.05), but after the intervention, the observation group revealed a significantly longer distance of six-minute walking compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion These data suggest that peer-support nursing intervention can effectively improve pulmonary function and quality of life of nonsmoking patients with COPD.