Objective: Quality improvement (QI) processes in nursing homes are highly variable and often ineffective. This study evaluated an innovative QI process to reduce pressure ulcers (PUs) in a nursing home with a high rate of PUs.
Design: This was a 48-week, longitudinal study comparing the incidence of PUs during 12-week baseline and intervention and post-intervention periods.
Setting: Not-for-profit, 136-bed nursing home in urban Western Pennsylvania.
Patients Or Other Participants: All residents and all staff at the nursing home participated in this study.
Interventions: The intervention consisted of 3 components: Ability enhancement, incentivization, and management feedback. To enhance ability, all staff members completed a computer-based interactive video education program on PU prevention and were mandated to use penlights to promote early detection. Incentivization included $75 for each staff member if the desired reduction in PU incidence was achieved. Management feedback provided real-time information of staff"s adherence to the mandated training.
Main Outcome Measures: Outcome measures consisted of staff's adherence to mandated training and the incidence of new PUs during the baseline period compared to the intervention and post-intervention periods.
Results: Management responded to noncompliance with training with both rewards and stepped discipline. Adherence to protocol, as measured by training compliance, was 100%. There was a significant reduction (P < .05) in the incidence of stage 2 or worse PUs during the intervention period. During the post-intervention periods, the effect was lost.
Conclusion: An innovative QI initiative resulted in a significant decrease in PUs in 1 facility. This intervention was not sustainable when the 3 components of the QI intervention were no longer actively maintained.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2005.08.003 | DOI Listing |
BMC Med Inform Decis Mak
January 2025
Global and Tropical Health Division, Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Dili, Timor-Leste.
Background: Effective diagnostic capacity is crucial for clinical decision-making, with up to 70% of decisions in high-resource settings based on laboratory test results. However, in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) access to diagnostic services is often limited due to the absence of Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS). LIMS streamline laboratory operations by automating sample handling, analysis, and reporting, leading to improved quality and faster results.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Microbiol
January 2025
Center for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil.
Amazonian Dark Earths (ADEs) are fertile soils from the Amazon rainforest that harbor microorganisms with biotechnological potential. This study aimed to investigate the individual and potential synergistic effects of a 2% portion of ADEs and Urochloa brizantha cv. Marandu roots (Brazil's most common grass species used for pastures) on soil prokaryotic communities and overall soil attributes in degraded soil.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Clin Neurosci
January 2025
Department of Nursing, the Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Lishui Central Hospital, Lishui 323000, Zhejiang Province, China. Electronic address:
Objective: The objective of this study was to develop a scale to assess the self-management capability of patients with spinal cord injuries and provide an evaluation tool for implementing targeted interventions.
Methods: Drawing upon the Integrated Theory of Health Behavior Change (ITHBC) and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) framework, an initial version of the Spinal Cord Injury Patient Self-Management Capability Assessment Scale was developed through literature analysis, semi-structured interviews, and expert inquiry using the Delphi method. Subsequently, two rounds of inquiries were conducted with a panel of 20 experts to refine items in the scale based on the feedback obtained.
Arch Rehabil Res Clin Transl
December 2024
Section of Neurorehabilitation, Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
Nystagmus has various clinical manifestations, including downbeat, upbeat, and torsional types, each associated with distinct neurologic features. Current rehabilitative interventions focusing on fixation training and optical correction often fail to achieve complete resolution. When nystagmus coexists with fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS), functional impairments worsen, particularly affecting balance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFConserv Biol
January 2025
Department of Food and Resource Economics, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark.
Thousands of plants, fungi, and lichen species are traded every year. Although sustainable use is critical for livelihoods and biodiversity conservation, insufficient data prevent detailed sustainability assessments for most species. How can the sustainability of trade in such data-deficient species be enhanced? We considered a country-level example of 300 medicinal and aromatic plant, fungus, and lichen species traded in tens of thousands of tons worth tens of millions of US dollars in and from Nepal annually.
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