Relationship of Facility Characteristics and Presence of an Ombudsman to Missouri Long-Term Care Facility State Inspection Report Results

Determinants of regulatory compliance in health and social care services: A systematic review using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research

BACKGROUND

The delivery of high quality care is a fundamental goal for health systems worldwide. One policy tool to ensure quality is the regulation of services by an independent public authority. This systematic review seeks to identify determinants of compliance with such regulation in health and social care services.

METHODS

Searches were carried out on five electronic databases and grey literature sources. Quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods studies were eligible for inclusion. Titles and abstracts were screened by two reviewers independently. Determinants were identified from the included studies, extracted and allocated to constructs in the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). The quality of included studies was appraised by two reviewers independently. The results were synthesised in a narrative review using the constructs of the CFIR as grouping themes.

RESULTS

The search yielded 7,500 articles for screening, of which 157 were included. Most studies were quantitative designs in nursing home settings and were conducted in the United States. Determinants were largely structural in nature and allocated most frequently to the inner and outer setting domains of the CFIR. The following structural characteristics and compliance were found to be positively associated: smaller facilities (measured by bed capacity); higher nurse-staffing levels; and lower staff turnover. A facility's geographic location and compliance was also associated. It was difficult to make findings in respect of process determinants as qualitative studies were sparse, limiting investigation of the processes underlying regulatory compliance.

CONCLUSION

The literature in this field has focused to date on structural attributes of compliant providers, perhaps because these are easier to measure, and has neglected more complex processes around the implementation of regulatory standards. A number of gaps, particularly in terms of qualitative work, are evident in the literature and further research in this area is needed to provide a clearer picture.

The Impact of Long-Term Care Ombudsman Presence on Nursing Home Survey Deficiencies

OBJECTIVES

Each year states are required to survey nursing homes (NHs), including issuing deficiency citations when regulatory standards are not met. These deficiency citations can have substantial consequences for NHs. Because it is imperative that the survey process is conducted consistently across facilities, this study aims to determine whether deficiency outcomes vary with the presence of a long-term care ombudsman at the survey.

DESIGN

A retrospective secondary data analysis of facility-level data using panel regression techniques was used to determine whether the presence of an ombudsman at a survey affected deficiency outcomes. Additional analysis assured the results were not due to ombudsmen being more likely to be present at poorer performing facilities.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

The data include freestanding NHs in the United States with at least 2 surveys between 2009 and 2015, resulting in 95,237 surveys from 14,996 unique NHs.

MEASURES

The number and deficiency score were analyzed for 4 types of deficiencies: all deficiencies and the broad categories of quality of care, quality of life, and administration. The key explanatory variable is the presence of an ombudsman at survey. The regression model controlled for other important facility-level covariates.

RESULTS

The presence of an ombudsman varied across states (range: 0.8%-82.0%; mean: 29.9%). Regression analysis found ombudsman presence was associated with a 0.2 increase in the number of deficiencies and 2.2-point increase in deficiency score. These correspond to a 3.9% and 5.9% increase, respectively. On a percentage basis, the largest effects were found for quality of life and administration deficiencies.

CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS

By being present at surveys, ombudsmen may bring issues to the attention of state surveyors, resulting in worse deficiency outcomes during annual surveys. This can have consequences for NHs, and further work is needed to assure that ombudsmen are using their resources where they are most needed.

Improving antipsychotic prescribing practices in nursing facilities: The role of surveyor methods and surveying agencies in upholding the Nursing Home Reform Act

BACKGROUND

Inappropriate prescribing of antipsychotics is a longstanding challenge to providing high quality care in nursing facilities. The 1987 Nursing Home Reform Act (NHRA) had an initial impact in reducing inappropriate prescribing, but rates returned to pre-NHRA levels. While the recent Partnership to Improve Dementia Care in Nursing Homes (Partnership) initiative has been successful in reducing the prescribing of antipsychotics in skilled nursing facilities/nursing facilities (NF), it is not known how this guidance initiative impacted prescribing practices and other care processes concerning NF residents with dementia.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this study were to explore surveyor observations of NF care practices subsequent to participation the Partnership guidance program and to use a social ecological framework to estimate how these observations were influenced by individual, organizational, and contextual factors.

METHODS

A total of 320 NF surveyors responded to a 49-item questionnaire designed in collaboration with CMS officials and state surveying agency personnel, and distributed by state agency directors. Three outcome variables: measuring improvements in clinical care, deficiencies in clinical care, and falsification of records in response to the Partnership initiative, were created from survey responses. A four-level social ecological framework describing the NF surveyor's environment was used to identify potential influences on surveyors' care observations. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the relationship between environment and outcome variables.

RESULTS

Surveyors observed both improvements in clinical care, including 80.6% reporting nursing facility providers responding to consultant pharmacists' recommendations, and deficits in clinical care in response to the Partnership initiative. Furthermore, 39.7% of surveyors observed a new, but false, diagnosis of psychosis (as defined by the surveyor). Surveyor characteristics and methods and surveying agency and culture were found to substantially impact the success of the Partnership initiative. The most distal level of the framework evaluated in this study, state contextual effects, was found not to impact care observations.

CONCLUSIONS

There is substantial variation in surveyor observations of changes to clinical care in response to the Partnership guidance initiative. Further investigation is needed into the type and severity of falsification of records observed by nursing facility surveyors. When constructing interventions to care for residents in NFs, policymakers must consider the environment in which surveyors operate.

Policies to protect persons with dementia in assisted living: déjà vu all over again?

Continued growth in the number of individuals with dementia residing in assisted living (AL) raises concerns about their safety and protection. In this Forum, we review current AL practices relevant to residents with dementia and present a rationale for examining the government role in protecting these individuals within this context. Since public oversight of AL is currently a state prerogative, we assess states' regulatory activity across 3 domains closely related to safety and protection of persons with dementia: environmental features, staffing, and use of chemical restraints. We then step back to consider the state policymaking environment and assess the feasibility of developing a minimum standard of regulations from one state to the next. This Forum concludes with a historical comparison between the contemporary AL market and the nursing home care market prior to the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987, and we discuss how an increased amount of federal interest could improve existing state efforts to protect persons with dementia residing in AL.