29 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
Skilled Nursing Facility at Home is a multicenter randomized control trial that aims to evaluate a home-based model of providing post-acute care (PAC). We will enroll 650 hospitalized patients who require rehabilitation and/or skilled-nursing support upon discharge and randomly assign them to an intervention (home-based PAC) or control arm (facility-based PAC). Our design includes two different health systems in Massachusetts: Baystate Health and UMass Memorial Health. We will perform 1:1 randomization between the intervention and control arm using a permuted block design, with stratification by clinical site and payor group. The primary outcome of the trial will be the difference in hospital readmission and mortality rates from the time of enrollment to 30 days after enrollment. Secondary clinical, functional, and cost outcomes include length of stay in PAC, difference in health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and healthcare cost and utilization.
We will perform a parallel-group multicenter patient-level randomized controlled evaluation of skilled nursing facility care at home. Patients typically referred to a skilled nursing facility following hospitalization will be eligible for enrollment. Instead of admission to a skilled nursing facility, participants will receive care from a technology-enabled team in their own homes or will be allocated to receive care in a traditional skilled nursing facility setting.
The goal of this clinical trial is to compare three care models for optimizing medications and preventing falls with broken bones in patients receiving rehabilitation after a hospitalization for a broken bone. The primary outcome is injurious falls, with secondary outcomes measuring how the process of care is changed and capturing patient-reported outcomes valued by stakeholders. The main questions this study aims to answer are: * Which of the three models is more effective in preventing falls with fractures? * What are the differences in patient-centered outcomes amongst the three models? These include pain, depression, anxiety, sleep, medication side effect burden, and fear of falling. * What are the differences in osteoporosis treatment and medication burden? The three care models are: a Deprescribing Care Model designed to reduce or stop fall-related medications, a Bone Heath Service Model designed to provide osteoporosis evaluation and management, and an Injury Prevention Service Model offering both services. 42 SNFs will participate in this study. The three models will be incorporated into the routine care of patients at these facilities who are receiving rehabilitation after a hospitalization for a fracture. All care models will be delivered remotely to patients in the SNF and after they transition home by a post-fracture nurse consultant supported by an interprofessional team. This study has three aims. See Detailed Description for more details. This ClinicalTrials.gov record represents the Comparative Effectiveness Aim of the protocol.
This cluster randomized clinical trial seeks to provide large-scale, foundational evidence that high-intensity rehabilitation is effective and can be systematically implemented to improve functional outcomes for patients admitted to skilled nursing facilities following hospitalization. Additionally, this study will generate a descriptive overview of factors that predict implementation success while informing effective implementation strategies for future skilled nursing facilities innovation.
The COVID-19 pandemic ravaged United States skilled-nursing facilities (SNFs). Novel strategies that maximize the safety and quality of life for SNF residents with ADRD and staff who care for them are urgently needed. Thus, the study's objectives are: 1. To rapidly plan and pilot test an intervention that leverages COVID-19 antibody and PCR status to pair SNF staff with residents in the safest way possible 2. To reduce reduced COVID-19 incidence rate compared to SNFs not using this novel staff-resident assignment strategy.
The Pharmacy Integrated Transitions (PIT) program, utilizes a crossover randomized control design to evaluate the impact of a clinical pharmacist in decreasing medication related problems during a patient's transition from hospital to skilled nursing facility (SNF).
During a hospital stay, older adults often become physically deconditioned and lose their ability to perform activities of daily living. Afterwards, they commonly require rehabilitation in a skilled nursing facility to regain independence. Even at discharge, however, many older adults are still far below their pre-hospitalization level of function making them at risk for adverse events such as falls, rehospitalizations, and loss of independence. Two reasons for inadequate outcomes may include that 1) physical and occupational therapy interventions are delivered at too low an intensity to incur substantial physiological gains, and 2) residents are largely sedentary outside of structured therapy time. These two problems represent critical targets for interventions that optimize care in skilled nursing facilities. Therefore, the investigators designed High-Intensity Rehabilitation + Mobility (HeRo), a patient-centered approach to skilled nursing facility care that incorporates a combination of high-intensity (i.e. high resistance, low repetition) functionally-based resistance training along with a structured mobility program outside of therapy time. HeRo includes: 1) a team approach to patient-centered care; 2) a physical activity intervention that incorporates principals of behavioral economics, which uses incentives, goal setting, and gamification to optimize patient engagement and health outcomes and 3) a challenging, high-intensity rehabilitation intervention that pushes patients to expand their limits. The investigators expect that HeRo will improve physical function and physical activity while reducing sedentary time for older adults in the skilled nursing facility. The study team will assess the feasibility and acceptability of HeRo for multiple stakeholders including patients, physical and occupational therapists, nursing staff, and administration. This research will improve patient care in the skilled nursing facility environment, getting older adults on a fast track to developing independence after a hospital stay.
This study tests whether changing the relative order of presentation of post acute care skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) in the Repisodic application, i.e., presenting preferred SNFs (P-SNFs) first, increases selection of, and discharges to, P-SNFs and decreases lengths of stay (LoS) for Geisinger patients discharged to SNFs. Along with the order of P-SNFs, the study also assesses whether a short video reviewing the benefits of care coordination in P-SNFs increases patient election to transfer to one.
We seek to pilot a randomized controlled evaluation of skilled nursing facility care at home. We plan to enroll patients who would normally be sent to a skilled nursing facility following following hospitalization. As a substitute for a skilled nursing facility, we will deploy a technology-enabled team to the home to care for patients.
Close to one-third of Medicare decedents use the Medicare skilled nursing facility (SNF) benefit in the 6 months prior to death. SNF care often increases the risk for more aggressive, potentially burdensome treatments and unrecognized or undertreated symptoms. Palliative care is goal-directed, patient and family-centered care that focuses on a wide range of physical, psychosocial, and spiritual needs for persons with serious, life-limiting illnesses. Effective palliative care relieves suffering, enhances communication, and improves end-of-life care and decision making for seriously ill older adults. Despite its association with improved quality of care, higher satisfaction, and better symptom management at the end of life, palliative care is not widely available to Medicare patients in the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) setting. Palliative care consultation (PCC) is one approach that can potentially improve care for older adults with advanced illness in SNFs. This pilot study will test an evidence-based palliative care consult intervention for older adult SNF patients in nursing homes by comparing the patient/family caregiver reported quality of life in two participant groups: one receiving a PCC and the other receiving standard care.
The purpose of the study is to see if a commercially available hearing assistance device called the PockeTalker has an effect on performance on cognitive (memory and thinking) tests among skilled nursing facility residents. Investigators are asking residents to perform cognitive tests with and without hearing assistance equipment known as PockeTalkers. This study will be conducted at one urban Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) with the goal of understanding the extent to which hearing impairment impacts commonly used cognitive impairment measures for clinical assessment. Cognitive performance will be measured, cerumen occlusion, and perceived hearing.
There is a critical shortage of psychiatric services to people with mental illness who live in Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs), especially those in rural settings. Although real-time video conferencing psychiatric consultation, termed Synchronous Telepsychiatry (STP), has been around for almost 3 decades, its adaptation is met with logistic and other challenges. In this context, the investigators investigate a novel method of psychiatric consultation termed Asynchronous Telepsychiatry (ATP). The main hypotheses are that that ATP will be as clinically effective as STP, and that it will be acceptable to patients. This study aims to evaluate the comparative clinical effectiveness of ATP vs. STP in SNF population, in a 12-month non-inferiority, randomized, controlled trial.
This study seeks to improve rehabilitation methods for restoring physical function with skilled nursing facility care. More specifically, this study is designed to evaluate the effectiveness of an intensive therapeutic rehabilitation program for older adult skilled nursing home residents compared to usual care.
Specific Aims: This study aims to assess the acceptability of asynchronous telepsychiatry (ATP) and synchronous (STP) in rural Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) population, in a 12-month randomized controlled trial. ATP relies on video recording of a psychiatric interview, where the video is later reviewed by a psychiatrist to make a psychiatric diagnosis and treatment recommendation to the primary treatment team. STP is real-time, face-to-face psychiatric assessment using video conferencing to come up with a psychiatric recommendation. People residing in SNFs generally rely on primary and consultant physicians to visit them and rarely have outpatient psychiatrist follow-up. SNFs offer more services than what is available to primary care office, and include 24- hours skilled nursing services, physical therapy, nutritional consultation, occupational therapy, social services, wound care, and psychiatric consultation when available. SNF residents are unable to live independently due to their multiple medical comorbidities and are therefore more medically ill than patients who are typically seen in primary care settings. The present study aims to demonstrate feasibility and to collect pilot data in SNFs. This study is funded by the UC Davis Behavior Health Center of Excellence grant via the California Mental Health Services Act (Prop 63). In a larger, future study, the investigators intend to demonstrate that ATP will be no different than STP in clinical outcomes but will be more accessible and cost effective.
Each year Medicare spends approximately $31.3 billion on 2.4 million skilled nursing facility (SNF) episodes of care. SNFs rely on interdisciplinary approaches to patient care to maximize rehabilitation potential for return to prior level of function and reduce the risk of adverse events in older adults. However despite a substantial increase in spending on SNF services and minimal change in complexity of the caseload, 68% of patients are below their pre-hospitalization level of function at discharge, 25% return to the community, and 18% are hospitalized. This may be partially explained by current SNF approaches to patient care which foster inactivity and participation in low intensity rehabilitation interventions (preliminary data). Both inactivity and low-intensity interventions may perpetuate further functional decline or impede maximal recovery. The serious implication of risk with functional decline is exemplified by studies which have shown declines in physical function can increase the risk of being re-hospitalized six-fold and may infer other long term effects such as increased risk for mortality, morbidity, and institutionalization. Muscle weakness, reduced cardiorespiratory reserve, and neuromuscular deficits have been attributed to this acute decline in function. However current rehabilitation strategies in SNFs do not promote adequate dose and mode of interventions to induce beneficial systemic adaptations, perhaps due to the lack of evidence on effective rehabilitation protocols for this medically-complex population. Therefore, the investigators have designed an rehabilitation program, which uniquely integrates principles of physiologic tissue overload with strengthening and functional interventions for greater gains in physical function. Data will be collected on the first cohort of patients who cycle through a SNF during Stage 1, in which usual care occurs (5 months). Then, staff training on progressive rehabilitation interventions will occur over 2 months. Finally, data will be collected on a second cohort of patients who cycle through a SNF during Stage 2, in which progressive rehabilitation is implemented by SNF staff (5 months). Given the high turnover of patients in SNFs (average length of stay \~21 days), 2 different cohorts of patients will be studied and the analysis will consist of independent 2-sample t-tests. During Stage 1 and 2, measures of physical function will be assessed on all eligible patients at admission and discharge from SNF. Therapists will be assessed on adherence to the protocol through documentation audits and use of on-site observational checklist. Acceptability of the intervention by the patients will be assessed by a patient satisfaction survey. Any adverse events will be obtained from the medical record and documented. The discharge location of all patients will be documented.
The incidence of drug-induced injury is high in the ambulatory geriatric population, especially for elders with complex healthcare needs during high risk transitions to the ambulatory setting. In a previous study funded by the National Institute on Aging and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality \[AHRQ\] (AG 15979), the investigators determined that drug-related injuries occur at a rate of more than 50 per 1000-patient years in older adults in the ambulatory setting and that 28% are preventable. Independent risk factors for adverse drug events among older adults in the ambulatory setting included advanced age, multiple comorbid conditions, and the use of medications requiring close monitoring. In this project, Using HIT to Improve Transitions of Complex Elderly Patients from SNF to Home (1 R18 HS017817), the investigators are testing the use of an electronic medical record (EMR)-based transitional care intervention for complex elderly patients transitioning from subacute care in a skilled nursing facility (SNF) to the ambulatory setting. The growing trend for physicians and other healthcare providers to restrict their practices to single settings and not follow complex patients as they move between settings leaves older patients discharged from subacute care particularly vulnerable. This transition is uniquely challenging because of the complex healthcare needs of this population, who often require outpatient primary care physicians to coordinate with visiting nurses in order to manage complex medication regimens and fluctuating clinical status. To facilitate high-quality transitions from the subacute to the ambulatory setting and support interdisciplinary communication, the investigators will use the EMR to assure that physicians in the ambulatory setting receive key health information and alerts.
Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) are serious, life limiting illnesses with no known cure. Dementia is the fifth-leading cause of death in older adults and the majority of people with advanced dementia die in nursing homes (NHs). Miller et al reported that 40% of U.S. NH residents dying with advanced dementia received Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) care in the last 90 days of life, and receipt of this care was associated significantly with poorer end-of-life outcomes, including a higher risk of dying in a hospital, compared to decedents with no SNF care. SNF care is a Medicare post-acute rehabilitation service delivered in NHs focused on intense rehabilitation and/or aggressive, disease-modifying therapies. Regardless of life expectancy, use of SNF care precludes access to Hospice services. Palliative care (PC) offers an evidence-based alternative.
Project Objectives: The proposed randomized, controlled trial will evaluate the effects of procedures to reduce medications among hospitalized older Veterans discharged to nursing homes using an hybrid study design to inform future efforts to spread it across VA. Project Background/Rationale: Patients discharged to nursing homes for short stays represent the largest group of Medicare beneficiaries discharged to post-hospital services and are a particularly high risk group for loss of independence and other poor clinical outcomes. This investigative team recently completed a VA-funded Quality Improvement Award and a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Award, both of which provide strong results related to the occurrence of polypharmacy and the relationship between polypharmacy and geriatric syndromes (e.g., medications associated with falls) in this patient population. Based on these data, the investigators developed and pilot-tested a patient-centered deprescribing set of procedures combined with standardized questions for eight geriatric syndromes to be implemented in the hospital and monitored during the nursing home stay. Project Methods: The investigators propose an innovative hybrid study design that will be conducted in one VA hospital. The goal of the proposed DROP intervention is to safely deprescribe medications, as defined by reducing doses or stopping medications, based on a combination of clinical criteria and Veteran preferences. This randomized, controlled trial conducted over three years will evaluate the effects of this hospital-based intervention on medication use, geriatric syndromes, and health status across Veterans' care transitions from the hospital to nursing home to home to include a 90-day follow-up period after leaving the nursing home. The hypothesis is that reducing medications for older Veterans will favorably impact geriatric syndromes. Additionally, the investigators aim to understand Veteran, both VA and non-VA provider and system-level factors that help or hinder how well the deprescribing procedures are implemented to inform future clinical uptake and dissemination throughout the VA.
The goal of this experimental study is to learn if cognitive stimulation therapy (CST) helps improve cognitive functioning and engagement in individuals with mild-to-moderate dementia who reside in skilled nursing facilities. It will also help introduce CST into long-term care facilities in the Northern Kentucky region and provide evidence to support reimbursement for occupational therapy (OT) services in memory care. The main question it aims to answer is: Is there a significant difference in cognitive functioning and engagement between individuals with mild-to-moderate dementia who reside in skilled nursing facilities and receive cognitive stimulation compared to individuals receiving maintenance-level services? Researchers will compare CST (themed grouped sessions with activites related to their childhood, sounds, word and number games, current affairs, being creative, word association, physical games, quizzes, and orientation) to maintenance-level services (activities performed in the activities room) to see if there is a significant difference in cognition and engagement in residents who receive CST versus their regular maintenance level services. Participants will receive either CST or maintenance-level services for 45-minutes twice weekly for 7-weeks led by two doctor of occupational therapy students under the supervision of a licensed occupational therapist in the state of Indiana and the sites activity director, complete assessments before and after the 7-weeks to measure changes in cognitive function and engagement, along with participating in a screening assessment before the start of the study. This study will also support the OT profession by enhancing practitioners' skills in dementia care and contributing evidence for policy and reimbursement discussions.
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if it is possible to deliver a palliative care intervention called ALIGN (Assessing and Listening to Individual Goals and Needs) to hospitalized older adults with advanced cancer who are discharged to a skilled nursing facility and their caregivers. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Can the investigator successfully deliver the ALIGN intervention in different skilled community nursing facilities? * Can the investigator successfully collect information from participants throughout the study? * How can the investigator best prepare caregivers to make medical decisions for loved ones that become unable to do so themselves? Researchers will compare ALIGN to care as it is usually delivered. Participants will: * Visit virtually with an ALIGN palliative care social worker every 1-2 weeks during their skilled nursing facility stay and up to 45 days after discharge from the facility or will see a palliative care clinician if recommended by their oncologist or other involved clinician. * Participants will provide information about how they are doing 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after enrolling in the study.
The goal of this observational study is to compare the differences in wound outcomes when the MolecuLight imaging procedure is used in combination with standard of care wound assessment in long term care and skilled nursing facilities. The main outcome studied is healing of ulcers after 12-weeks, along with other outcomes such as occurrence of infection, complications, and antimicrobial use. Medical records from the past were reviewed, where patients receiving the MolecuLight procedure were compared to those who did not.
This primary purpose of this study will be to (1) examine the feasibility and acceptability of transitional care focusing on care needs of skilled nursing facility (SNF) patients with dementia and their caregivers (primary aim). The secondary purpose will be to describe the effect of the intervention on SNF patient outcomes (preparedness for discharge, quality of life, function and acute care use) and caregiver outcomes (preparedness for the caregiving role, caregiver burden and caregiver distress).
This prospective, multicenter, comparative cohort observational study is to determine whether the use of Guidance® UTI Clinical Pathway, a standardized infrastructure for specimen collection and result delivery, compared with current traditional pathways for urine testing reduces the proportion of UTI patients with poor outcomes.
SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, now being administered to skilled nursing facility (SNF) residents and staff, has highly variable acceptance between facilities. The investigators need to develop and disseminate effective strategies to increase vaccination immediately. For SNF residents and staff, the investigators will develop and implement a scalable multi-pronged intervention that educates, builds trust and supports the informed consent process aimed to increase SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. The investigators will conduct a cluster randomized trial to compare the effect of electronic messaging and education (i.e., usual care) versus a multi-pronged 'high touch' intervention to reduce vaccine hesitancy in skilled nursing facility staff and residents among a random sample of facilities across four SNF chains. As part of the 'high touch' intervention, the investigators will identify and train local opinion leaders. The investigators will offer these leaders assistance through real-time support for questions and provide consenting specialists. During the second wave of vaccination, the investigators will provide the intervention facilities with positive reinforcement for staff and will identify local champions to garner support and empowerment of staff. Finally, in the intervention facilities, the investigators will provide additional funds to support COVID-19 testing, in order that facilities have access to enough testing kits for patient or staff who develops symptoms following vaccination. This trial will be randomized within four SNF chains in order to evaluate the effect of a multi-pronged strategy to improve SARS-CoV-2 vaccine acceptance among direct care staff and long-stay nursing home residents. In four chains, eligible facilities will undergo randomization between usual care versus adding the 'high touch' intervention, implemented in two waves. Randomization and roll out of the intervention will occur at the facility level. The investigators hypothesize that: (1) the intervention will increase vaccination of SNF residents by at least 10 percentage points versus facilities usual care alone; (2) staff of SNFs with the intervention will have at least a 10 percentage point greater vaccine uptake of vaccine than staff in SNFs that do not participate in the high touch intervention; and (3) within intervention SNFs, improvements in vaccine uptake will be similar across staff and resident race/ethnicities.
This study will test whether transitional care targeting care needs of seriously ill, skilled nursing facility (SNF) patients and their caregivers will help to improve SNF patient outcomes (preparedness for discharge, quality of life, function and acute care use) and caregiver outcomes (preparedness for the caregiving role. caregiver burden and caregiver distress).
Nursing home (NH) patients with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias often receive unwanted, burdensome treatments such as hospitalization. Advance care planning (ACP) is a key strategy to support patients and family-caregivers in making informed decisions and ensuring treatment preferences are proactively known and honored. The ACP Specialist Program will improve care and reduce unwanted, burdensome hospitalizations through improved ACP procedures, standardized staff education on ACP, and systematic ACP facilitation delivered by existing NH staff.
This is a pragmatic cluster-randomized control trial (RCT) of an Advance Care Planning (ACP) Video Program for nursing home (NH) patients ≥ 65 years old who are cared for in 360 NH facilities (intervention arm n=119; control arm n=241) within two NH health care systems: Genesis HealthCare and PruittHealth. The intervention NH facilities will implement the ACP Video Program, while the control NH facilities will follow their usual ACP procedures. The trial will evaluate the effectiveness of the ACP Video Program by comparing hospitalizations, advance directives, and hospice use in the intervention vs. control NHs.
Heart Failure (HF) patients discharged to Skilled Nursing Facilities have higher rehospitalization rates and mortality than patients discharged to home. HF disease management programs have been shown to reduce rehospitalizations in community settings, no national guidelines have been set forth for Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF). This study will investigate the the effect of a heart failure-disease management program on the outcome of all-cause hospital readmissions, emergency room admissions and mortality for 30 days post-SNF admission using 7 component heart failure disease management program.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical and economic effectiveness of MIST Therapy vs NPWT vs MIST Therapy in conjunction with NPWT in the treatment of full thickness wounds presenting in the LTACH and SNF settings.