Clinical trial NCT01873118: READI (Readiness Evaluation And Discharge Interventions) Study
Official title: READI (Readiness Evaluation And Discharge Interventions): Implementation as a Standard Nursing Practice for Hospital Discharge
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Discharge Transition of Patients Discharged to Home
Keywords: hospital discharge
discharge readiness
readmission
Emergency Department visits
Nurse assessment
Lead sponsor: Marquette University
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2013-06-07
Enrollment: 189796
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: FACTORIAL
Primary purpose: HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Brief summary: Preparation of patients for discharge is a primary function of hospital-based nursing care and readiness for discharge is an important outcome of hospital care. Inadequacies in discharge preparation have been well-documented and linked to difficulty with self-management after hospital discharge and with increased likelihood of emergency department (ED) use and readmission. Prior studies by the research team have led to recommendations for implementation of discharge readiness assessment as a standard nursing practice for hospital discharge.

The investigators will conduct a multi-site study to determine the impact on post-discharge utilization (readmission and ED visits) and costs of implementing discharge readiness assessment as a standard nursing practice for adult medical-surgical patients discharged to home. The study tests, in a stepped approach, the impact of implementing discharge readiness assessment by the discharging nurse as standard nursing practice (RN-RHDS protocol), the incremental value of informing the nurse assessment with the patient's perspective (RN-RHDS+PT-RHDS protocol), and of requiring that the nurse initiates and documents risk-mitigating actions for patients with low readiness scores (RN-RHDS+PT-RHDS+NIAF protocol).

HYPOTHESIS 1: Patients discharged using the RN-RHDS protocol will have fewer hospital readmissions and ED visits within 30 days post-discharge compared to patients discharged under usual care conditions.

HYPOTHESIS 2: Patients discharged using the RN-RHDS+PT-RHDS protocol will have fewer hospital readmissions and ED visits within 30 days post-discharge compared to patients discharged using the RN-RHDS protocol.

HYPOTHESIS 3: Patients discharged by nurses using the RN-RHDS+PT-RHDS protocol plus a Nurse-Initiated Action Form \[NIAF\] (RN-RHDS+PT-RHDS+NIAF protocol) will have fewer post-discharge readmissions and ED visits than patients discharged using the RN-RHDS+PT-RHDS protocol; the effect will be strongest for patients with low RHDS scores.

Aim 4: Conduct cost-benefit analysis of implementing discharge readiness assessment as standard practice, by comparing cost-savings from reduced post-discharge utilization against implementation costs.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Medical, surgical, or medical-surgical nursing units of Magnet designated hospitals
* Patients 18 years of age or more, English speaking,able to read and understand consent who are being discharged to home as the discharge destination.
* Nursing personnel (Registered Nurses or Licensed Practical Nurses) who are performing discharge instructions and procedures on the day of hospital discharge.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Patients discharged to home with hospice care.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Post-discharge Utilization within 30 days after hospital discharge
timeFrame: 30 days after hospital discharge
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Nurse Initiated Action Form
timeFrame: measured on day of hospital discharge typically 1 to 30 days after hospital admission
Other outcomes:
measure: Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale - RN version
timeFrame: measured on day of hospital discharge typically 1 to 30 days after hospital admission
measure: Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale - Patient version
timeFrame: measured on day of hospital discharge typically 1 to 30 days after hospital admission
Locations:
city: Milwaukee
country: United States
facility: Marquette University
state: Wisconsin
Study officials:
affiliation: Marquette University
name: Marianne Weiss, DNSc
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Bahr SJ, Bang J, Yakusheva O, Bobay KL, Krejci J, Costa L, Hughes RG, Hamilton M, Siclovan DM, Weiss ME. Nurse Continuity at Discharge and Return to Hospital. Nurs Res. 2020 May/Jun;69(3):186-196. doi: 10.1097/NNR.0000000000000417.
citation: Weiss ME, Yakusheva O, Bobay KL, Costa L, Hughes RG, Nuccio S, Hamilton M, Bahr S, Siclovan D, Bang J; READI Site Investigators. Effect of Implementing Discharge Readiness Assessment in Adult Medical-Surgical Units on 30-Day Return to Hospital: The READI Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2019 Jan 4;2(1):e187387. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.7387.