Older Persons Transitions in Care

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OPTIC
Older Persons Transitions in Care

Research Project Aging and Health

Funding Agencies:

Canadian Institutes of Health Research,
Interior Health Authority,
Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research,
Alberta Heritage Foundation for Health Records

Project Period:

2009-2012

“While much of the literature focuses on the experience in the emergency department, we know little about the experience of being transferred to emergency department and back to the nursing home.”

Principal Investigators:

Greta Cummings (Nominated PI), Joanne Konnert (Nominated Decision Maker), Colin Reid, Carole Estabrooks, Peter Norton

Co-Investigators:

Joan Bottorff, Norah Keating, Jacques Lee, Meredith Lilly, Candace Nikiforuk, Belinda Parke, Carole Robinson, Brian Rowe, Adrian Wagg

Decision Makers:

Caroline Clark, Glenda Coleman-Miller, Cindy Crane, Michael Ertel, Karen Latoszek; Donna Lommer, Tracey Neil, Corinne Schalm, Sunil Sookram

PROJECT ABSTRACT

This study will examine the experience of frail elderly nursing home residents who need care outside of the nursing home and require transfer to a hospital emergency department for assessment and treatment. While much of the literature focuses on the experience in the emergency department, we know little about the experience of being transferred to emergency department and back to the nursing home. The goal of this project is to provide decision-makers with tools to identify potentially modifiable elements to improve the quality of care and quality of life outcomes of residents who move between nursing homes and emergency departments.

Using an integrated knowledge translation (KT) approach, the objectives are to:

  1. Define the multiple perspectives of successful and unsuccessful transitions, and develop and test a practical tool to assess transition success, in terms of quality of care and avoidable complications;
  2. Assess transition processes in a discreet set of transitions in two study sites over a one year period;
  3. Analyze the influence of organizational factors in key practice locations, e.g., nursing homes, pre-hospital transport services, and emergency departments, on transition successfulness in two study sites; and
  4. Identify opportunities for evidence-informed management and quality improvement
Reports, Presentations & Publications

Robinson, C.A., Bottorff, J.L., Lilly, M.B., Reid, C., Abel, S., Lo, M. & Cummings, G.G. (2012). Stakeholder perspectives on transitions of nursing home residents to hospital emergency departments and back in two Canadian provinces. Journal of Aging Studies. doi:10.1016/j.jaging.2012.06.001 (open access – http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890406512000497)

Cummings, G. G., Reid, R. C., Estabrooks, C. A., Norton, P. T., Cummings G. E., Rowe, B. H., Abel, S., Bissell, L., Bottorff, J. L., Robinson, C. A., Wagg, A., Lee, J., Lynch, S., & Masaoud, E. (2012). Older persons’ transitions in care (OPTIC): A study protocol. BMC Geriatrics. 12:75. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2318-12-75, http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2318/12/75

Cummings G. G., & OPTIC Team. (accepted September 24, 2012).  OPTIC:  Older Persons’ Transitions in Care. Canadian Gerontological Nursing Association Perspectives Journal.

Presentations

Robinson, C. A., Bottorff, J. L., Lilly, M. B., Reid, C., Abel, S., Lo, M., & Cummings, G. (2012). Stakeholder perspectives on transitions of nursing home residents to hospital emergency departments and back in two Canadian provinces: An Older Persons Transitions in Care (OPTIC) study. Paper presented at the 41st Annual Scientific and Educational Meeting of the Canadian Association on Gerontology, Vancouver, BC, October 18-20. (presentation October 20, 2012).

Cummings, G.G., Reid, R., Cummings, G.E., Estabrooks, C.A., Norton, P.G., Konnert, J., Coleman-Miller, G., OPTIC Team. (2012, November). The Older Persons’ Transitions in Care (OPTIC) Study: A pilot test of the transition tracking tool (T3). The Gerontological Society of America 65th Annual Scientific Meeting, San Diego, CA.

Cummings, G.G., Reid, R., Cummings, G.E., Estabrooks, C.A., Norton, P.G., Konnert, J., Coleman-Miller, G., OPTIC Team. (2012, October). The Oder Persons’ Transitions in Care (OPTIC) Study: A pilot test of the transition tracking tool (T3). Canadian Association of Gerontology, Vancouver, BC.

Cummings, G.G., Reid, C., Keating, N., Konnert, J., Estabrooks, C.A., Norton, P.G., Wagg, A., OPTIC Team. (2011, February). Older Persons Transitions in Care – The OPTIC Study. Poster presentation. Centre for Health Services and Policy Research 2011 Policy Conference, Boomerangst: Myths and realities about health care for an aging population, Vancouver, BC.

Cummings, G.G., Reid, C., Keating, N., Konnert, J., Estabrooks, C.A., Norton, P.G., Wagg, A., OPTIC Team. (2010, December). Oder Persons Transitions in Care – The OPTIC Study., Poster presentation. Canadian Association of Gerontology, Montreal, PQ.

Cummings, G.G., Reid, C., Keating, N., Konnert, J., Estabrooks, C.A., Norton, P.G., Wagg, A., OPTIC Team. (2010, November). Older Persons Transitions in Care – The OPTIC Study. Poster presentation. Transitions across the Continuum of Care. 63rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, New Orleans, LA.