BACKGROUND Studies suggest nurse practitioners are heavily represented among primary care provide... more BACKGROUND Studies suggest nurse practitioners are heavily represented among primary care providers for vulnerable Medicare beneficiaries. PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to compare quality indicators among three groups of vulnerable beneficiaries managed by MDs and nurse practitioners (NPs). METHODS The methods include retrospective cohort design examining 2012 and 2013 Medicare claims for three beneficiary groups: (a) initially qualified for the program due to disability, (b) dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, and (c) both disabled and dually eligible. Validated quality indicators in four domains were analyzed. DISCUSSION Gaps in outcomes suggest better performance for primary care nurse practitioners (PCNPs) in preventable hospitalizations and adverse outcomes. Outcome gaps suggesting better performance for primary care physicians in chronic disease management were diminished for beneficiaries who were both disabled and dually eligible suggesting improved performance for PCNPs within this subpopulation. CONCLUSION These findings add new evidence indicating the quality of primary care provided to vulnerable Medicare beneficiaries by PCNPs is generally consistent with clinical guidelines and the less intensive use of costly health care services.
To explore the impact of an initiative to add unregulated nursing support workers to wards in acu... more To explore the impact of an initiative to add unregulated nursing support workers to wards in acute care hospitals. Adding nursing support workers to existing nurse staffing may be one solution to reduce nursing workloads and improve outcomes. However, the effects of this addition on nurse, patient and system outcomes are not well documented. In one state of Australia, a trial deployment of nursing support workers to wards across the public health system provided opportunity for the exploration of their impact in a natural, real-world, environment. Cross-sectional study. A sample of five wards where nursing support workers had been added matched to a group of five wards where there were no nursing support workers. Data were collected via patient survey (n = 141) and nurse survey (n = 154). Analysis was comparative with regression models constructed for the different ward types. Nursing leadership, staffing and resources, and nurse experience were linked to outcomes on both ward type...
Improving patient safety within health care organizations requires effective leadership at all le... more Improving patient safety within health care organizations requires effective leadership at all levels. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of nurse managers' transformational leadership behaviors on job satisfaction and patient safety outcomes. A random sample of acute care nurses in Ontario (N = 378) completed the crosssectional survey. Hypothesized model was tested using structural equation modeling. The model fit the data acceptably. Transformational leadership had a strong positive influence on workplace empowerment, which in turn increased nurses' job satisfaction and decreased the frequency of adverse patient outcomes. Subsequently, job satisfaction was related to lower adverse events. The findings provide support for managers' use of transformational leadership behaviors as a useful strategy in creating workplace conditions that promote better safety outcomes for patients and nurses.
Evidence internationally suggests that staffing constraints and non-supportive work environments ... more Evidence internationally suggests that staffing constraints and non-supportive work environments result in the rationing of nursing interventions (that is, limiting or omitting interventions for particular patients), which in turn may influence patient outcomes. In the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), preliminary studies have found that discharge preparation and infant comfort care are among the most frequently rationed nursing interventions. However, it is unknown if the rationing of discharge preparation is related to lower perceptions of parent and infant readiness for NICU discharge, and if reports of increased rationing of infant comfort care are related to lower levels of perceived neonatal pain control. The purpose of this study was to assess these relationships. In late 2014, a cross-sectional survey was mailed to 285 Registered Nurses (RNs) working in one of 7 NICUs in the province of Quebec (Canada). The survey contained validated measures of care rationing, parent and...
Nurse practitioners (NPs), if utilized to their optimal potential, could play a key role in meeti... more Nurse practitioners (NPs), if utilized to their optimal potential, could play a key role in meeting the growing demand for primary care. The purpose of this study was to propose a comprehensive model for maximizing NP contributions to primary care which includes the factors affecting NP care and patient outcomes and explains their interrelated impact. We synthesized the results of the published literature to develop a model, which emphasizes NP scope of practice regulations, institutional policies, NP practice environment, and NP workforce outcomes as determinants of NP care and patient outcomes. Our model provides a framework to help explain how variations in scope of practice regulations at the state-level and institutional policies within organizations directly and indirectly influence the practice environment of NPs, NP workforce outcomes, and patient care and outcomes. Aligning policy change, organizational innovations, and future research are critical to NP optimal utilization and patient care and outcomes.
BACKGROUND Studies suggest nurse practitioners are heavily represented among primary care provide... more BACKGROUND Studies suggest nurse practitioners are heavily represented among primary care providers for vulnerable Medicare beneficiaries. PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to compare quality indicators among three groups of vulnerable beneficiaries managed by MDs and nurse practitioners (NPs). METHODS The methods include retrospective cohort design examining 2012 and 2013 Medicare claims for three beneficiary groups: (a) initially qualified for the program due to disability, (b) dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, and (c) both disabled and dually eligible. Validated quality indicators in four domains were analyzed. DISCUSSION Gaps in outcomes suggest better performance for primary care nurse practitioners (PCNPs) in preventable hospitalizations and adverse outcomes. Outcome gaps suggesting better performance for primary care physicians in chronic disease management were diminished for beneficiaries who were both disabled and dually eligible suggesting improved performance for PCNPs within this subpopulation. CONCLUSION These findings add new evidence indicating the quality of primary care provided to vulnerable Medicare beneficiaries by PCNPs is generally consistent with clinical guidelines and the less intensive use of costly health care services.
To explore the impact of an initiative to add unregulated nursing support workers to wards in acu... more To explore the impact of an initiative to add unregulated nursing support workers to wards in acute care hospitals. Adding nursing support workers to existing nurse staffing may be one solution to reduce nursing workloads and improve outcomes. However, the effects of this addition on nurse, patient and system outcomes are not well documented. In one state of Australia, a trial deployment of nursing support workers to wards across the public health system provided opportunity for the exploration of their impact in a natural, real-world, environment. Cross-sectional study. A sample of five wards where nursing support workers had been added matched to a group of five wards where there were no nursing support workers. Data were collected via patient survey (n = 141) and nurse survey (n = 154). Analysis was comparative with regression models constructed for the different ward types. Nursing leadership, staffing and resources, and nurse experience were linked to outcomes on both ward type...
Improving patient safety within health care organizations requires effective leadership at all le... more Improving patient safety within health care organizations requires effective leadership at all levels. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of nurse managers' transformational leadership behaviors on job satisfaction and patient safety outcomes. A random sample of acute care nurses in Ontario (N = 378) completed the crosssectional survey. Hypothesized model was tested using structural equation modeling. The model fit the data acceptably. Transformational leadership had a strong positive influence on workplace empowerment, which in turn increased nurses' job satisfaction and decreased the frequency of adverse patient outcomes. Subsequently, job satisfaction was related to lower adverse events. The findings provide support for managers' use of transformational leadership behaviors as a useful strategy in creating workplace conditions that promote better safety outcomes for patients and nurses.
Evidence internationally suggests that staffing constraints and non-supportive work environments ... more Evidence internationally suggests that staffing constraints and non-supportive work environments result in the rationing of nursing interventions (that is, limiting or omitting interventions for particular patients), which in turn may influence patient outcomes. In the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), preliminary studies have found that discharge preparation and infant comfort care are among the most frequently rationed nursing interventions. However, it is unknown if the rationing of discharge preparation is related to lower perceptions of parent and infant readiness for NICU discharge, and if reports of increased rationing of infant comfort care are related to lower levels of perceived neonatal pain control. The purpose of this study was to assess these relationships. In late 2014, a cross-sectional survey was mailed to 285 Registered Nurses (RNs) working in one of 7 NICUs in the province of Quebec (Canada). The survey contained validated measures of care rationing, parent and...
Nurse practitioners (NPs), if utilized to their optimal potential, could play a key role in meeti... more Nurse practitioners (NPs), if utilized to their optimal potential, could play a key role in meeting the growing demand for primary care. The purpose of this study was to propose a comprehensive model for maximizing NP contributions to primary care which includes the factors affecting NP care and patient outcomes and explains their interrelated impact. We synthesized the results of the published literature to develop a model, which emphasizes NP scope of practice regulations, institutional policies, NP practice environment, and NP workforce outcomes as determinants of NP care and patient outcomes. Our model provides a framework to help explain how variations in scope of practice regulations at the state-level and institutional policies within organizations directly and indirectly influence the practice environment of NPs, NP workforce outcomes, and patient care and outcomes. Aligning policy change, organizational innovations, and future research are critical to NP optimal utilization and patient care and outcomes.
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Papers by Sean Clarke