Feasibility and evaluation of a pilot community health worker intervention to reduce hospital readmissions
Feasibility and evaluation of a pilot community health worker intervention to reduce hospital readmissions
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DOI:
10.1093/intqhc/mzu046
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发表时间:
2014-08-01
影响因子:
2.6
通讯作者:
Balaban, Richard B.
中科院分区:
文献类型:
--
作者:
Burns, Marguerite E.;Galbraith, Alison A.;Balaban, Richard B.
To pilot-test the feasibility and preliminary effect of a community health worker (CHW) intervention to reduce hospital readmissions.Patient-level randomized quality improvement intervention.An academic medical center serving a predominantly low-income population in the Boston, Massachusetts area and 10 affiliated primary care practices.Medical service patients with an in-network primary care physician who were discharged to home (n = 423) and had one of five risk factors for readmission within 30 days.Inpatient introductory visit and weekly post-discharge telephonic support for 4 weeks to assist patient in coordinating medical visits, obtaining and using medications, and in self-management.Number of completed CHW contacts; CHW-reported barriers and facilitators to assisting patients; primary care, emergency department and inpatient care use.Roughly 70% of patients received at least one post-discharge CHW call; only 38% of patients received at least four calls as intended. Hospital readmission rates were lower among CHW patients (15.4%) compared with usual care (17.9%); the difference was not statistically significant.Under performance-based payment systems, identifying cost-effective solutions for reducing hospital readmissions will be crucial to the economic survival of all hospitals, especially safety-net systems. This pilot study suggests that with appropriate supportive infrastructure, hospital-based CHWs may represent a feasible strategy for improving transitional care among vulnerable populations. An ongoing, randomized, controlled trial of a CHW intervention, developed according to the lessons of this pilot, will provide further insight into the utility of this approach to reducing readmissions.