AHRQ Grant HS021879: Related Publication Summaries

A qualitative study of choosing home health care after hospitalization: The unintended consequences of 'patient choice' requirements

Baier RR, Wysocki A, Gravenstein S, Cooper E, Mor V, Clark M.
Journal of General Internal Medicine 2015 May; 30(5):634-40.

This study examined how quality reports are used when choosing home care in Rhode Island using focus groups with home health consumers and structured interviews with hospital case managers from five hospitals. Home health consumers and hospital case managers were unaware of public reports about home health quality. Also, case managers were forbidden to recommend specific providers to patients and viewed the 'patient choice' laws as restricting their ability to respond to patients' requests for help in choosing home health agencies. The authors conclude that public reports can be marketed as tools that case managers can use to help patients differentiate among providers, while supporting patient autonomy.

Using qualitative methods to create a home health Web application user interface for patients with low computer proficiency

Baier RR, Cooper E, Wysocki A, Gravenstein S, Clark M.
EGEMS (Wash DC). 2015 May 13;3(2):1166.

This study developed and tested a prototype for a consumer-facing home health Web application for patients with low computer proficiency. They tested the user interface with home health consumers and hospital case managers. The researchers initially overestimated older adults' familiarity with computers, but were able to incorporate changes in sequence, navigation, and function to address user feedback. They conclude that for investment in public reporting to produce value, consumer-facing Web applications must be designed to address both the limitations and strengths of end users.