Question

Perceptions of Hospital Safety Climate and Incidence of Readmission. What is the research problem being addressed? What variables have the researchers identified? What study design was used? How did the researchers collect and measure the data? Discuss the rationale for choosing the method(s). Discuss the validity and reliability of the instruments used.

Answer 1

To define the relationship between hospital patients safety climate and hospital rate of readmissions within 30 days of discharge. Researchers used dependent variables in separate disease specific models ( acute myocardial infarction, heart failure and pneumonia) and measure of safety climate as independent variable. The study design used was cross sectional study of 67 hospitals .There was separate models for all hospital staff as well as physicians, nurses , senior managers and frontline staffs.Both patient factors and hospital discharge process elements associated with re hospitalisation. At the patient level risk factors for readmission were age , comorbidities and increased number of outpatient medications.At hospital level , hospitals fail to provide evidence based treatments experience increased rate of patient readmission .Randamized trials indicate that readmission rates can be reduced by providing intervention focusing both the patient risk factors and hospital processes within 30 day of readmission through patient education and follow up phone calls after discharge. The patient safety climate in health care organisation survey after distinct opportunity for measure of safety climate as related to hospital level phenomena such as readmission. It is used to assess variation in safety climate by work role across hospitals and relationships with hospital level outcomes tested for psychometric reliability.