Browsing by Author "Thompson, Julie"
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Item Open Access Evaluation of lay health workers on quality of care in the inpatient setting.(PloS one, 2023-01) Basnight, Ramona; Berry, Peter; Capes, Kellie; Pearce, Sherri; Thompson, Julie; Allen, Deborah H; Granger, Bradi B; Reynolds, Staci SAims
To evaluate the impact of a lay health worker support role in the inpatient setting.Background
Healthcare systems are facing critical nursing and nurse assistant staffing shortages. These disciplines can be challenging to recruit and retain, leading healthcare leaders to identify innovative staffing models. Whereas lay health workers have been used in the community and low-income setting, there is scant evidence of their use in the inpatient setting. We implemented a lay health worker role, called Patient Attendant Service Aides (PASAs), on two medical/surgical units at a community hospital.Methods
A pre/post-implementation design was used for this study. An online survey was provided to nurses, nursing assistants, and PASAs on the two medical/surgical units to assess their satisfaction and perceptions of the role. Nursing quality metrics, patient satisfaction, and nursing and nursing assistant turnover were evaluated before and after implementing the role.Results
The online survey showed that nurses and nursing assistants felt that PASAs helped offload their workload, allowing them to focus on nursing-related tasks. PASAs felt supported by the team and believed they were making a meaningful contribution to the unit. There were slight improvements in patient satisfaction, although not significant. There was a significant improvement in nursing turnover on Unit A, from 71.1% to 21.6% (p = 0.009).Conclusions
This is one of the first studies to evaluate the use of lay health workers in the inpatient setting; we found this role to be a feasible way to offload tasks from clinical staff. This role may serve as a pathway for workforce development, as several PASAs are now enrolled in nursing assistant training. Nurse managers may consider using lay health workers in the inpatient setting as they face severe clinical staff shortages.Item Open Access The impact of nurse staffing on falls performance within a health care system: A descriptive study.(Journal of nursing management, 2022-04) Cooke, Melissa; de la Fuente, Margarita; Stringfield, Candice; Sullivan, Kelly; Brassil, Robert; Thompson, Julie; Allen, Deborah H; Granger, Bradi B; Reynolds, Staci SAim
The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of nurse staffing on inpatient falls performance across a multi-hospital system.Background
Evidence to support which staffing variables influence fall performance so that health care organizations can better allocate resources is lacking.Method
A descriptive study design was used to analyse the impact of nurse staffing and falls performance, with units dichotomized as either high or low performing based on national benchmarking data. The impact was evaluated using 10 nurse staffing variables.Results
A total of nine units were included (five high and four low performing). Higher performing units showed less use of sitters and travellers, had fewer overtime hours worked by nurses, and employed more expert-level clinical nurses and combined nursing assistant/health unit coordinator positions, than lower performing units.Conclusion
Findings provide evidence of how staffing variables affect a unit's falls performance. While significant relationships were found, further evaluation is needed to explore the relationship of staffing variables and quality outcomes.Implications for nursing management
Nursing managers may consider trying to reduce use of sitters and travellers, and utilize innovative staffing models, such as using combined nursing assistant/health unit coordinator positions, to help improve their falls performance.