RWJF Hosts Online Readmissions Discussion

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Human Capital Network is presenting an online chat on reducing hospital readmissions Monday, March 31, 2014, from 3:15 p.m.-4:00 p.m., ET.

Issues surrounding improving care transitions in order to prevent avoidable hospital readmissions will be discussed. Recent research that highlights how nurse staffing rates can improve patient outcomes will be featured. Topics will include: the variables that cause readmissions; national trends in readmission rates; and interventions for preventing unnecessary readmissions.

Presenters include RWJF Senior Program Officer Susan Mende and Matthew McHugh, associate professor of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and an RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholar.

McHugh’s research focuses on the effects of policy and organizational factors on nursing practice and health outcomes.

Mende is engaged in an RWJF national program effort to help consumers take an active role in improving the quality of health care in their communities.

Questions can be asked live during the event or in advance by emailing: hcfeedback@rwjf.org.

Registration for the chat is available here.

For more information contact Sue Stine, RWJF Human Capital Network Community Manager, (240) 221-4316; hcfeedback@rwjf.org.

Policy Research to Inform Discussion on Scope of Practice

Alex Hoyt, PhD, RN, a Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions School of Nursing Assistant Professor is using his recently awarded RWJF grant to bring policy research to the political debate over nurse practitioners’ (NPs') scope of practice. Dr. Hoyt was recently awarded a $250,000 grant via the Future of Nursing National Research Agenda initiative.

Dr. Hoyt plans to study the influence of regulatory changes on the NP workforce over time, how organizations interpret state practice regulations, and how these factors impact cost, quality, and access to care.

Click here to learn more about this impressive work.

Should We be Keeping Ideas Behind the Veil?

Over at the RWJF Pioneering Ideas blog, INQRI's senior program officer Lori Melichar raises an interesting discussion.  Should research proposals be made public?  As Lori explains, the Foundation has readily embraced use of social media and the sharing of information via the web to a large audience.  However, the review of research proposals remains private to protect intellectual property.  But, what if a proposal could be shared to attract additional funding interest?

Click here to read her post and share your views.

Study Finds Verbal Abuse Causes New Nurses to Leave

A study conducted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's RN Work Project, "Verbal Abuse From Nurse Colleagues and Work Environment of Early Career Registered Nurses," was recently published online in the Journal of Nursing Scholarship.

One thousand four hundred and seven newly licensed registered nurses (RNs) were surveyed  about how often they were verbally abused by nurse colleagues.  Forty-nine percent stated that they had experienced moderate verbal abuse (one to five times in the past three months) with 5% reporting high levels of verbal abuse (more than five times in the past three months).

The RN Work Project study shows that intent to leave a job is highly correlated with the levels of abuse new RNs experienced.

For more details, check out a new Health Leaders Media piece about this study.

Sharing Nursing's Knowledge... with Lots of INQRI News

Check out the June edition of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Sharing Nursing's Knowledge newsletter.  We were pleased to see that INQRI was heavily featured in this month's collection of stories... Read on!

Highlights:

• The Future of Nursing national research agenda announces four new grantees supported by the INQRI program.
• The section on recent nursing research features an INQRI study on heart failure.
• Last week, RWJF announced a $20M grant to support nurse PhD scientists.

Of course, this is just a sampling of the exciting news shared in the newsletter.  Check it out!

Deadline Approaching for Funding Opportunity

The April 17, 2013 (3:00 p.m. ET) deadline for the RWJF's Pioneer Portfolio Call for Proposals for the research initiative Applying Behavioral Economics to Perplexing Health and Health Care Challenges is quickly approaching.

It is expected that approximately five awards of up to $200,000 each under this call for proposals will be made. Projects will last for up to two years each. Please find the key dates below:

April 17, 2013 (3:00 p.m. ET)—Deadline for receipt of 1,500-character brief proposal (description of the idea or experiment) and 1,000-character partnership plan.

May 29, 2013—Applicants notified as to whether they have been invited to submit a full proposal.

July 17, 2013 (3:00 p.m. ET)—Deadline for receipt of full proposals.

Mid-September 2013—Notification of awards.

November 15, 2013—Start of grants.


 Click here to access the Call for Proposals.

Grant Opportunity: Applying Behavioral Economics to Perplexing Problems in Health and Healthcare

Applying Behavioral Economics to Perplexing Problems in Health and Healthcare is a partnership with The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to fund approximately five awards of up to $200,000 for projects will last up to two years each. Through this funding opportunity, RWJF and Donaghue are particularly interested in research proposals that test innovative solutions to the challenge of reducing the use of low-value services in health care and for which academic teams collaborate with an outside organization, corporation, or partner that has a population or infrastructure that can be used to test pioneering and promising behavioral economic approaches. This funding is intended to support initiatives that have real potential of being used by these organizations if they prove to be effective.

Care About Your Care Videos - Our Grantees Respond

Last month, we told you about an exciting event sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, "Care About Your Care," which focused on reducing hospital readmissions through improved transitions in care.

In addition to a live webcast, the event also featured the presentation of winners from a video contest featuring a series of videos submitted by care teams to demonstrate their successful strategies to improve transitions.

We continue to be impressed by this work and some of our INQRI grantees wanted to take the opportunity to comment on some of these fantastic contributions.

Northern Piedmont Community Care

"This approach to care makes so much sense to me that I have to ask myself why this isn't the prevailing model of healthcare delivery. Many chronic diseases can be managed and even prevented through a healthful lifestyle, but research shows that the majority of people do not know how to be healthy. Patient teaching and education is a core component of the nursing process, and the success of community clinics like the one featured in the video places nurses in the center of the healthcare reform and efforts to promote high-quality patient-centered cost-effective care." 
- INQRI Grantee Olga Yakusheva 

CARE Network - Transition to Better Care

"This video about care transitions tells the story so well. The patient's story is central in the video which says a lot about how the CARE Network hold their priories." 
 - INQRI Grantee Nancy Hanrahan 

U of U Health Care- Transitions Program

"A small investment in time at discharge can pay off in a big way. Ensuring that patients and their informal caregivers understand what is needed to be done upon discharge may well prevent a return to the hospital. Since hospital days are far more costly than is outpatient care, it behooves providers to devote a small amount of time and resources prior to release and just after discharge from the hospital to prevent an even greater investment due to an exacerbation of illness. This is an area where Ben Franklin's aphorism, 'Pennywise and pound foolish' is spot on." 
 - INQRI Grantee Phyllis Solomon

TOMORROW: Register for Webinar Now

TOMORROW  

Webinar: Moving Beyond Fall Risk Scores: Implementing an Evidence-Based Targeted Risk Factor Fall Prevention Bundle 

Accidental falls are the most common reported patient safety incident in hospitals, and beneficial effects of fall reduction interventions increase when interventions are targeted to patient specific risk factors. Yet, few hospitals focus on implementing fall prevention interventions that mitigate patient specific risks for falls. To translate evidence to practice, an INQRI team led by Marita Titler and Paul Conlon conducted a study to implement fall prevention interventions that target patient specific risk factors and evaluate the impact on fall rates, and fall injuries. Please join the team tomorrow as they present their study results.

Mar. 12, 2013, 4:00--5:00 p.m. ET

Click here to register.

Call For Proposals: Applying Behavioral Economics to Perplexing Health and Health Care Challenges

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Pioneer Portfolio announced their Call for Proposals for the research initiative: Applying Behavioral Economics to Perplexing Health and Health Care Challenges.

This solicitation is currently seeking innovative proposals that apply the principles and frameworks of behavioral economics to persistent and perplexing health and health care problems. The hope is to discover new interventions and insight that have potential to dramatically improve the way health care is delivered and health is promoted and preserved.

The solicitation is particularly interested in supporting experiments that test innovative solutions to the challenge of reducing the use of low-value services in health care. This problem is particularly important given the rising costs and unaffordability of health care in the United States, but has been difficult to impact in part due to perverse incentives in a fee-for-service environment.

 Click here to find out more information about the Applying Behavioral Economics to Perplexing Health and Health Care Challenges Call for Proposals.

RWJF Forum on the Future of Public Health Nursing

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation recently released a report from the "Forum on the Future of Public Health Nursing" which discusses some of the issues which are influencing the context of public health and the roles played by public health nurses.

Factors include:

• Impact of health reform
• Cuts in public health budgets and staff due to budget shortfalls
• New consensus definitions on the scope and competencies of public health nurses
• Recommendations from the Institute of Medicine 2010 report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, including that 80 percent of nurses achieve bachelor-level degrees by 2020
• Public health agency accreditation and adoption of quality improvement measures
• Transition in public health toward a greater emphasis on chronic disease prevention and interventions. 

Click here to learn more.

Reporting Back from Care About Your Care

What a great event yesterday about preventing hospital readmissions.  If you missed out, don't worry - you can check out the Care About Your Care website for patient and provider resources and many, many videos.

The event also was trending in the "Twitterverse."  Take a look at the #yourcare posts on Twitter to read up on the conversation that occurred online during the webcast.

And don't forget - INQRI has a terrific online event planned for today - a webinar from a grantee team regarding the Creation of a Nurse Manager Development Program to Increase Patient Safety.  Join us from 3p-4pmET to learn about an  intervention to increase patient safety by enhancing the leadership and team building skills of nurse managers.

Click here to register. 

Two Days: Two Exciting Events

TODAY

Live Webcast: Care About Your Care

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and dozens of organizations will convene today for Care About Your Care, a national initiative that highlights what works to improve care transitions and reduce avoidable hospital readmissions.

Nancy Snyderman, MD, chief medical editor for NBC News, will lead experts and health care leaders from diverse communities in sharing how they bring together patients, care providers, and community services to foster better health care outcomes.

Feb. 13, 2013, 12:30–2:00 p.m. ET

Steps to join the event:

1. GO TO: http://www.visualwebcaster.com/event.asp?id=92212 
2. CLICK on the “Launch Webcast” button. (Note: You may need to disable pop-ups). IMPORTANT: You may access this link to perform a system check or troubleshoot in advance of the webcast.
3. PROBLEMS? If you experience problems accessing the webinar, email Joyce Kim at jkim@gymr.com or call (202) 745-5068.

Join the Twitterverse: With the hashtag #yourcare


TOMORROW

Webinar: Creation of a Nurse Manager Development Program to Increase Patient Safety 

Evidence indicates leadership skills of frontline nurse managers are key to creating magnetic work environments that promote positive outcomes. Yet, weaknesses in nurse managers' skills often result in environments that threaten patient safety. To translate evidence to practice, an INQRI team led by Linda Flynn and Joel Cantor has built upon their prior INQRI study to design an intervention to increase patient safety by enhancing the leadership and team building skills of nurse managers. They have partnered with award-winning journalist and patient safety advocate Suzanne Gordon and other interdisciplinary experts including a certified Crew Resource Management trainer to design and implement a nurse manager development program. Please join the team on Valentine's Day as they present their study results.

Feb. 14, 2013, 3:00--4:00 p.m. ET

Click here to register. 

Cast Your Vote: RWJF's 2012 Most Influential Research

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has selected the nominees for the 2012 most influential research articles, and now it’s time for you to select the “Final 5.”

RWJF identified 20 RWJF-supported articles published in 2012 that represent the “best of the best” according to readers—research that has influenced the field and changed their work in a valuable way. These articles will now move forward to compete for the title of the “Final 5” most influential research articles of 2012.

Vote here before the polls close on February 15 (11:59 p.m. EST).

Care About Your Care

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and dozens of organizations will convene February 13 for Care About Your Care, a national initiative that highlights what works to improve care transitions and reduce avoidable hospital readmissions.

Nancy Snyderman, MD, chief medical editor for NBC News, will lead experts and health care leaders from diverse communities in sharing how they bring together patients, care providers, and community services to foster better health care outcomes.

The live event will feature:

• Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD - Robert Wood Johnson Foundation president and CEO
• Mary Naylor, PhD, RN, INQRI Program Director - University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing
• Eric Coleman, MD - University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
• Jonathan Blum, MA - Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Representatives from care teams from across the nation who are working on innovative ways to improve care transitions.

When: Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013 12:30–2:00 p.m. ET

To Register for the Live Webcast: Contact careaboutyourcare@rwjf.org

Join the Twitterverse: With the hashtag #yourcare 

Advancing the Science of Quality Improvement Research and Evaluation

INQRI's Senior Program Officer, Lori Melichar, invites you to participate in a virtual meeting on February 13 regarding the advancement of the science of quality improvement research and evaluation.

During the session, you will learn about five quality improvement programs that received grants for evaluation from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation:

• Evaluation of the Perfecting Patient Care University: RAND Corporation 
• Evaluation of a Two-Pronged Training Program to Build Capacity for Quality: Emory University Rollin’s School of Public Health 
• Evaluation of Quality Improvement Training/Capacity Building: The AED Center on AIDS and Community Health
• To Achieve the Best: Evaluating Quality Improvement Training as a Means to an End: Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center 
• Evaluating the Effectiveness of NACCHO Quality Improvement Training Initiatives: The University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health 

Click here to learn more.

To participate, please email Anita Roberts (aroberts@rwjf.org) and put “ASQUIRE meeting” in the subject line of your email.

Funding Opportunity: RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholars

The goal of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholars (NFS) program is to develop the next generation of national leaders in academic nursing through career development awards for outstanding junior nursing faculty. The program aims to strengthen the academic productivity and overall excellence of nursing schools by providing mentorship, leadership training, and salary and research support to young faculty.

Applications are due 2/12/13.

Click here for details.

RWJF's "Charting Nursing's Future" Documents a 40-Year Investment in Nursing

The current issue of Charting Nursing's Future celebrates four decades of investments made by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation which target nursing's ability to improve care and strengthen the nursing profession.

This brief explores the impact of Foundation programs in five areas:

1. expanding roles for nurses
2. building educational capacity
3. demonstrating nurses' contributions to quality and safety
4. creating leaders for the 21st century
5. bridging gaps in research and data

Programs in these areas have had a significant influence on policy and practice. Moreover, they provide valuable lessons for strengthening the nursing profession and leveraging nurses' contributions to meet the demands of a reformed health care system. The programs featured in this issue are those that have been designed with nurses in mind; however, there are many others - such as the Center for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice and the Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellows program - that serve the broader health care workforce including nurses. With the IOM's 2011 report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, as its guide, the Foundation's future investments will continue in this tradition.

Click here to read the issue.

Opinion Piece on Addressing the New Jersey Nursing Shortage

John R. Lumpkin, senior vice president and director of the Health Care Group at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and chair of the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital board of directors, and Susan Bakewell-Sachs, program director of the New Jersey Nursing Initiative (NJNI) and interim provost of the College of New Jersey, recently authored a piece for the Star-Ledger which provides some details about the way that NJNI tries to address the potential of a nursing shortage in New Jersey.

As noted in the blog post, since launching in 2009, NJNI has supported 61 New Jersey Nursing Scholars, providing tuition and other support while they pursue master’s or doctoral degrees that qualify them for faculty positions. Thirty-eight scholars have already graduated, with many now teaching in the state.

Click here to read the post.

INQRI Grantee on the Importance of Transforming the U.S. Health System

Continuing INQRI's contribution to RWJF's Human Capital blog carnival on "Health Care in 2013," INQRI grantee Robin Newhouse's post was featured today. Dr. Newhouse details her resolution for the U.S. in 2013: that the country "begin the transformation of health care systems to enhance high quality patient-centered care." Her post focuses on the importance of implementing evidence-based practices and the measurement and improvement of patient outcomes.

Click here to read Dr. Newhouse's piece.