$1.35 million grant to enhance safety and wellbeing in long-term care facilities

Researchers from the University of Colorado College of Nursing and CU School of Medicine on the Anschutz Medical Campus were awarded a $1.35 million grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to design and implement technologies that improve resident safety and employee wellbeing at long-term care facilities.

Long-term care facilities in the United States are in crisis, they're facing low resources and high staff turnover. With high turnover, all the training investments for employees are gone if that employee leaves. Then, those trainings become very limited, which is a problem. So resident outcomes and staff outcomes are intertwined." 

Mustafa Ozkaynak, PhD, CU Nursing Associate Professor and CU School of Medicine Faculty Member

The research team, led by Ozkaynak, will create and pilot decision support technologies tailored for long-term care facilities. These digital tools, such as alerts and predictions, provide timely patient and condition information that help providers make informed care decisions. The technologies increase patient safety and decrease staff burnout in hospitals and primary care settings.

There is limited research on how these tools could address the unique challenges facing long-term care facilities.

"Poor quality of care and safety in long-term care facilities -; particularly for persons living with dementia -; leads to preventable falls, emergency visits, hospitalizations, injuries, and even increased mortality. It was made even more obvious to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic, so we need to work in this area and disseminate foundational knowledge to improve care," Ozkaynak says.

This study will be conducted in three parts over three years. In year one, researchers will focus on understanding how employees in long-term care facilities work by analyzing policies, rules, procedures, and the work culture. Researchers will conduct workshops with residents and learn how to implement decision technology to improve their care. Decision support technologies will be implemented at the end of year two, and researchers will evaluate how staff use them.

Research will start in the fall of 2024 at two assisted living communities in the Denver Metro and a nursing home in rural Wyoming.

"This is a very exciting opportunity," Ozkaynak says. "We think this is going to be an area where we can make a huge difference because it's very understudied. Anything we do will hopefully lead to additional studies, which will help better the long-term care healthcare system."

CU Nursing Assistant Professor Dawon Baik, PhD, RN, and CU School of Medicine Professor of Medicine Cari Levy, MD, PhD are also part of the research team, along with other CU Nursing faculty and research assistants. CU Nursing's PhD students will also have an opportunity to take part in the research.