Delivery of a patient-friendly functioning report to improve patient-centeredness of dialysis care: a pilot study

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Laura Plantinga, Emory University; Brian Jones, Georgia Institute of Technology; Jeremy Johnson, Georgia Institute of Technology; Amelia Lambeth, Georgia Institute of Technology; Janice Lea, Emory University; Leigh Nadel, Emory University; Ann Vandenberg, Emory University; Barrett Bowling, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2019-11-27
• Publisher: BMC (part of Springer Nature)
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2019 The Author(s).
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12913-019-4733-6
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: BMC Health Services Research
• ISSN: 1472-6963
• Volume: 19
• Issue: 1
• Start Page: 891
• End Page: 891
• Grant/Funding Information: This work was supported by the Extramural Grant Program (EGP) by Satellite Healthcare, a not-for-profit renal care provider. Emory University REDCap is supported by UL1 TR000424. Additional support for C.B.B. was provided by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (R01HL133618) and the Durham Center of Innovation to Accelerate Discovery and Practice Transformation (ADAPT), (CIN 13–410) at the Durham VA Health Care System.
• Keywords: MORTALITY; Physical functioning; QUALITY-OF-LIFE; HEMODIALYSIS; KIDNEY-DISEASE; Health Care Sciences & Services; HEALTH; PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE; Patient-centered care; Patient-provider communication; OLDER-ADULTS; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Science & Technology; HOSPITALIZATION; FALLS; ASSOCIATION; Hemodialysis
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Epidemiology; Health Sciences, Health Care Management

Abstract

Background: Provider recognition of level of functioning may be suboptimal in the dialysis setting, and this lack of recognition may lead to less patient-centered care. We aimed to assess whether delivery of an app-based, individualized functioning report would improve patients' perceptions of patient-centeredness of care. Methods: In this pre-post pilot study at three outpatient dialysis facilities in metropolitan Atlanta, an individualized functioning report - including information on physical performance, perceived physical functioning, and community mobility - was delivered to patients receiving hemodialysis (n = 43) and their providers. Qualitative and quantitative approaches were used to gather patient and provider feedback to develop and assess the report and app. Paired t test was used to test for differences in patient perception of patient-centeredness of care (PPPC) scores (range, 1 = most patient-centered to 4 = least patient-centered) 1 month after report delivery. Results: Delivery of the reports to both patients and providers was not associated with a subsequent change in patients' perceptions of patient-centeredness of their care (follow-up vs. baseline PPPC scores of 2.35 vs. 2.36; P > 0.9). However, patients and providers generally saw the potential of the report to improve the patient-centeredness of care and reacted positively to the individualized reports delivered in the pilot. Patients also reported willingness to undergo future assessments. However, while two-thirds of surveyed providers reported always or sometimes discussing the reports they received, most (98%) participating patients reported that no one on the dialysis care team had discussed the report with them within 1 month. Conclusions: Potential lack of fidelity to the intervention precludes definitive conclusions about effects of the report on patient-centeredness of care. The disconnect between patients' and providers' perceptions of discussions of the report warrants future study. However, this study introduces a novel, individualized, multi-domain functional report that is easily implemented in the setting of hemodialysis. Our pilot study provides guidance for improving its use both clinically and in future pragmatic research studies, both within and beyond the dialysis population.