John F. Schnelle’s research while affiliated with Vanderbilt University and other places

Background Many hospitals have acute care for elders (ACE) units or engage in programs to enhance care for older inpatients. However, few studies have objectively evaluated nurse staffing models to support care for older inpatients. Methods This study applied discrete event simulation (DES) to an ACE unit to objectively evaluate registered nurse (RN) and nursing assistant (NA) staffing allocations. Research staff collected standardized, objective data related to nursing tasks and time requirements to model the ACE unit clinical care environment and evaluate varying RN and NA staffing allocations on measures of nursing workload, care quality, and care efficiency. Results On a 22‐bed ACE unit, 85% of patients were aged 65 or older, 37% had cognitive impairment, and 89% required toileting and/or mobility assistance. Nurse care routines were interrupted frequently by unscheduled patient care requests, with an average frequency of 6.1 (±1.6) requests per hour. DES was used to simulate four different RN and NA staffing allocations. Results showed the most common staffing (four RNs and one NA) resulted in the highest nursing workload rates (89% and 88% for RNs and NAs, respectively) and the highest rate of predicted care omissions (6.2%). Additionally, RNs were predicted to help with 83% of NA care tasks related to toileting and mobility assistance. Alternative allocations of four RNs and three NAs or five RNs and two NAs resulted in more feasible workload rates, lower rates of care omissions, and less reliance on RNs for NA care tasks. Conclusions DES provides an objective method to identify nurse staffing needs for an ACE hospital unit. This approach can be used to safely evaluate the potential impact of varying nurse staffing allocations. The DES model for the ACE unit is adaptable to other types of hospital units that care for older patients.

Background The relative contributions of common patient-reported social determinants of health on 30- and 90-day post-discharge outcomes among patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) is unclear. Objective The aim of this article is to examine the independent associations of social determinants with readmission or death, accounting for medical history. Methods Participants included adults who were hospitalized with ACS at an academic medical center. Domains measured were social support, health literacy/numeracy, and socioeconomic status (SES) (including education and difficulty paying bills). We employed multivariable Cox proportional hazard models to study associations with time to all-cause readmission or death, up to 30 or 90 days after discharge, and adjusted for demographics and medical history (prior admissions and Elixhauser comorbidity index). Key Results Among 1,168 patients with ACS and no history of heart failure, more prior admissions, and higher comorbidity index (the medical history domain) were associated with higher rates of 30- and 90-day readmission or death (domain p values <.01 and <.0001, respectively). The social support domain was not associated with outcomes. Higher health literacy and numeracy were associated with lower rates of 30- and 90-day readmission or death (domain p values .016 and .002, respectively). Higher education and less difficulty paying bills (the SES domain) was marginally associated with lower rates of 90-day readmission or death (domain, p = .052). Conclusions In addition to medical history, the domain of health literacy and numeracy was independently associated with readmission or death of patients with ACS during the 90 days after hospital discharge. [ HLRP: Health Literacy Research and Practice . 2024;8(4):e212–e223. ]

Objective: Delirium in older emergency department (ED) adults is associated with poorer long-term physical function and cognition. We sought to evaluate if the time to and intensity of physical and/or occupational therapy (PT/OT) are associated with the duration of ED delirium into hospitalization (ED delirium duration). Methods: This is a secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study conducted from March 2012 to November 2014 at an urban, academic, tertiary care hospital. Patients aged ≥65 years presenting to the ED and who received PT/OT during their hospitalization were included. Days from enrollment to the first PT/OT session and PT/OT duration relative to hospital length of stay (PT/OT intensity) were abstracted from the medical record. ED delirium duration was defined as the duration of delirium detected in the ED using the Brief Confusion Assessment Method. Data were analyzed using a proportional odds logistic regression adjusted for multiple variables. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) were calculated with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Results: The median log PT/OT intensity was 0.5% (interquartile range [IQR]: 0.3%, 0.9%) and was associated with shorter delirium duration (adjusted OR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.21-0.73). The median time to the first PT/OT session was 2 days (IQR: 1, 3 days) and was not associated with delirium duration (adjusted OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.82-1.27). Conclusion: In older hospitalized adults, higher PT/OT intensity may be a useful intervention to shorten delirium duration. Time to first PT/OT session was not associated with delirium duration but was initiated a full 2 days after the ED presentation.

Objective To determine at which phase in the recruitment process for participation in clinical research studies do health literacy and other patient characteristics influence recruitment outcomes. Patients and Methods Using a sample of 5872 patients hospitalized with cardiovascular disease approached for participation in the Vanderbilt Inpatient Cohort Study from October 2011 through December 2015, we examined the independent association of patients’ health literacy with two steps in their research participation decision-making process: (1) research interest — willingness to hear more about a research study; and (2) research participation — the decision to enroll after an informed consent discussion. Best practices for effective health communication were implemented in recruitment approaches and informed consent processes. Using logistic regression models, we determined patient characteristics independently associated with patients’ willingness to hear about and participate in the study. Results In unadjusted analyses, participants with higher health literacy, and those who were younger, female, or had more education had higher levels of both research interest and research participation. Health literacy remained independently associated with both outcomes in multivariable models, after adjustment for sociodemographic factors. Conclusion Because identical variables predicted both research interest and eventual consent, efforts to recruit broad populations must include acceptable methods of approaching potential participants as well as explaining study materials.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence, rate of underdiagnosis and undertreatment, and association with activities of daily living dependency of spasticity in a nursing home setting. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting and participants: This study is an analysis of a deidentified data set generated by a prior quality improvement project at a 240-bed nursing home for residents receiving long-term care or skilled nursing care services. Methods: Each resident was examined by a movement disorders specialist neurologist to determine whether spasticity was present and, if so, the total number of spastic postures present in upper and lower limbs was recorded. Medical records, including the Minimum Data Set, were reviewed for neurologic diagnoses associated with spasticity, activities of daily living (ADL) dependency, and prior documentation of diagnosis and past or current treatments. Ordinary least squares linear regression models were used to evaluate the association between spasticity and ADL dependency. Results: Two hundred nine residents (154 women, 81.9 ± 10.9 years) were included in this analysis. Spasticity was present in 22% (45/209) of residents examined by the neurologist. Only 11% of residents (5/45) had a prior diagnosis of spasticity and were receiving treatment. Presence of spasticity was associated with greater ADL dependency (χ2 = 51.72, P < .001), which was driven by lower limb spasticity (χ2 = 14.56, P = .006). Conclusions and implications: These results suggest that spasticity (1) is common in nursing homes (1 of 5 residents), (2) is often not diagnosed or adequately treated, and (3) is associated with worse ADL dependency. Further research is needed to enhance the rates of diagnosis and treatment of spasticity in long-term care facilities.

In a prospective cohort study of Veterans and community health nurses, we enrolled hospitalized older Veterans referred to home care for skilled nursing and/or physical or occupational therapy for posthospitalization care. We assessed preadmission activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living, health literacy, numeracy, and cognition. Postdischarge phone calls identified medication errors and medication reconciliation efforts by home healthcare clinicians. Veterans Administration-based community health nurses completed surveys about content and timing of postdischarge interactions with home healthcare clinicians. We determined the types and frequency of medication errors among older Veterans receiving home healthcare, patient-provider communication patterns in this setting, and patient characteristics affecting medication error rates. Most Veterans (24/30, 80%) had at least one discordant medication, and only one noted that errors were identified and resolved. Veterans were asked about medications in the home healthcare setting, but far fewer were questioned about medication-taking details, adherence, and as-needed or nonoral medications. Higher numeracy was associated with fewer errors. Veterans Administration community health nurses reported contact by home healthcare clinicians in 41% of cases (7/17). Given the high rate of medication errors discovered, future work should focus on implementing best practices for medication review in this setting, as well as documenting barriers/facilitators of patient-provider communication.

Objectives: Polypharmacy is associated with delirium, but the mechanisms for this connection are unclear. Our goal was to determine the frequency of supratherapeutic psychotropic drug levels (SPDLs) in older hospitalized patients and if it is associated with the duration of emergency department (ED) delirium. Design: Secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study. Setting: Tertiary care academic medical center. Participants: ED patients 65 years or older who were admitted to the hospital. Measurements: Delirium was assessed in the ED and during the first 7 days of hospitalization using the modified Brief Confusion Assessment Method. Drug concentrations were determined in serum samples collected at enrollment via a novel platform based on liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry capable of identifying and quantitating 78 clinically approved medications including opioids, benzodiazepines, antidepressants, antipsychotics, and amphetamines. Patients with serum psychotropic drug concentrations above established reference ranges were considered supratherapeutic and have a SPDL. We performed proportional odds logistic regression to determine if SPDLs were associated with ED delirium duration adjusted for confounders. Medical record review was performed to determine if the doses of medications associated with SPDLs were adjusted at hospital discharge. Results: A total of 158 patients were enrolled; of these, 66 were delirious in the ED. SPDLs were present in 11 (17%) of the delirious and 4 (4%) of the non-delirious ED patients. SPDLs were significantly associated with longer ED delirium duration (adjusted proportional odds ratio = 6.0; 95% confidence interval = 2.1-17.3) after adjusting for confounders. Of the 15 medications associated with SPDLs, 9 (60%) were prescribed at the same or higher doses at the time of hospital discharge. Conclusion: SPDLs significantly increased the odds of prolonged ED delirium episodes. Approximately half of the medications associated with SPDLs were continued after hospital discharge at the same or higher doses.

Background Polypharmacy is prevalent among hospitalized older adults, particularly those being discharged to a post-care care facility (PAC). The aim of this randomized controlled trial is to determine if a patient-centered deprescribing intervention initiated in the hospital and continued in the PAC setting reduces the total number of medications among older patients. Methods The Shed-MEDS study is a 5-year, randomized controlled clinical intervention trial comparing a patient-centered describing intervention with usual care among older (≥50 years) hospitalized patients discharged to PAC, either a skilled nursing facility (SNF) or an inpatient rehabilitation facility (IPR). Patient measurements occur at hospital enrollment, hospital discharge, within 7 days of PAC discharge, and at 60 and 90 days following PAC discharge. Patients are randomized in a permuted block fashion, with block sizes of two to four. The overall effectiveness of the intervention will be evaluated using total medication count as the primary outcome measure. We estimate that 576 patients will enroll in the study. Following attrition due to death or loss to follow-up, 420 patients will contribute measurements at 90 days, which provides 90% power to detect a 30% versus 25% reduction in total medications with an alpha error of 0.05. Secondary outcomes include the number of medications associated with geriatric syndromes, drug burden index, medication adherence, the prevalence and severity of geriatric syndromes and functional health status. Discussion The Shed-MEDS trial aims to test the hypothesis that a patient-centered deprescribing intervention initiated in the hospital and continuing through the PAC stay will reduce the total number of medications 90 days following PAC discharge and result in improvements in geriatric syndromes and functional health status. The results of this trial will quantify the health outcomes associated with reducing medications for hospitalized older adults with polypharmacy who are discharged to post-acute care facilities. Trial registration This trial was prospectively registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02979353). The trial was first registered on 12/1/2016, with an update on 09/28/17 and 10/12/2018. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12913-019-3995-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.