News — After witnessing firsthand the lack of patient education, awareness and understanding of patients鈥� medical conditions 鈥� and how that affected their post-discharge, often triggering readmission 鈥� Jessica Saucier, clinical transplant research nurse at Baylor Research Institute (BRI), decided to embark on the evidence-based project to correct the issue. 鈥淭he literature shows that many Americans鈥� health is at risk because of the difficulty some patients experience in comprehending and acting upon health information,鈥� Saucier said. Saucier developed a low-health-literacy education module aimed at helping cirrhosis-diagnosed patients better understand their disease. With the aim of engaging patients and helping them learn about their conditions in a visually rich way, the module wildly differed from the current standard, largely a selection of printed literature. The primary barometer to measure success was a pair of surveys completed by the patients 鈥� both at the onset and conclusion of the project. Saucier designed the surveys to assess the patients鈥� understanding of their disease before and after the modules were used. At the conclusion of the project, more than 40 percent of patients showed an improved health literacy. The qualitative results were substantial 鈥� phenomenal, even 鈥� and spoke to the need for nurses to help patients achieve a deeper understanding about their illness. Her findings were so impactful that she presented them to last year鈥檚 International Transplant Nurse Society Symposium in Sweden. Next Study Targets Hospital ReadmissionsNow, backed by the positive results of the first study, Saucier has plans for a second phase, a quantitative analysis. For the latest installment, she will pair her low-health-literacy module with frequent follow-up phone calls for up to one month after discharge. Nurses will follow patients on a weekly basis, intervening as appropriate to ensure adherence to their post-discharge care plan.
While the current policy requires just one follow-up activity after discharge, Saucier鈥檚 project will set out to see if increasing follow-ups will effectively decrease readmission. The enhanced follow-up process mostly serves to ensure patients understand their post-treatment care plans, including medication and questions they should ask. The motivation driving the second phase of this project is an issue that has long plagued the health care industry 鈥� readmission. With the recent introduction of 鈥減ay for performance鈥� initiatives, hospitals are strategizing on the best methods to reduce readmissions within 30 days. 鈥淧enalization for hospitals with high readmission rates will start in 2013, therefore there is an obvious financial incentive to focus on readmissions,鈥� Saucier said. 鈥淚t is important to be proactive in reducing readmission rates as it benefits both the patient as well as the hospital.鈥� Saucier said she plans to continue her analysis of cirrhosis patients, citing statistics that show that the prevalence of the disease has doubled over the last decade. Of those, one in five patients with liver disease is readmitted within a month of discharge. Plus, she says, working with cirrhosis patients is her passion. 鈥淎s a nurse in the transplant unit, I have noticed a trend in the cirrhosis-diagnosed population,鈥� Saucier said. 鈥淢any are frequently readmitted and verbalize a lack of understanding about their plan of care.鈥�
Saucier hopes these studies will significantly improve patients鈥� understanding of their disease and improve their quality of life after discharge. 鈥淚 want to not only increase patients鈥� knowledge about their disease, but to also reinforce their care plan over a long period of time so they can better care for themselves and not endure costly readmissions,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 hope that the data shows that comprehensive low-health literacy education and weekly discharge follow-up phone calls by trained nurses over a 30-day period will significantly decrease readmissions in this patient population.鈥� Saucier is not the only Baylor nurse to contribute to the bench-to-bedside research process. Nurse-contributed research has greatly advanced patient care throughout Baylor with clinical and bedside studies that cover the gamut of clinical topics 鈥� from bedside care to nursing education to staff management. The research results amply demonstrate the innovative contributions nurses have provided and the profound impact those contributions have had on patient outcomes.
鈥淏aylor Health Care System鈥檚 nursing research department oversees more than 100 nurse-led studies, many of which have received outside funding,鈥� says Baylor Health Care System Director of Nursing Research Susan Houston, RN, PhD. 鈥淣urse researchers throughout Baylor are available to guide and support nurses in their quest to generate new knowledge while improving care for our patients.鈥�
Saucier has been with Baylor for six years and co-chairs the ASPIRE program, which incentivizes nurses to get more involved with projects spanning quality measures, evidence-based practice and research.
One of the greatest catalysts of nurse-produced research, ASPIRE acronym means: A - AchievingS - Synergy inP - Practice throughI 鈥� ImpactR - Relationships andE - Evidence
The program, which helps nurses advance professionally, rewards BHCS nurses for their contributions in the fields of quality, research and evidence-based practices through cash bonuses. Above all else, ASPIRE recognizes the nurses who make a meaningful impact on patient care and encourages them to pursue projects of special interest to them. 鈥淣urses play a critical role in research,鈥� Saucier says. 鈥淣urses take everything into consideration when caring for a patient, and are great detectives when it comes to finding root causes of problems. I think many nurses are intimidated by research, but they participate in it in some way or another every day 鈥� without being aware. If more nurses took the initiative to participate in evidence-based practice and nursing research, they could change the world!鈥�
About Baylor Health Care SystemBaylor Health Care System is a not-for-profit, faith-based supporting organization providing services to a network of acute care hospitals and related health care entities that provide patient care, medical education, research and community service. Baylor recorded more than 2.8 million patient encounters, $4 billion in total operating revenue, $5.2 billion in total assets and $502 million in community benefit in fiscal year 2011 (as reported to the Texas Department of State Health Services). Baylor鈥檚 network of more than 300 access points includes 30 owned/operated/ ventured/affiliated hospitals; joint ventured ambulatory surgical centers; satellite outpatient locations; senior centers and more than 180 HealthTexas Provider Network physician clinics.
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