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A Mixed Methods Study to Implement the Synergy Tool and Evaluate Its Impact on Long-Term Care Residents

Background: There are ongoing workforce challenges with the delivery of long-term care (LTC), such as staffing decisions based on arbitrary standards. The Synergy tool, a resident-centered approach to staffing, provides objective, real-time acuity and dependency scores (Synergy scores) for residents...

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Autores principales: Havaei, Farinaz, Kobekyaa, Francis, Ma, Andy, MacPhee, Maura, Zhang, Wei, Kaulius, Megan, Ahmadi, Bahar, Boamah, Sheila, Easterbrook, Adam, Salmon, Amy
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10418466/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37570427
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11152187
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author Havaei, Farinaz
Kobekyaa, Francis
Ma, Andy
MacPhee, Maura
Zhang, Wei
Kaulius, Megan
Ahmadi, Bahar
Boamah, Sheila
Easterbrook, Adam
Salmon, Amy
author_facet Havaei, Farinaz
Kobekyaa, Francis
Ma, Andy
MacPhee, Maura
Zhang, Wei
Kaulius, Megan
Ahmadi, Bahar
Boamah, Sheila
Easterbrook, Adam
Salmon, Amy
author_sort Havaei, Farinaz
collection PubMed
description Background: There are ongoing workforce challenges with the delivery of long-term care (LTC), such as staffing decisions based on arbitrary standards. The Synergy tool, a resident-centered approach to staffing, provides objective, real-time acuity and dependency scores (Synergy scores) for residents. The purpose of this study was to implement and evaluate the impact of the Synergy tool on LTC delivery. Methods: A longitudinal mixed methods study took place within two publicly funded LTC homes in British Columbia, Canada. Quantitative data included weekly Synergy scores for residents (24 weeks), monthly aggregated resident falls data (18 months) and a six-month economic evaluation. Qualitative data were gathered from family caregivers and thematically analyzed. Results: Quantitative findings from Synergy scores revealed considerable variability for resident acuity/dependency needs within and across units; and falls decreased during implementation. The six-month economic evaluation demonstrated some cost savings by comparing Synergy tool training and implementation costs with savings from resident fall rate reductions. Qualitative analyses yielded three positive impact themes (improved care delivery, better communication, and improved resident-family-staff relationships), and two negative structural themes (language barrier and staff shortages). Conclusions: The Synergy tool provides useful data for enhancing a ‘fit’ between resident needs and available staff.
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spelling pubmed-104184662023-08-12 A Mixed Methods Study to Implement the Synergy Tool and Evaluate Its Impact on Long-Term Care Residents Havaei, Farinaz Kobekyaa, Francis Ma, Andy MacPhee, Maura Zhang, Wei Kaulius, Megan Ahmadi, Bahar Boamah, Sheila Easterbrook, Adam Salmon, Amy Healthcare (Basel) Article Background: There are ongoing workforce challenges with the delivery of long-term care (LTC), such as staffing decisions based on arbitrary standards. The Synergy tool, a resident-centered approach to staffing, provides objective, real-time acuity and dependency scores (Synergy scores) for residents. The purpose of this study was to implement and evaluate the impact of the Synergy tool on LTC delivery. Methods: A longitudinal mixed methods study took place within two publicly funded LTC homes in British Columbia, Canada. Quantitative data included weekly Synergy scores for residents (24 weeks), monthly aggregated resident falls data (18 months) and a six-month economic evaluation. Qualitative data were gathered from family caregivers and thematically analyzed. Results: Quantitative findings from Synergy scores revealed considerable variability for resident acuity/dependency needs within and across units; and falls decreased during implementation. The six-month economic evaluation demonstrated some cost savings by comparing Synergy tool training and implementation costs with savings from resident fall rate reductions. Qualitative analyses yielded three positive impact themes (improved care delivery, better communication, and improved resident-family-staff relationships), and two negative structural themes (language barrier and staff shortages). Conclusions: The Synergy tool provides useful data for enhancing a ‘fit’ between resident needs and available staff. MDPI 2023-08-02 /pmc/articles/PMC10418466/ /pubmed/37570427 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11152187 Text en © 2023 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Havaei, Farinaz
Kobekyaa, Francis
Ma, Andy
MacPhee, Maura
Zhang, Wei
Kaulius, Megan
Ahmadi, Bahar
Boamah, Sheila
Easterbrook, Adam
Salmon, Amy
A Mixed Methods Study to Implement the Synergy Tool and Evaluate Its Impact on Long-Term Care Residents
title A Mixed Methods Study to Implement the Synergy Tool and Evaluate Its Impact on Long-Term Care Residents
title_full A Mixed Methods Study to Implement the Synergy Tool and Evaluate Its Impact on Long-Term Care Residents
title_fullStr A Mixed Methods Study to Implement the Synergy Tool and Evaluate Its Impact on Long-Term Care Residents
title_full_unstemmed A Mixed Methods Study to Implement the Synergy Tool and Evaluate Its Impact on Long-Term Care Residents
title_short A Mixed Methods Study to Implement the Synergy Tool and Evaluate Its Impact on Long-Term Care Residents
title_sort mixed methods study to implement the synergy tool and evaluate its impact on long-term care residents
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10418466/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37570427
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11152187
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