Health Care Recipient, Home-dwelling Elderly
Conditions
Keywords
automated notification service, community healthcare providers, randomized controlled trial
Brief summary
This study evaluates the value of the automated notification service that allows more timely information access and sharing. A 12-month RCT will be conducted to determine the efficacy of the provision of the service to an elderly care and service provider in improving care and health outcomes of the elderly. Researchers will also examine whether the notification service will better support the carers for the coordination and prioritization of care and service delivery.
Detailed description
A research team at the University of Hong Kong is commissioned to conduct a study of the efficacy of providing an automated notification service, i.e., the Encounter Notification Service, via the Electronic Health Record Sharing System (eHRSS) to an elderly caring and service provider that aims to facilitate more timely provision and coordination of healthcare services for home-dwelling elderly. With the access to the automated notification service containing up-to-date encounter information of the elderly in the eHRSS (e.g. discharge date from the public hospital, outpatient appointments), it is expected that the elderly caring and service provider can improve its allocation of resources and prioritize the provision of service to elderly patients who are in need, i.e., during the transition of care. As a result, the caring support and services provided by the elderly caring and service provider to the elderly can be more timely and effective, and an improvement in patient health outcomes can be expected. To obtain evidence to determine the value of the automated notification service, a systematic study of the efficacy is suggested. Thus, researchers set out to conduct a 12-month randomized controlled trial (RCT) to examine whether the provision of the automated notification service to the caring and service provider will result in improvements in care and health outcomes of the elderly. Also, researchers will assess whether the notification service will better support the carers for the coordination and prioritization of care and service provision and improve workflow and administrative procedures amongst different sectors. In this pilot study, the Senior Citizen Home Safety Association (SCHSA) is the participated elderly caring and service provider.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALEncounter notification service
The caring support and services provided by SCHSA will consist of multiple components, including standard call & care center support, medical appointment reminder, assistance to reschedule appointment, follow-up calls with either nurse or health workers to monitor health situation of service recipients, assessing needs of service recipient for elderly home care and/or rehabilitation services, providing elderly home care and/or rehabilitation services based on assessment, assessing needs of service recipient for emotional and community support, providing additional emotional support via either social calls by volunteers or counseling by social workers, and making referrals for community support services.
Sponsors
Hospital Authority, Hong Kong
The University of Hong Kong
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* are aged 18 years or older * have registered in eHRSS as healthcare recipients and given consent for sharing their records in the eHRSS with the SCHSA * are able to understand spoken Cantonese
Exclusion criteria
* with mental incapacity * with hearing difficulties
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| changes in the number of Accident and Emergency (A&E) visits | from baseline to 6 and 12 months |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| changes in the number of non-attendance to outpatient appointments | from baseline to 6 and 12 months | — |
| changes in the number of unplanned hospitalizations | from baseline to 6 and 12 months | — |
| changes in the number of 30-day unplanned readmissions | from baseline to 6 and 12 months | — |
| changes in the understanding of the arrangement of outpatient appointments | from baseline to 6 and 12 months | measured by a questionnaire with items on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (worse outcome) to 5 (better outcome) |
| changes in the elderly's perceptions of the services | from baseline to 6 and 12 months | measured by a questionnaire with items on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (worse outcome) to 5 (better outcome) |
| changes in the stability of health condition | from baseline to 6 and 12 months | measured by a questionnaire with items on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (worse outcome) to 5 (better outcome) |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| changes in the carers' perceptions of the impacts of the notification service | from baseline to 6 and 12 months | A questionnaire survey will be conducted to assess carers' perceptions of the automated notification service on care coordination and prioritization, workflow, and administrative procedures. |
Countries
Hong Kong
Contacts
Primary ContactKalun Or, PhD
Outcome results
None listed