Characteristics and Outcomes of Medicare Patients Treated in Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities: 2013-2018.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics and outcomes of Medicare patients treated in inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) in 2013 through 2018. DESIGN: A descriptive study was conducted. METHODS: A total of 2,907,046 IRF Medicare fee-for-service and Medicare Advantage patient stays that ended in 2013 through 2018 were analyzed. RESULTS: The number of Medicare patients treated in IRFs increased by about 9%, from 466,092 in 2013 to 509,475 in 2018. Although IRF patients' age and racial/ethnic composition remained similar across the years, there was a shift in patients' primary rehabilitation diagnosis, with more patients with stroke, neurological conditions, traumatic and nontraumatic brain injury, fewer patients with orthopedic conditions, and fewer coded as having medically complex conditions. Across the years, the percentage of patients discharged to the community was between 73.0% and 74.4%. CLINICAL RELEVANCE TO THE PRACTICE OF REHABILITATION NURSING: Rehabilitation nurses should have training and expertise in the management of patients with stroke and neurological conditions to provide high-quality IRF care. CONCLUSIONS: Between 2013 and 2018, the number of Medicare patients treated in IRFs increased overall. There were more patients with stroke and neurological conditions and fewer patients with orthopedic conditions. Changes to IRF and other post-acute care policies, Medicaid expansion, and alternative payment programs may partially be driving these changes.

Quality Measure Concepts for Inpatient Rehabilitation That Are Best Understood From the Patient's Perspective.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to identify inpatient rehabilitation quality-of-care concepts that are best understood from the patient perspective. DESIGN: We conducted 12 focus groups with 95 former patients, caregivers, and rehabilitation clinicians and asked them to describe high-quality inpatient rehabilitation care. METHODS: We independently reviewed the focus group transcripts and then used an iterative process to identify the quality measure concepts identified by participants. RESULTS: Based on participants' comments, we identified 18 quality measure concepts: respect and dignity, clinician communication with patient, clinician communication with family, organizational culture, clinician engagement with patient, clinician engagement with family, rehabilitation goals, staff expertise, responsiveness, patient safety, physical environment, care coordination, discharge planning, patient and family education, peer support, symptom management (pain, anxiety, fatigue, sadness), sleep, and functioning. CLINICAL RELEVANCE TO THE PRACTICE OF REHABILITATION NURSING: Rehabilitation nurses should be aware of the quality-of-care issues that are important to patients and their caregivers. CONCLUSION: Important patient-reported domains of quality of care include interpersonal relationships, patient and family engagement, care planning and delivery, access to support, and quality of life.

Perceptions of Person-Centered Care Following Spinal Cord Injury.

OBJECTIVES: To (1) evaluate perceptions of person-centered care (PCC) in individuals with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI); and (2) examine perceived differences in PCC concepts between patients continuing to receive any services from a Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems (SCIMS) facility and those who are not. DESIGN: We used a cross-sectional design, mailed a paper survey, and followed up with a second mailing to nonrespondents after 4 weeks. SETTING: Community. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals (N=326) who received initial rehabilitation at an SCIMS facility and agreed to participate in this research study. We distinguished respondents who received any SCIMS outpatient services in the past 2 years (SCIMS users, n=137) or longer ago (SCIMS nonusers, n=189). INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants completed the Patient Activation Measure (PAM), the Patient Assessment of Chronic Illness Care, the Global Practice Experience measure, and 5 Press-Ganey questions that assessed key elements of patient- and family-centered care. RESULTS: Patient perspectives of chronic illness care were more positive in the SCIMS users than nonusers (3.15 vs 2.91, P<.05); the difference is attributable primarily to higher subscale scores on goal setting and tailoring. The SCIMS users and nonusers did not differ in terms of PAM overall score or activation stage, Global Practice Experience, or Press-Ganey scores. CONCLUSIONS: SCIMS users and nonusers differed on perceptions of chronic illness care (largely the goal-setting and tailoring component), which were more favorable for Model System users than nonusers. Results can guide strategies to enhance PCC practices after inpatient rehabilitation.

Evaluating the Psychometric Properties and Responsiveness to Change of 3 Depression Measures in a Sample of Persons With Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury and Major Depressive Disorder.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the measurement properties and responsiveness to change of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-20 (HSCL-20), and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) in people with spinal cord injury (SCI) diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD). DESIGN: Secondary analysis of depression symptoms measured at 6 occasions over 12 weeks as part of a randomized controlled trial of venlafaxine XR for MDD in persons with SCI. SETTING: Outpatient and community settings. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals (N=133) consented and completed the drug trial. Eligibility criteria were age at least 18 years, traumatic SCI, and diagnosis of MDD. INTERVENTIONS: Venlafaxine XR. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Patients completed the PHQ-9 and the HSCL-20 depression scales; clinical investigators completed the HAM-D and the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) Dissociative Disorders, which was used as a diagnostic criterion measure. RESULTS: All 3 instruments were improved with rating scale analysis. The HSCL-20 and the HAM-D contained items that misfit the underlying construct and that correlated weakly with the total scores. Removing these items improved the internal consistency, with floor effects increasing slightly. The HAM-D correlated most strongly with Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Dissociative Disorders diagnoses. Improvement in depression was similar on all outcome measures in both treatment and control groups. CONCLUSIONS: The psychometric properties of the revised depression instruments are more than adequate for routine use in adults with SCI and are responsive to clinical improvement. The PHQ-9 is the simplest instrument with measurement properties as good as or better than those of the other instruments and required the fewest modifications.

Perceptions of Shared Decision Making Among Patients with Spinal Cord Injuries/Disorders.

Background: Individuals with spinal cord injuries/disorders (SCI/D) are interested in, and benefit from, shared decision making (SDM). Objective: To explore SDM among individuals with SCI/D and how demographics and health and SCI/D characteristics are related to SDM. Method: Individuals with SCI/D who were at least 1 year post injury, resided in the Chicago metropolitan area, and received SCI care at a Veterans Affairs (VA; n = 124) or an SCI Model Systems facility (n = 326) completed a mailed survey measuring demographics, health and SCI/D characteristics, physical and mental health status, and perceptions of care, including SDM, using the Combined Outcome Measure for Risk Communication and Treatment Decision-Making Effectiveness (COMRADE) that assesses decision-making effectiveness (effectiveness) and risk communication (communication). Bivariate analyses and multiple linear regression were used to identify variables associated with SDM. Results: Participants were mostly male (83%) and White (70%) and were an average age of 54 years (SD = 14.3). Most had traumatic etiology, 44% paraplegia, and 49% complete injury. Veteran/civilian status and demographics were unrelated to scores. Bivariate analyses showed that individuals with tetraplegia had better effectiveness scores than those with paraplegia. Better effectiveness was correlated with better physical and mental health; better communication was correlated with better mental health. Multiple linear regressions showed that tetraplegia, better physical health, and better mental health were associated with better effectiveness, and better mental health was associated with better communication. Conclusion: SCI/D and health characteristics were the only variables associated with SDM. Interventions to increase engagement in SDM and provider attention to SDM may be beneficial, especially for individuals with paraplegia or in poorer physical and mental health.

Differences in quality of life outcomes among depressed spinal cord injury trial participants.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the role that treatment response plays in a randomized controlled trial of an antidepressant among people with spinal cord injury (SCI) diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) in explaining quality of life (QOL), assessed both globally as life satisfaction and in terms of physical and mental health-related QOL. DESIGN: Multivariable analyses were conducted, controlling for demographic, neurologic, and participatory factors and perceived functional limitations. SETTING: Rehabilitation centers. PARTICIPANTS: Of the 133 persons who were randomized into the Project to Improve Symptoms and Mood after Spinal Cord Injury randomized controlled trial, 124 participated in this study. All participants were between the ages of 18 and 64 years, at least 1 month post-SCI, met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, criteria for MDD, and completed the core measures used in this study. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The Satisfaction with Life Scale and the physical and mental component summary scores of the Medical Outcomes Study 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey. RESULTS: Reduction in depressive symptoms over the course of a 12-week trial was predictive of increased QOL, which was measured as life satisfaction and mental well-being, within the context of other explanatory factors. However, reduction in symptoms did not explain differences in physical well-being among those with MDD. Perceived functional disability explained all 3 indices of QOL. CONCLUSIONS: Greater recognition has been given to QOL outcomes as endpoints of clinical trials because these often reflect participants' reported outcomes. Our findings support the association of QOL to the reduction of depression symptoms among trial participants. This association differs depending on how QOL is defined and measured, with stronger relations observed with life satisfaction and mental well-being among those diagnosed with MDD. The lack of association between depression and physical well-being may be explained by participants' subjective interpretation of physical well-being after SCI and their expectations and perceptions of improved physical health-related QOL based on the use of assistive technology. Consistent with our findings, pain is likely to play a role in decreasing physical QOL among those with incomplete injuries. Practicing caution is suggested in using physical well-being as an endpoint in trials among people with SCI.

Predictors of participation enfranchisement after spinal cord injury: the mediating role of depression and moderating role of demographic and injury characteristics.

OBJECTIVES: (1) To examine the mediating effects of depressive symptoms on the relations between employment, grief, depression treatment, and participation enfranchisement after spinal cord injury (SCI); and (2) to examine the moderating role of demographic and injury characteristics, including sex, race, marital status, education, and injury level, and completeness on these relations. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey as part of the Project to Improve Symptoms and Mood after SCI (PRISMS). SETTING: Rehabilitation facilities. PARTICIPANTS: Persons with SCI (N=522; average age, 42 y; 76% men; 64% white; 64% completed at least a high school education) enrolled from 2007 to 2011. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Participation enfranchisement. RESULTS: The final model fit the data relatively well (comparative fix index=.939; Tucker-Lewis Index=.894; root mean square error of approximation=.066; 90% confidence interval, .043-.089), explaining 32% of the variance in participation enfranchisement. Enfranchisement was positively related to employment and negatively related to depression. Grieving the loss of a loved one and the use of an antidepressant or psychotherapy were related to participation enfranchisement; these relations were mediated by depressive symptoms. Multigroup analyses supported the model's invariance across sex, marital status, severity of injury, and level of injury. CONCLUSIONS: Depression appears to mediate the influence of employment, grief, and depression treatments on participation enfranchisement after SCI. These relations are applicable regardless of sex, marital status, and injury completeness and level. These findings highlight efforts to improve the detection and treatment of depression in SCI rehabilitation programs that may enhance participation.