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Improving TRansitions ANd OutcomeS for Heart FailurE Patients in Home Health CaRe (I-TRANSFER-HF): A Type 1 Hybrid Effectiveness- Implementation Trial

Not Applicable
Recruiting
Conditions
Heart Failure
Interventions
Other: I-TRANSFER-HF
Registration Number
NCT06118983
Lead Sponsor
Weill Medical College of Cornell University
Brief Summary

This study is trying to improve the hospital-to-home transition for people with heart failure who receive home care services. The study will test an intervention called I-TRANSFER-HF, which differs from usual care by combining early home health nurse visits and outpatient medical appointments.

The study is interested in two questions:

1. Is I-TRANSFER-HF better than usual care at preventing heart failure patients from returning to the hospital within 30 days?

2. Are there parts of I-TRANSFER-HF that are easy or hard to implement in the real world?

The researchers will answer these questions by testing the intervention among pairs of hospitals and home health agencies across the country. During the study, the hospital-agency pairs will be asked to implement I-TRANSFER-HF. The researchers will then compare the results from before and after I-TRANSFER-HF was adopted. They will also interview people from these hospitals and agencies to see how I-TRANSFER-HF is being implemented under real-world conditions.

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
RECRUITING
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
1154
Inclusion Criteria
  • Adults hospitalized for HF who transition from participating hospitals to their partner HHC agency during the study period.

Aim 1,

Exclusion Criteria
  • Patients hospitalized for HF and discharged: home without HHC, or to an inpatient rehabilitation facility, skilled nursing facility, or hospice; patients with end stage renal disease on dialysis and those with left ventricular devices.

Aim 2, Inclusion Criteria:

  • Healthcare professional involved in the transition of heart failure patients from the acute care setting (hospital) to HHC (home health care) agencies, and the implementation of the I-TRANSFER-HF at one of the four participating hospital-HHC dyads.

Aim 2, Exclusion Criteria:

  • Healthcare professional not involved in the transition of heart failure patients from the acute care setting (hospital) to HHC (home health care) agencies, and the implementation of the I-TRANSFER-HF at one of the four participating hospital-HHC dyads.

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
SEQUENTIAL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
I-TRANSFER-HFI-TRANSFER-HFThis is a 1-year long intervention period when I-TRANSFER-HF is in operation.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Number of heart failure patients eligible to receive I-TRANSFER-HF as assessed by Medicare claims data12 months
All-cause 30-day hospital readmission30 days following post-Index HF Hospitalization

All-cause 30-day hospital readmission among adults hospitalized for heart failure who receive home health care after discharge and receive the I-TRANSFER-HF protocol compared to usual care, as assessed by Medicare claims

Feasibility of implementing I-TRANSFER-HF30 days after intervention (year of intervention)

Feasibility will be measured through the completion of the validated, 4-item, Feasibility of Intervention Measure (FIM). Items are measured on a 5-point Likert scale (Completely Disagree-Completely Agree). The score is calculated as the mean. The scale for this measure ranges from 4-20 with higher scores indicating greater perceived feasibility of the intervention.

Number of heart failure patients who received both components of I-TRANSFER-HF (frontloaded home health nurse visits and early outpatient medical follow-up), one, or none as assessed by Medicare claims data12 months
The modality of outpatient follow-up received (in-person vs. virtual visit) as assessed by Medicare claims data12 months
The timeliness of first-week nursing visits within 2 days of hospital discharge as assessed by Medicare claims data12 months
The timeliness of outpatient visits within 7 days of hospital discharge as assessed by Medicare claims data12 months
Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
All-cause 30-day emergency department visits among adults hospitalized for heart failure who receive home health care after discharge and receive the I-TRANSFER-HF protocol compared to usual care, as assessed by Medicare claims data30 days following post-Index heart failure Hospitalization.
Days at home among adults hospitalized for heart failure who receive home health care after discharge and receive the I-TRANSFER-HF protocol compared to usual care, as assessed by Medicare claimsDuring a 12-month period (year of intervention)

Days at home will be calculated as 365 days minus the number of inpatient days in an acute care facility, an inpatient rehabilitation facility, a skilled nursing facility, or an inpatient hospice unit.

Adaptation of I-TRANSFER-HF30 days after intervention (year of intervention)

Adaptation will be assessed with qualitative interviews to document how the intervention was modified and refined during the study period.

Fidelity of I-TRANSFER-HF30 days after intervention (year of intervention)

Fidelity will be assessed by extent to which I-TRANSFER-HF is implemented by the study site teams. Fidelity will be measured using observational fidelity ratings conducted by site champions. These checklists will be developed during the implementation process.

Acceptability of I-TRANSFER-HF30 days after intervention (year of intervention)

Acceptability will be assessed through the 4-item, validated, Acceptability of Intervention Measure (AIM). Items are measured on a 5-point Likert scale (Completely Disagree-Completely Agree). The score is calculated as the mean. The scale for this measure ranges from 4-20 with higher scores indicating greater perceived acceptability of the intervention.

Trial Locations

Locations (2)

Weill Cornell Medicine

🇺🇸

New York, New York, United States

VNS Health Partners in Care

🇺🇸

New York, New York, United States

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