Development and Feasibility of a Function-focused Transitional Care Intervention to Support Functional Recovery in Older Veterans

Nearly two-thirds of older adults experience significant functional decline after hospital discharge, resulting in loss of independence, institutionalization, and even death. Functional decline (i.e., loss of physical or cognitive ability that makes it difficult or impossible to perform activities of daily living) often occurs after hospital discharge due to a complex interplay between pre-existing health conditions, physiological stressors, and reduced mobility and activity levels during hospitalization. Veterans are at particular risk of functional decline as they experience a disproportionate burden of physical and psychological conditions compared to their non-Veteran peers. Transitions from hospital to home serve as critical junctures to address Veterans' functional needs, but many patients are discharged without a comprehensive functional evaluation. Even when evaluation occurs, discharge plans often fail to translate into effective care delivery, creating a concerning gap between planned and actual support after hospitalization.

The Coordinated Transitional Care (CTraC) program is a potential foundation on which to build a protocol that meets Veterans' rehabilitative care needs during and after discharge. CTraC is a nurse-led transitional care program developed to improve Veterans' transitions to the community after hospitalization. CTraC aims to address key components of transitional care: (1) care planning and communication; (2) medical follow-up; (3) education on symptom management; and (4) medication safety/management. In this model, the CTraC nurse identifies and meets Veterans at high risk of readmission, helps optimize their discharge planning, and then delivers a protocolized phone-based intervention for up to 30 days. CTraC has demonstrated significant benefits to VA, including a 50% reduction in readmissions, resolution of medication discrepancies for more than half of enrolled patients, and cost savings. Yet, the existing CTraC protocol misses a critical opportunity to include functional assessment and intervention to support Veterans' functional recovery.

The goal of this CDA-2 proposal is to develop and test a function-focused protocol for VA's CTraC program. The aim is to leverage CTraC's established success and infrastructure to comprehensively address Veterans' rehabilitation needs after hospitalization and optimize their functional recovery and independence during the transition from hospital to home. Specifically, this project aims to:

Aim 1: Develop & refine CTraC-FIT (Functional Independence aT home) for Veterans at risk of functional decline transitioning from hospital to home. (1a) Develop CTraC-FIT to support Veterans' functional recovery based on input from clinicians (n=15) across hospital and outpatient settings (e.g., CTraC NCMs, inpatient providers, primary care providers, physical therapists, and occupational therapists). (1b) Conduct a nonrandomized, preliminary pilot of the CTraC-FIT intervention (n=5 Veterans) and collect qualitative feedback from Veterans and the CTraC NCM to refine the intervention protocol and study procedures, as well as address any unanticipated barriers before pilot testing.

Aim 2: Examine the feasibility and acceptability of CTraC-FIT in a pilot randomized controlled trial via randomization of n=40 Veterans to either CTraC-FIT (n=20) or an enhanced usual care condition (n=20). The primary outcomes will be feasibility and acceptability of the intervention protocol and study procedures. Feasibility and acceptability of the intervention protocol will be measured via survey and qualitative interviews with Veterans, and surveys with clinicians (n~20). Feasibility of the study procedures will be assessed via data logs (e.g., recruitment, enrollment, retention, adherence, randomization, and fidelity). Secondary outcomes will include Veterans' self-reported quality of life, social and cognitive function as well as self-reported and performance-based physical function measured at baseline, post-intervention, and 3-months post-intervention.]