Abstract

Healthcare quality measurement and care reimbursement have become a central focus for leaders and administrators of healthcare organizations. The provision of high-quality healthcare is contingent on the skills and abilities of leaders and clinical staff who support evidence-based clinical practice through implementation strategies. The problem defined in this qualitative exploratory multiple-case study was concerned with the frequency of unplanned hospital readmissions occurring in the state of Florida specifically, in healthcare facilities located in Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe Counties (tri-county area). Healthcare stakeholders working in organizations located in the tri-county area report hospital readmission rates of 23%, that resulted in higher financial penalties. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory multiple-case study was to explore the reasons for higher than expected unplanned hospital readmissions in healthcare facilities located in the tri-county area of south Florida to help hospital administrators to improve healthcare quality through reducing unplanned rehospitalizations. Thirteen participants contributed to this study: 4 (31%) healthcare leaders, 4 (31%) clinicians, and 5 (38%) registered nurses. Through the collective experiences of healthcare stakeholders, two primary and two secondary themes emerged to provide a clearer understanding of the contributing factors related to unplanned hospital readmissions. Four themes namely, education, population, and cultures and resources supported existing literature and provided new knowledge related to the importance of executive leader knowledge, nurse educational and skill levels, patient literacy and language, and cultural elements when applying evidence-based clinical practices in complex healthcare environments.

Description

This dissertation has also been disseminated through the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. Dissertation/thesis number: 13425878; ProQuest document ID: 2172949391. The author still retains copyright.

Author Details

Kathleen Janet Weatherspoon, DHA, MSN, BSN, NEA-BC

Sigma Membership

Non-member

Type

Dissertation

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Case Study/Series

Research Approach

Qualitative Research

Keywords:

Hospital Readmissions, Quality of Care, Chronic Medical Conditions, Healthcare Costs

Advisor

Richard Schuttler

Second Advisor

Maureen Marzano

Third Advisor

Patricia Finch-Guthrie

Degree

Doctoral-Other

Degree Grantor

University of Phoenix

Degree Year

2018

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.

All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

None: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

Date of Issue

2021-09-28

Full Text of Presentation

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