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About the project
Since 2017, New Brunswick nursing homes have completed standardized resident assessments, entering the information into interRAI systems. InterRAI provides an opportunity to improve decision-making, patient safety, and quality care in nursing homes. However, nursing homes lack dedicated resources and qualified staff who have the expertise in working with interRAI. Although a limited number of staff have been trained to collect and enter the data into the system, they do not have sufficient support to develop skills in working with large databases. The project aimed to educate and train nursing home staff on using interRAI systems to guide care decisions, identify safety concerns, and develop quality improvement initiatives. The training consisted of four virtual education sessions, delivered over 12 months by an academic leader from the national interRAI organization. Additionally, nine open call meetings were held between the quarterly sessions. 33 Social and Healthcare workers, including 29 women and 4 men participated in the project.
Conclusions and lessons learned
- Overall, the education sessions helped participants develop skills to effectively use interRAI data for quality improvements in their nursing homes.
- Findings indicated that improvements in physical restraint use, antipsychotic use, and pain management increased care quality skills and improved resident outcomes.
- Participants showed willingness to learn and use interRAI data to identify improvement areas once they recognized the need through the education sessions.
Recommendations
- When implementing large industry-wide data initiatives like interRAI, consider how the data can be used at the local level to improve resident care.
- As a part of the training, include group data interpretation and analysis when significant technological changes occur.
To learn more read the complete project findings (PDF 135 KB).