Date of Award

Spring 1-1-2021

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy In Urban Education Degree

Department

Urban Studies

First Advisor

Sparks, Kenneth E.

Second Advisor

Douglas A. Wajda

Third Advisor

Emily S. Kullman

Abstract

Background: Several attempts have been made to examine factors that influence 30-day readmissions in a hospital setting to ensure that inpatient care is accompanied by an effective post-discharge plan that can decrease 30-day readmissions to guide hospitals to use practices that increase hospitals ‘quality implications (Shah et al., 2015; Kripalani et al., 2007; Rinne et al., 2017, Jenks, Williams and Coleman, 2009, Shah, Press, Husingh-Scheetz & White, 2016; Sickler et al., 2015; Pruitt, 2018; Hansen et al., 2013; Simmering et al., 2016; Alper, O’Malley, & Greenwald, 2019). Purpose: To determine the role of post-discharge care in 30-day readmissions along with the typical clinical outcomes identified, we examined a small urban hospital population and the patient characteristics in each post-discharge care setting (HSC, HHC, LTAC, and SNF). Patients and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in patients with COPD hospitalizations using the data from a small urban community hospital from 2014 to 2019, n = 1,008. Results: Home health care was identified as having the highest readmission rate in this small urban community hospital using a test of proportions. The weighted variables from a researcher-developed covariate scoring table were analyzed using a Chi-square analysis. The findings provided a reference framework for a systemized discharged planning process according to how the variables/groups were scored

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