Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing, New York University College of Nursing, 726 Broadway, New York, NY 10003, USA.
Gerontologist. 2012 Aug;52(4):561-70. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnr136. Epub 2012 Mar 5.
This study examines the association between nursing home accreditation and deficiency citations.
Data originated from a web-based search of The Joint Commission (TJC) accreditation and On-line Survey Certification of Automated Records from 2002 to 2010. Deficiency citations were divided into 4 categories: resident behavior and facility practices, quality of life, quality of care, and the most severe citations. Data were analyzed through negative binomial regression, where the number of residents at risk for each measure was the exposure level for that measure.
TJC-accredited nursing homes had fewer deficiency citations in all 4 deficiency categories examined. Comparing citations in the year of accreditation with the first year after accreditation, 3 of the 4 deficiency categories were significant. In comparing deficiency citations after 8 years of accreditation, all 4 categories of deficiencies were significant. In all cases, accreditation was associated with fewer deficiency citations.
Our results indicate that TJC-accredited nursing homes improve their quality immediately after accreditation and continue to maintain these improvements over the long-term. These findings support the need for further discussion and facilitation of voluntary accreditation in nursing homes.
本研究旨在探讨养老院认证与缺陷记录之间的关联。
数据源自 2002 年至 2010 年基于网络的联合委员会（TJC）认证和在线调查认证自动记录的搜索。缺陷记录分为四类：居民行为和设施管理、生活质量、护理质量以及最严重的缺陷记录。通过负二项式回归分析数据，每个评估指标的风险居民人数为该评估指标的暴露水平。
经过 TJC 认证的养老院在所有四个评估的缺陷类别中，缺陷记录数量均较少。与认证当年和认证后第一年相比，有三个缺陷类别具有显著差异。在比较认证后八年的缺陷记录时，所有四个缺陷类别的差异均具有统计学意义。在所有情况下，认证与缺陷记录的减少相关。
我们的研究结果表明，TJC 认证的养老院在认证后立即提高了其质量，并在长期内持续保持这些改进。这些发现支持进一步讨论和促进养老院自愿认证的必要性。
