An Investigation of the Effects of a Nonprofit Agency's Investigations on Quality of Care in Nursing Homes

PROBLEM. This study examined whether an agency's investigation of complaints in 40 nursing homes is positively correlated with the quality of nursing home care. METHODS. A quantitative methodology design using quantitative and qualitative data was used to assess the relationship between Agency X's investigation of consumers' nursing home complaints and the quality of nursing home care. FINDINGS. Results showed fewer violations after the agency's interventions, indicating improvement in the nursing care. Analysis showed on average 0.14 fewer violations. This decrease is statistically significant (p =.015), indicating that this agency's intervention improved nursing home care. CONCLUSIONS. Additional studies are needed to further explore the quality of care given in nursing homes. Nurses may propose to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to establish a new innovative system for ensuring high quality nursing home care by requiring the establishment of outside agencies, such as Agency X, to monitor care in addition to the annual surveys conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services.