The Minimum Data Set bedfast quality indicator: differences among nursing homes.
BACKGROUND
Excessive time in bed has negative effects on both physical conditioning and functioning. There are no data or practice guidelines relevant to how nurses should manage the in-bed times of nursing home residents, although all nursing homes receive a bedfast prevalence quality indicator report generated from the Minimum Data Set.


OBJECTIVE
To compare nursing homes that score in the upper and lower quartiles on the Minimum Data Set bedfast prevalence quality indicator for proportion of bedfast residents, activity and mobility nursing care, and amount of time all residents spend in bed, and to evaluate whether residents who spend more time in bed are different from those who spend less time in bed according to functional measures.


METHODS
A cohort design used medical records, resident interviews, and direct observation data to compare 15 nursing homes (n = 451 residents) on the proportion of bedfast residents, the amount of time residents spent in bed, the frequency of activity, and the scores on six activity and mobility care process indicators.


RESULTS
Significant differences were found between upper (i.e., higher prevalence of bedfast residents) and lower quartile nursing homes in the proportion of time residents were observed in bed (43% vs. 34%, respectively; p =.007), and in the proportion of residents who spent more than 22 hours in bed per day (18% vs. 8%, respectively; p =.002). All nursing homes underestimated the number of bedfast residents. The residents of upper quartile homes showed more activity episodes and reported receiving more walking assistance than the residents of lower quartile homes.


CONCLUSIONS
Minimum Data Set bedfast quality indicator identified nursing homes in which residents spent more time in bed, but did not reflect differences in activity and mobility care. In fact, upper quartile homes provided more activity and mobility care than lower quartile homes. Across all the nursing homes, most of the residents spent at least 17 hours a day in bed. Further study of activity and mobility care and bedfast outcomes in nursing homes is needed, and nurses need to note the amount of time nursing home residents spend in bed.
Bates-Jensen
Barbara M
BM
Multicampus Program in Geriatric Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. batesjen@ucla.edu
Alessi
Cathy A
CA
Cadogan
Mary
M
Levy-Storms
Lené
L
Jorge
Jennifer
J
Yoshii
June
J
Al-Samarrai
Nahla R
NR
Schnelle
John F
JF
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001510:Bed Rest / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000451:nursing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002140:California; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D005851:Geriatric Nursing / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors