Frequently Asked Questions
What is the purpose of this study and who is funding it?
The purpose of this study is to learn more about home healthcare agencies have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, including how their infection prevention and control policies and procedures have changed and the impact of these changes on patient outcomes.
The study is funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), as part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Who is conducting the study?
The study is being conducted by Drs. Jingjing Shang and Patricia Stone (co-principal investigators) and other researchers from the Columbia University School of Nursing, in collaboration with research teams at the RAND Corporation, Thomas Jefferson University and University of Rochester Medical Center.
FAQs about Home Health Study Participation
Which home health care agencies are eligible and how many will participate?
Agencies have been randomly selected from Medicare-certified home healthcare agencies across the nation. We used scientific sampling procedures to select the agencies based on geographical location and ownership. Approximately 1,500 agencies from the 50 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico will be invited to participate. Our invitation is addressed to the staff member who is likely in charge of infection prevention and control at the agency (e.g., administrator, clinical manager, infection preventionist, quality improvement manager).
What is involved in participation?
Participation involves completing the study questionnaire, which takes approximately 15-25 minutes, depending on if the respondent was at the agency during the pandemic. The questionnaire can be completed on the paper booklet that was mailed to the agency or online. If preferred, the questionnaire is also available in Spanish. There are questions about infection prevention and control and COVID-19 experiences. Your agency’s experiences are valuable because they represent experiences of other agencies like yours. All data will be confidential, and no agency or individual will be identified in any report. Once we receive your completed questionnaire, we’ll send a $100 Amazon gift card, as a thank you!
What are the benefits of participation?
The goal of this study is to improve our understanding of how home healthcare agencies responded to the pandemic and will help generate recommendations to strengthen agencies’ infection prevention and control capacity and preparedness to more effectively respond to the current and future infectious disease crises. While you may not personally benefit from participating, the knowledge we gain from the study will help your agency and others like it around the country.
Who should I contact if I have additional questions?
If you have questions or would like to request the study materials in Spanish, please contact the research team at: nursing_hhstudy@cumc.columbia.edu(link sends e-mail) or 855-HH-STUDY (855-447-8839).