Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 15, 2026

E-Patient Counseling Trial (E-PACO): Computer Based Education versus Nurse Counseling for Patients to Prepare for Colonoscopy
Published on: August 1, 2019
Provider staffing effect on a decision aid intervention
Mary Ersek1, Justine S Sefcik, Feng-Chang Lin
1Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Abstract:
This study examined the association between Nurse Practitioner (NP) and Physician Assistant (PA) staffing in nursing homes and the effect of a decision aid regarding feeding options in dementia on the frequency of surrogate-provider discussions and on surrogates' decisional conflict. We compared these outcomes for facilities that had no NPs/PAs, part-time-only NP/PA staffing, and full-time NP/PA staffing. The sample included 256 surrogate decision makers from 24 nursing homes. The decision aid was associated with significant increases in discussion rates in facilities with part-time or no NP/PA staffing (26% vs. 51%, p < .001, and 13% vs. 41%, p < .001, respectively) and decreases in decisional conflict scores (-0.08 vs. -0.047, p = .008, and -0.30 vs. -0.68, p = .014, respectively). Sites with full-time NP/PA staffing had high baseline rates of discussions (41%). These findings suggest that the decision aid and full-time NP/PA staffing can enhance surrogate decision making in nursing homes.
Related Concept Videos
Nursing Interventions II: Selecting and Classifying the Nursing Interventions
Methods of Documentation III: PIE
The Availability Heuristic
The Placebo Effect
Patient-centered Care
Nursing Interventions I: Taxonomy of Nursing Interventions
A nursing intervention is a treatment or action based on scientific concepts and knowledge from the nursing, behavioral, and physical sciences. Identifying and prioritizing nursing interventions based on the desired outcome is...