Aligning Research With Practice: Nursing Home Providers' Priorities for Long-Term Care Research

Collaboration between providers and investigators can maximize the impact of research in post-acute and long-term care settings, including skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). Involving SNF providers in research from the inception can help ensure that investigators are answering practical, clinically relevant questions that are important and actionable. Here we summarize the results from the iterative approach we took to identify research priorities from the perspective of SNF operators, administrators, and clinicians (collectively, providers) to accelerate improvement in post-acute and long-term care.

Using surveys, town hall meetings, and individual idea submissions, we solicited providers' perceptions on the most critical priorities for research on long-term care practices to improve resident outcomes.

We identified six key research categories of interest to providers: medication management, medical equipment utilization, disease management, infection prevention and control, staff education, and new models of care practices. Providers emphasized emerging priorities such as behavioral health, infection control, and technological innovations, reflecting significant changes in long-term care after the COVID-19 pandemic. Providers also stressed the importance of understanding the effectiveness of interventions and different care practices, despite the potential for such research to require more resources than are often available to either providers or researchers alone.

The research categories, topics, and examples of interest that we captured highlight the need for pragmatic, provider-informed research that can translate into improved care.