Alyce Ashcraft, Ph.D., RN, CNE, ANEF
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Professor
School of Nursing 3601 4th St; STOP 6264 |
Research Interests
- Improving the care of nursing home residents
- Application of evidence based practice in the clinical setting
Current Projects | Selected Publications | Laboratory | Curriculum Vitae
Current Projects
The purpose of my current program of research is to test structured communication tools (paper and EMR) for use by LPNs and RNs in skilled nursing facilities to report resident health status change to providers to determine efficacy in preventing avoidable nursing home resident hospitalization.
There are over 16,100 nursing homes in the United States with 1.5 million residents (CDC, 2010). Hospitalization rates for nursing home residents range from 9% to 59% (Grabowski, et al., 2008) and 55% to 67% of these hospitalizations are potentially avoidable (Ouslander, et al., 2010; Walker, et al., 2009). Older adults are vulnerable to receiving suboptimal care during transfer from the nursing home to the emergency department and are especially vulnerable to experiencing physiologic changes that may permanently decrease functional abilities (AGS, 2009; Coleman, 2003; Coleman & Fox 2004; McCloskey, 2011). Avoiding unnecessary hospitalizations is also important to relieve the financial impact transfer places on an already overburdened healthcare system. Poor communication between nurses and providers in the nursing home environment is a significant contributor to transfer (McMahan, et al., 1994; Robinson, et al., 2010; Young, et al., 2010) and communication problems can be magnified by heavy reliance on telephone communication to inform providers of changes in resident status.
Selected Publications
Published Journal Articles (Peer Reviewed) - International
- Ashcraft, A. S. and Champion, J. D. (2012). Nursing home resident symptomatology triggering transfer: Avoiding unnecessary hospitalizations. Nursing Research and Practice, doi: 10.1155/2012/495103.
- Ashcraft, A. S. (1985). Nutritional beliefs and practices of selected Raukawa tribal members. Journal of the New Zealand Dietetic Association, 36(2), 42-54.
Published Journal Articles (Peer Reviewed) - National
- Hargrave, K., Ashcraft, A. S., Bishara, J., Hobson, V., Zhang, Y., & O'Bryant, S. E. (2009). A description of migration patterns and disease prevalence in the Cochran County Aging Study Cohort. Texas Public Health Journal, 61(1), 29-35.
- Zhang, Y., Ashcraft, A. S., Hobson, V., & O'Bryant, S. E. (2009). An examination of cardiovascular disease risk factors of a rural-dwelling ethnically diverse cohort. Texas Public Health Journal, 61(1), 13-16.
- Ashcraft, A. S., Owen, D. C., Braddock, E., Waring, S., & O'Bryant, S. E. (2009). Rural West Texas: Healthcare implications of "Living the Simple Life". Texas Public Health Journal, 61(1), 8-12.
- Cherry, B. J., Ashcraft, A. S., & Owen, D. C. (2007). Perceptions of job satisfaction and the regulatory environment among nurse aides and charge nurses in long-term care. Geriatric Nursing, 28(3), 183-192.
- Ashcraft, A. S., Boswell, C. A., Miller, V. G., & Acton, C. F. (2007). Time requirements for implementation of the course facilitator role. Journal of Nursing Education, 46(7), 334-338.
- Ashcraft, A. S., Owen, D. C., & Feng, D. (2006). A comparison of cognitive and functional care differences in four long-term care settings. The Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 7(2), 96-101.
- Ashcraft, A. S. (2006). Statistical graffiti. The Journal of Nursing Education, 45(1), 44-45. Ashcraft, A. S., & Amos, L. (2004). Access and satisfaction with health care in two rural West Texas communities. Texas Journal of Rural Health, 22(2), 8-12.
- Ashcraft, A. S. (2004). Differentiating between pre-arrest and failure to rescue. MedSurg Nursing: The Journal of Adult Health, 13(4), 211-216. Scholler-Jaquish, A., Weiss-Kaffie, C., Ashcraft, A. S., & Diaz, S. (2003). The latex allergic psychiatric patient. Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 41(2), 30-36.