Purpose/Objectives
To describe the predictors of nurse actions in response to a mobile health decision support system (mHealth DSS) for guideline-based screening and management of tobacco use.
Design
Observational design focused on experimental arm of a randomized, controlled trial.
Setting
Acute and ambulatory care settings in the New York City metropolitan area.
Sample
14,115 patient encounters in which 185 registered nurses enrolled in advanced practice nurse (APN) training were prompted by a mHealth DSS to screen for tobacco use and select guideline-based treatment recommendations.
Methods
Data were entered and stored during nurse documentation in the mHealth DSS and subsequently stored in the study database where they were retrieved for analysis using descriptive statistics and logistic regressions.
Main Research Variables
Predictor variables included patient gender, patient race/ethnicity, patient payer source, APN specialty, and predominant payer source in clinical site. Dependent variables included number of patient encounters in which the nurse screened for tobacco use, provided smoking cessation teaching and counseling, or referred patient for smoking cessation for patients who were to quit.
Findings
Screening was more likely to occur in encounters where patients were female, Black, not of Hispanic origin, received care from a nurse in the Adult Nurse Practitioner specialty or in a clinical site in which the predominant payer source was Medicare, Medicaid, or State Children’s Health Insurance Program. In encounters where patient payer source was other, nurses were less likely to provide tobacco cessation teaching and counseling.
Conclusions
mHealth DSS has the potential to affect nurse provision of guideline-based care. However, patient, nurse, and setting factors influence nurse actions in response to a mHealth DSS for tobacco cessation.
Implications for Nursing
The combination of a reminder to screen and integration of guideline-based recommendations into the mHealth DSS may reduce racial or ethnic disparities to screening, as well as clinician barriers related to time, training and familiarity with resources.
Knowledge Translation
A mobile health decision support system (mHealth DSS) has the potential to affect nurse provision of guideline-based care. Nurse actions in response to a mHealth DSS reminder to screen were influenced by patient gender and race as well nurse and setting factors. Payer source and NP specialty influenced provision of tobacco cessation teaching and counseling and tobacco cessation referral.