Project Number: R01NR017636
Principal Investigator: Mark Toles
Funded by: NIH National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
Dates: 8/09/2024 – 5/31/2028
Annually, 1.5 million older U.S. adults transition from hospitals to skilled nursing facilities and then return home. Health complications are common following the transition to home, and more than one in five patients uses emergency services or is admitted to the hospital within 30 days after they return to home.
Dr. Mark Toles has developed an intervention to improve these outcomes by providing older adults and their caregivers the support they need to better manage the transition to home. He tested his intervention with 327 North Carolina older adults and their primary caregivers. Findings suggest that his intervention (Connect-Home) has potential to increase patient preparedness and decrease return to acute care. Dr. Toles has adapted his intervention to support older adults with dementia and their caregivers and is testing it in skilled nursing facilities in North Carolina.
