Exploring the Patient Perspective in a Restructured Military Facility

Background:  Restructuring and merging of healthcare facilities are increasingly common in both the civilian and military sectors.  Although the patient should be the centerpiece of healthcare delivery, very little is reported in the literature regarding the experience of patients and their families during a facility restructuring.

This lack of empirical evidence coupled with overtly voiced concern among nurses about their ability to anticipate patient needs and preserve patient safety during a facility restructuring, demonstrates a large gap in knowledge regarding the conditions, concerns, and potential burdens that  patients and families will experience during a military facility restructuring or merger.

Design:  Using descriptive phenomenology, the purpose of this three year study is to gain a greater understanding of the patient and family member experiences following the restructuring of a military healthcare facility.  This exploration will involve patients and family members who receive care in the Nephrology Clinic and the Warrior Transition Unit.  The long-term care needed by both these groups, who receive care in the outpatient setting, affords the opportunity to hear about their experiences at two military facilities that were restructured into a single military healthcare facility.  

Method:  The research question guiding this study is: “What are the lived experiences of patients and family members as they received healthcare before, during, and following the restructuring of a military healthcare facility?” Specifically, this research seeks to understand the lived experience of patients and family members as they were a) notified of a facility restructuring; b) prepared for a facility restructuring; and c) continue to experience a facility restructuring within a Patient Centered Medical Home model in an ambulatory setting.  Via semi-structured interviews and focus groups, participants will be asked to describe the ways in which nurses could and/or have facilitated the safest possible patient environment during a facility restructuring.

Final Report is available on NTRL: https://ntrl.ntis.gov/NTRL/dashboard/searchResults/titleDetail/PB2018100...