Question

Please read the following paragraphs below. Read the bold research problem and purpose of the study.

Answer these questions: Does those research problem and purpose align?

What would be an alternative research problem and purpose of the study based on the information below?

Healthcare leadership does not know whether aftercare post-psychiatric hospitalization intervals of 7-day and 30-day follow up reduce hospital readmission rates (Sfetcu et al., 2017). According to Sfetcu et al. (2017), results are mixed for post-discharge factors such as intervals of 7-day and 30-day follow-up , regarding hospital readmissions post discharge of psychiatric inpatient hospitalization. Evidence was limited to determine the effectiveness of 7-day interval aftercare to reduce psychiatric readmission (Field et al., 2015; Marcus et al., 2017). Meanwhile, 30-day interval aftercare is primarily highlighted in research studies about post psychiatric discharges and hospital readmissions (Chin et al., 2016; Balogh et al., 2018; Bozzay et al., 2019). This study's research problem is previous evidence of mixed results of 7-day and 30-day intervals for providing post-discharge psychiatric care and to what extent those intervals affect hospital readmissions have not been determined.

The study aims to determine which of the intervals, 7-day, or 30-day affects the readmission rates the greatest and to what extent. The purpose of this study is to determine to what extent statistically 7-day interval versus 30-day interval of aftercare affects readmission rates to any hospital post psychiatric discharge from an inpatient psychiatric facility. Since the implementation of the Inpatient Psychiatric Facility Quality Reporting (IPFQR) program in 2013, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) consider 7-day and 30-day intervals for follow-up aftercare a measure of hospital quality (CMS, 2019a). In psychiatry, quality measurement is complex compared to other sectors of healthcare (Griffith, 2018). Aftercare can encompass clinical and nonclinical services that aim to meet on-going aspects of patients' health and social needs including, but not limited to, supported accommodations by primary and behavioral health specialists and outpatient providers that may also require attention to patients' physical, mental, cultural, and spiritual needs (Griffith, 2018; & Roos et al., 2018).

Answer 1

no, the problem statement and the purpose do not aligns with each other because the problem statement states that it could not determine from previous studies that there is impact of postdischarge care on hospital readmission and the purpose is to determine statistically to determine if post discharge care has any impact on hospital readmissions into psychiatric inpatient settings.

alternate problem statement:

a comparative study to assess the impact of 7 day and 30 day interval of post discharge psychiatric care on the quality of inpatient psychiatric services.

purpose of alternate problem:

the purpose of the study is to determine statistically if 7 day and 30 day interval of post discharge psychiatric care has any impact on improving the quality of psychiatric inpatient services significantly.