Increasing Use of Publicly Reported Pediatric Quality Data (IDEAS)

Efforts to increase transparency regarding health care quality and safety are partially guided by the belief that making performance information publicly available will enable patients to make more informed choices. Although the amount of information reported on websites and through other channels has increased dramatically, use by consumers remains limited and largely restricted to white, college educated and middle aged consumers. There are many barriers that prevent patients from making effective use of current public reporting websites, including failure to recognize that quality may vary between providers, lack of awareness of publicly reported data, limited internet access, and low health literacy and numeracy. Innovative approaches are therefore needed to overcome barriers to using these data, particularly in vulnerable populations, to ensure a health care system in which every consumer can benefit from public reporting. Patient navigators have helped patients take greater advantage of the complex health care delivery environment, and use of patient navigators may be an effective approach to engage consumers and to help them to interpret the information presented in public reports.

The scientific aims of the study are: 1) to test the efficacy of an office-based patient navigator to assist low income pregnant women in using publicly reported data to select a pediatric care provider; 2) to assess the efficacy of the intervention in subgroups defined by parity, race/ethnicity, and health literacy; 3) to evaluate the importance of publicly reported information about quality compared to other factors when selecting a pediatric provider; and 4) to assess the intervention's impact on self-management of health care. English speaking women ages 16-45 attending the prenatal clinic at a large urban medical center will be recruited, enrolled, consented and randomized to the navigator intervention or an informational pamphlet control between 24-34 weeks of gestation. Women randomized to the intervention arm will receive two 20 minute sessions with a trained patient navigator who will guide women in navigating and interpreting information about the quality of care provided at local pediatric practices on the Massachusetts Health Quality Partners web site. A survey designed for the purpose of this study will be administered at baseline and post-intervention. Health literacy, numeracy and level of activation for self-management of health care will also be assessed as potential mediators of intervention effectiveness. The primary study outcome will be the average performance on quality measures for the practices selected in the intervention and control groups. Secondary outcomes will include analyses of efficacy among groups of women defined by parity and an assessment of the relative importance of factors considered when choosing a pediatric care provider. Successful completion of the study aims will yield important new knowledge about the value of guided web-site navigation as a strategy to reduce disparities in the use of publicly reported information.