Official Title
Engineering Whole Health Into Hospital Care to Improve Wellness: The Inpatient Whole Health Bundle
Brief Summary

This study will utilize a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design and will beconducted on the medical and medical/surgical units at the VA Ann Arbor HealthcareSystem. Hospitalized patients on the intervention units will be offered the InpatientWhole Health Bundle. This study will evaluate overall satisfaction with the hospitalenvironment and care as well as the bundle and components using a mailed survey ofpatients discharged from each unit. This study will also conduct a qualitative assessmentof the intervention to understand intervention experiences as well as barriers andfacilitators to improving hospitalized patient well-being. Finally, the study will assessunit-level metrics.

Detailed Description

Whole Health is a model designed to address multiple patient needs. This includes
physical and spiritual wellness, personal surroundings, nutrition, relationships, and
mental wellness. The Whole Health approach focuses on improving overall patient wellness
and includes increased availability of complementary and alternative medicine services.
While some Whole Health work is being done at outpatient facilities, this study seeks to
expand and test this approach to the inpatient setting, given the potential Whole Health
has for addressing patient wellness.

The goal of this study is to implement and evaluate an inpatient Whole Health Bundle
intervention to improve hospitalized patients' well-being. This study will assess if
implementing an Inpatient Whole Health Bundle is associated with improved patient-centric
outcomes (such as perceptions of the healing environment and patient satisfaction) among
hospitalized patients.

This is a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test trial. The study will be conducted at one
Veterans Affairs hospital. Study subjects will be hospitalized patients. The study will
be conducted in 2 phases- pre-intervention and intervention. Each study phase will last
2-months on each study unit. During the pre-intervention phase, a sample of patients
recently discharged from the hospital will be mailed a study survey. The survey will ask
questions about their satisfaction with their hospital stay.

During the intervention phase, patients staying in the hospital will be asked if they
would like to participate in the study. Participants will be offered a menu of items and
services that could help improve their overall well-being and their hospital stay.
Patient will be free to choose or decline any of the items on the menu. A researcher will
record which items, if any, a patient selects. Patients in the intervention will be
mailed the same study survey as the pre-intervention phase after they are discharged from
the hospital. Researchers will compare patient satisfaction responses between patients
staying in the hospital during the pre-intervention phase to those who participated in
the intervention. A few patients will be asked to participate in a study interview. The
interviews are to better understand intervention experiences as well as barriers and
facilitators to improving patient satisfaction with their hospital stay. In addition,
unit level metrics will be assessed between the pre-intervention and intervention time
periods.

Recruiting
Patient Satisfaction

Behavioral: Inpatient Whole Health Bundle

Hospitalized patients on the intervention units will be offered participation in the
Inpatient Whole Health Bundle, which is comprised of a variety of offerings aimed at
improving the wellbeing of the patient. They can choose to use any or none of the bundle
elements.

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

- Adult hospitalized patients on medical and medical/surgical units at the VA Ann
Arbor Healthcare System

Exclusion Criteria:

- Patients who cannot speak English

- Patients who are cognitively impaired

Eligibility Gender
All
Eligibility Age
Minimum: 18 Years ~ Maximum: N/A
Countries
United States
Locations

VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System
Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

Investigator: Nathan Houchens, MD
Contact: 734-845-5922
nathanho@med.umich.edu

Contacts

Nathan Houchens, MD
734-845-5922
nathanho@med.umich.edu

Karen E Fowler, MPH
734-845-3611
Karen.Fowler@va.gov

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
NCT Number
Keywords
Holistic Health
Mindfulness
hospitalization