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Final Project Outline

Final Project Outline

Introduction

Long-term care of the elderly in institutions is categorized as traditional nursing homes or their alternatives. Traditional nursing homes are facilities that offer either skilled or intermediate-level nursing care but may also include residential homes that provide boarding and care. Alternatives to traditional nursing homes include assisted living, family, or foster care homes. The nursing home facility offers services around the clock, as individuals living in these homes are often mentally or physically impaired. Most people rely on search engines such as Google in selecting a nursing home, which directs them to NH checklists, while others point to websites that offer NH comparisons (Findlay, 2016; Konetzka & Perraillon, 2016; Ramnarace, 2012). However, the question remains: Is the information on these sites based on consumer research? Is it a matter of the chicken coming before the egg where information is given without first finding out what consumers would like to know? Consistently, it is essential to delve into the consumer aspect in selecting a nursing home.

Problem Statement

As many as 95% of nursing homes in the US are reported to be understaffed. Ineffective regulation and poor quality in gerontological nursing homes are major concerns. According to Schiamberg et al. (2011), understaffing in these facilities can directly contribute to patient abuse because underpaid and overwhelmed staff members are likely to be abusive. Staff members who are excessively stressed can result in neglecting their patients. For patients who are immobile, it becomes impossible for staff members to turn them as often times in a day as they should or even move them as many times as they should to prevent bedsores and muscle atrophy. This can cause patients to have infections or skin conditions. Patients that need to be groomed, fed, bathed, and medicated tend to suffer from neglect. If a patient is incontinent of urine and stool and needs assistance in getting to the bathroom, any delays can result in infections and other complications (Zhang et al., 2010).

One possible cause of poor care quality in nursing homes is inadequate staff training. The great care complexity and increased acuity of residents in nursing homes call for enhanced training requirements for staff. However, three major issues revolve around nurses’ training requirements. Firstly, there are no set levels on what the training should be on offering quality care. Secondly, training is not free; the nursing facility, the worker, or another third party will be liable to pay for the training. Thirdly, higher training requirements may worsen the staff shortage, making it more difficult for nursing home service provision.

Countering the three issues mentioned above will require looking into the consumer aspect of the business. When consumers are given information on which nursing homes offer the best quality care for aging residents, then nursing homes will compete to be at the top of the industry. This will mean that nursing homes will undertake nurse staff training, increase their number of staff, and retain nurses to remain competitive. Hence, this research paper will explore consumer information’s effect on choosing a nursing home. The results of the research will be used to inform nursing home facilities about what customers are looking for and what they, as service providers, can do to ensure that they meet their customers’ needs and remain competitive. Hence, the research question is: ‘What do consumers look for in selecting a nursing home for their elderly loved ones?’

Background on the Topic and Theoretical Framework

The study will be centered on the Total Quality Management theoretical framework. The TQM is borrowed from the auto manufacturing sector and was introduced in the healthcare industry in the 1990s. The main emphasis of TQM is the continuous improvement of healthcare processes with the objective of meeting customer needs (Grol et al., 2013). One of its basic principles is focusing on caregivers and patients, who are the healthcare services consumer (Grol et al., 2013). TQM views consumers as sources of knowledge when it comes to improving services as well as targets for services

There are more than a million elderly persons enrolled in nursing homes every year (De Nardi et al., 2016). However, very little is known concerning how consumers of these services select the facilities they are enrolled in and, lesser still, the decision determinants for their family members when making a choice on the nursing home to take their elderly loved ones. Many Baby Boomer offspring are faced with the decision of where to take their parents, which calls for the need for nursing homes to offer excellent services to attract this consumer group. With an increase in the aging population, nursing homes need to stay competitive, and the best way to do so is to find out what consumers are seeking. That said, information can be best sourced from nursing home users, would-be users, and their kin who have experience with taking their loved ones to nursing homes.

Summary of Literature.

Several studies have looked into consumer preferences for home services, with some analyzing online reviews (Li et al., 2019). In their study, Kellogg et al. (2018) explored what consumers say in online reviews regarding nursing homes. The researchers analyzed the Yelp reviews on nursing homes in California. Additionally, studies have focused mainly on preferences for nursing home services versus community-based homes, as well as on insurance schemes, and are often conducted with participants from the general populace rather than the elderly who have experience with receiving the services or intending to receive the services (Dixon et al., 2015; Fernandez, 2016; Kaambwa et al., 2016).

Hefele et al. (2016) researched to identify what consumers know regarding nursing homes before choosing which service to contract. The research also tested to determine if the information preference varied across ethnicity/race. Milte et al. (2017) also analyzed the characteristics of nursing homes that consumers value the most. The research aimed to generate a scoring algorithm weighted on consumer preference for nursing home quality care assessment in six main areas. The current research will explore consumer preferences with regard to selecting a nursing home. The research will contribute to the body of knowledge and aims to impact the status of nursing home services in the New York area and perhaps even the country at large.

References

De Nardi, M., French, E., Jones, J. B., & McCauley, J. (2016). Medical Spending Of The Us Elderly. Fiscal Studies, 37(3-4), 717-747.

Dixon, S., Nancarrow, S. A., Enderby, P. M., Moran, A. M., & Parker, S. G. (2015). Assessing Patient Preferences For The Delivery Of Different Community‐Based Models Of Care Using A Discrete Choice Experiment. Health Expectations, 18(5), 1204-1214.

Fernandez-Carro, C. (2016). Ageing At Home, Co-Residence Or Institutionalisation? Preferred Care And Residential Arrangements Of Older Adults In Spain. Ageing & Society, 36(3), 586-612.

Findlay, S. D. (2016). Consumers’ Interest In Provider Ratings Grows, And Improved Report Cards And Other Steps Could Accelerate Their Use. Health Affairs, 35(4), 688-696.

Grol, R., Wensing, M., Eccles, M., & Davis, D. (Eds.). (2013). Improving Patient Care: The Implementation Of Change In Health Care. John Wiley & Sons.

Kaambwa, B., Lancsar, E., McCaffrey, N., Chen, G., Gill, L., Cameron, I. D., … & Ratcliffe, J. (2015). Investigating Consumers’ And Informal Carers’ Views And Preferences For Consumer Directed Care: A Discrete Choice Experiment. Social Science & Medicine, 140, 81-94.

Konetzka, R. T., & Perraillon, M. C. (2016). Use Of Nursing Home Compare Website Appears Limited By Lack Of Awareness And Initial Mistrust Of The Data. Health Affairs, 35(4), 706-713.

Ramnarace, C. (2012). Choosing A Good Nursing Home. https://www.aarp.org/home-garden/housing/info-03-2012/safe-nursing-home-questions-to-ask.html

Schiamberg, L. B., Barboza, G. G., Oehmke, J., Zhang, Z., Griffore, R. J., Weatherill, R. P., … & Post, L. A. (2011). Elder Abuse In Nursing Homes: An Ecological Perspective. Journal Of Elder Abuse & Neglect, 23(2), 190-211.

Zhang, Z., Schiamberg, L. B., Oehmke, J., Barboza, G. E., Griffore, R. J., Post, L. A., … & Mastin, T. (2010). Neglect Of Older Adults In Michigan Nursing Homes. Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect, 23(1), 58-74.

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Question 

Final Project Outline

For this assignment you will start to pull your project together in a more cohesive outline form in preparation for your final proposal submission at the end of Session 5. Be sure to keep the end in mind, that is, the second half of your paper or plan that will be completed in your capstone course. You can refer to the Gantt charts in Session 1 (and repeated in Session 5) to get the big picture.

Final Project Outline

Final Project Outline

Instructions: 

Prepare an outline for your Final Project Business Plan/Paper Proposal using MS Word.

Prepare a minimum three-page document that includes:

  1. The nature of your project (e.g., a. business plan, b. research paper, c. community change initiative, d. project management plan, e. other (describe)).
  2. Your specific business plan concept; research question/hypothesis; or situation analysis/problem statement introduction.
  3. Background on the topic and why it is important.
  4. Executive summary and/or summary literature review–cite current research in the area you have chosen and provide references.

Please refer to the examples below. Submit your Outline Proposal by the due date.

When planning the outline for your proposal whether paper or business plan, keep the end in mind. Here is part of the prompt for your final project (from your capstone course – MBA-699):

Building on the project proposal that you prepared in RES-501, prepare a 30-35 page “original” manuscript or business plan (not including title page and references as appropriate for your particular project). Support your plan, presuppositions, research and knowledge with well-documented market research, peer reviewed research articles, case studies and any and all applicable resources you have encountered over the course of your MBA studies here at CCU and or other institutions.

If you choose a research or community change initiative paper for your final project, here is an example outline:

  1. Title Page
  2. Index
  3. Introduction (Overview) “Know-what knowledge” – Includes: general background information, codified knowledge current research methodology and authors, etc. (includes your thesis statement and the literature review).
  4. Body (In-Depth) “Know-why knowledge” — Provide deeper analysis of readings: areas of discipline, most common application, case studies that support and validate, “why”, opponents and alternative and competitive methods, disciplined inquiry and yet is supported by biblically-based principles.
  5. Conclusions (Applied) “Know-how knowledge” and “Care-why knowledge” – May include your opinion, how you might apply this approach to your current business work role/situation, and why this approach works or does not work.
  6. References

Another example outline might be (for research reports & case studies):

  1. Title Page
  2. Abstract
  3. Contents
  4. Introduction
  5. Methods
  6. Subjects/Participants
  7. Design/Procedure
  8. Results
  9. Discussion
  10. References
  11. Other Sections
    1. Tables
    2. Graphs
  • Figures

III. If you choose to do a business plan there are many acceptable standard templates and formats available online, but at a minimum your plan should include:

    1. Executive Summary
    2. Management and Organization
    3. Product/Service
      • Purpose
      • Unique Features
      • Stage of Development (Research and Development, Patents and Trademarks, Government Approvals, Limitations)
    4. Marketing Plan
      • Industry Profile
      • Competition Profile
      • Customer and Target Market Profile
      • Pricing Profile
      • Break-Even Analysis
      • Market Penetration
      • Advertising and Promotion
      • Packaging and Labeling; Services and Warranties
      • Trade Shows
      • Future Markets
    5. Financial Plan
      • Sales Projections
      • Income Projections
      • Cash Requirements
      • Sources of Financing
      • Financial Projections (three years)
    6. Operating and Control Systems
    7. Growth Plan
    8. Supporting Documents

Classroom Readings for Session 3:

The reading assignment for Session 3:

Greener, S., & Martelli, J. (2018). An introduction to business research methods (3rd ed.).

  • 6 (pp. 78-96) – Quantitative research methods: collecting and analyzing data
  • 8 (pp. 107-115) – Using secondary data
  • 9 (pp. 116-125) – Qualitative research methods: collecting and analyzing qualitative data

For the reading assignment, Greener, S., & Martelli, J. (2018). An introduction to business research methods (3rd ed.). (eBook available at https://bookboon.com/en/an-introduction-to-business-research-methods-ebook).

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