The Impact of Trauma Survivor Rounds on the HCAHPS Surveys

IntroductionA component of trauma-informed care (TIC) is providing opportunities for patients to share their stories and access healing resources. We introduced a "Trauma Survivor Rounds" (TSR) initiative to provide trauma patients an opportunity to discuss and receive individualized assistance. We evaluated whether they reported improved Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey scores, hypothesizing increased hospital recommendation rates following TSR implementation.MethodsA single-center retrospective (2021-2023) analysis of admitted trauma patients with HCAHPS survey responses was conducted. The HCAHPS survey measures patient experience, satisfaction, and health care quality. Pre-TSR (1/1/2021-12/31/2021) (PRE) and post-TSR (1/1/2022-12/31/2023) (POST) cohorts were compared. In TSR, a medical student discussed trauma and assisted patients obtain resources. The primary outcome was whether patients recommended the hospital on the HCAHPS survey.ResultsOf 348 patients, 133 (38.2%) were in the POST cohort. Hospital recommendation rates were statistically similar: "definitely yes" (POST: 82.9% vs PRE: 78.3%), "probably yes" (POST: 15.4% vs PRE: 14.0%), "probably no" (POST: 1.7% vs PRE: 4.3%), and "definitely no" (POST: 0% vs PRE: 3.4%) (<i>P</i> = 0.12). No significant difference was found in the overall hospital ratings. Notably, more POST patients reported receiving help "as soon as wanted" (61.4% vs 54.7%, <i>P</i> < 0.001).ConclusionsImplementation of a TIC-based TSR program showed no statistically significant difference in hospital recommendations or ratings; however, it was associated with more patients reporting receiving help "as soon as wanted." Larger sample size studies are needed to determine whether this approach improves HCAHPS scores or other quality metrics.