Regulated provider perceptions of feedback reports.

AIM This paper reports on regulated (or licensed) care providers' understanding and perceptions of feedback reports in a sample of Canadian long-term care settings using a cross-sectional survey design. BACKGROUND Audit with feedback quality improvement studies have seldom targeted front-line providers in long-term care to receive feedback information. METHODS Feedback reports were delivered to front-line regulated care providers in four long-term care facilities for 13 months in 2009-10. Providers completed a postfeedback survey. RESULTS Most (78%) regulated care providers (n = 126) understood the reports and felt they provided useful information for making changes to resident care (64%). Perceptions of the report differed, depending on the role of the regulated care provider. In multivariable logistic regression, the regulated nurses' understanding of more than half the report was negatively associated with 'usefulness of information for changing resident care', and perceiving the report as generally useful had a positive association. CONCLUSIONS Front-line regulated providers are an appropriate target for feedback reports in long-term care. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT Long-term care administrators should share unit-level information on care quality with unit-level managers and other professional front-line direct care providers.