Regulated provider perceptions of feedback reports HANNAH M. O’ROURKE RN BScN (Hons) 1 , KIMBERLY D. FRASER RN PhD 2 , ANNE-MARIE BOSTR € OM RN PhD 3,4,5 , MELBA ANDREA B. BAYLON MSPH 6 and ANNE E. SALES RN PhD 7,8 1 PhD Student 2 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 3 Associate Professor, Department of Neurobiology, Care Science and Society, Division of Nursing, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, 4 Associate Professor, Department of Geriatric Medicine, Danderyd Hospital, Danderyd, Sweden, 5 Assistant Adjunct Professor, 6 Statistician Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 7 Professor, School of Nursing, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI and 8 Research Scientist, Center for Clinical Management Research, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI, USA Correspondence Hannah M. O’Rourke c/o Graduate Programs Faculty of Nursing 4-171 Edmonton Clinic Health Academy 11405 87 Avenue University of Alberta Edmonton Alberta T6G 1C9 Canada E-mail: hannah.orourke@ualberta.ca O’ROURKE H.M., FRASER K.D., BOSTRO ¨ M A.-M., BAYLON M.A.B. & SALES A.E. (2013) Journal of Nursing Management 21, 1016–1025. 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. Keywords: audit, feedback, long-term care, quality improvement Accepted for publication: 18 January 2013 Introduction Demographic trends in Canada indicate that the propor- tions of Canadians over the ages of 65 and 85 are increasing, and will continue to do so at accelerating rates over the next several decades (Statistics Canada 2008, McDaniel 2009). While many older adults remain independent, the risk of having one or more chronic dis- eases and of requiring supportive care increases with age. Even though only 2% of those aged 65–74 receive care and live in a long-term care (LTC) facility, this number increases to 32% for those aged 85 years and 1016 DOI: 10.1111/jonm.12070 ª 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Journal of Nursing Management, 2013, 21, 1016–1025