Participant timeline
SECONDARY
The initial data of the participating patients includes age, sex, medical diagnoses, and number and duration of illnesses. These data are collected during the enrolment phase. Each patient enrolled in the project takes part in APN care for twelve months. The initial assessment lasts on average 1.5 hours. Follow-up contacts for the implementation and continuation of the care plan usually take place every four weeks. Depending on the need, however, the intervals can also be significantly shorter or significantly longer. APN contact is held at least quarterly. Routine contacts last on average 30 minutes. Depending on patient concerns and needs, the time frame may vary.Routine data are used to count emergency contacts as the primary outcome measure, which means that there is no time stress for the patients. Secondary data are supplied by the ASHIP and by one health insurance company. However, there are patients for whom not all data regarding hospital and emergency contacts are available from routine data. For them, data are collected by the APNs. These data are also used for the analysis of secondary endpoints and health economic analyses. In addition, 30 patients will be interviewed about their experiences after completion of the 12-month intervention. We do not foresee the need for follow-up data collection.The assessment tools mentioned above are used to measure the health status of the patients in the internal assessment. Data will be collected at the beginning (t0) and at the end (t1) of the 12-month intervention. Patient satisfaction with APN care is measured using a project-specific questionnaire.The participants’ timeline in relation to the individual steps that occur during enrolment, intervention and evaluation is shown in Table Participant timeline