Balancing acts - striving towards independence after early discharge: lived experiences of older adults and their relatives.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Early hospital discharge is rising internationally. Hence, homecoming is a significant event that has a severe impact on the well-being of older adults and their relatives. Evidence suggests that adapting to this unfamiliar situation requires a concerted effort to strive towards independence. This study describes the meaning of striving towards independence as experienced by older adults and their close relatives during the first month after early discharge from hospital to home and examines how this process relates to their experiences of well-being.

Methods

Data was gathered through 18 dyadic phenomenological in-depth interviews with ten older adults discharged from three hospitals in Austria and their relatives.

Results

The essential meaning of striving

SUBMITTER: Dragosits A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11786380 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature