Home-care nurses' perceptions of unmet information needs and communication difficulties of older patients in the immediate post-hospital discharge period.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To understand home-care nurses' perceptions of the post-hospitalisation information needs and communication problems of older patients, and how these factors might contribute to undesirable outcomes including poor patient reintegration into prior living environments and unplanned hospital readmissions.

Design

A ranked list of information needs experienced by patients was developed by two Nominal Group Technique (NGT) sessions from the perspective of home-care nurses. The list was combined with results from previously published work to develop a web-based survey administered to home-care nurses to elicit perceptions of patients' post-hospitalisation information needs.

Results

Seventeen nurses participated in the NGT sessions, producing a list of 28 challenges

SUBMITTER: Romagnoli KM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3694324 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature