Abstract

Discharge instructions are a self-care guide for patients after discharge from an acute care hospitalization. The discharge process starts on admission to the hospital and continues until discharged. Many patients rely on informal caregivers to provide support after a discharge. However, it is often unclear whether the patients or caregivers completely understand instructions provided during the discharge process. Key concepts related to how discharge instructions were implemented following discharge to home have been understudied from the patient's and informal caregivers' perspectives. Developing effective discharge instructions based on study findings may assist in reducing 30-day hospital readmission rates. This study was intended to explore how older adult patients (age 65 years and older) and their informal caregivers implemented discharge instructions following discharge. A qualitative methodology was used to conduct this study. The primary aims of this study were to: 1. Describe how discharge instructions were implemented in the home setting by adults 65 years of age and older and their caregivers following an acute care hospital discharge. 2. Identify perceived facilitators and barriers to implementation of discharge instructions among older patients and their informal caregivers. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with older adults and their informal caregivers within seven days of discharge from an acute care facility.

Description

This dissertation has also been disseminated through the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. Dissertation/thesis number: 13884808; ProQuest document ID: 2301477493. The author still retains copyright.

Authors

Brenda Miller

Author Details

Brenda Miller, PhD, RN, PHN, CLNC

Sigma Membership

Zeta Mu at-Large

Type

Dissertation

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Grounded Theory

Research Approach

Qualitative Research

Keywords:

Discharge Instructions, Acute Care Nursing, Patient Home Care

Advisor

Ann M. Mayo

Degree

PhD

Degree Grantor

University of San Diego

Degree Year

2019

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.

All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

None: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

Date of Issue

2020-05-07

Full Text of Presentation

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