Nurses' experiences of transitions of older patients from hospitals to community care. A nation‐wide survey in Norway
Abstract Background and Aims Moving older patients from hospitals to community services is a critical phase of integrated care. Yet, large‐scale research on the quality of these transitions has been missing. Consequently, it has been difficult to assess to what extent and how patient transitions nee...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2020-09-01
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| Series: | Health Science Reports |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.174 |
| _version_ | 1829509767643529216 |
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| author | Heidi Gautun Christopher Bratt Jenny Billings |
| author_facet | Heidi Gautun Christopher Bratt Jenny Billings |
| author_sort | Heidi Gautun |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background and Aims Moving older patients from hospitals to community services is a critical phase of integrated care. Yet, large‐scale research on the quality of these transitions has been missing. Consequently, it has been difficult to assess to what extent and how patient transitions need to be improved. The purpose of this research was to gather the perspective of nurses involved in the transition of older patients (defined as patients 65 years or older) in Norway. Methods Data were collected in 2017 among Norwegian nurses with two nationwide web‐based surveys, one among nurses working at in‐patient wards in acute hospitals, and another among nurses in home nursing and nursing homes in the community. We sent emails to all nurses who were members of the Norwegian Nurses Organisation (NSS), where most Norwegian nurses are organised. The email included a recommendation by the NSS. Instructions in the email and the online questionnaire ensured that only nurses involved in the transition of older patients participated. The online questionnaire assessed nurses' evaluations of the quality of patient transitions and information exchange between the services involved in patient transitions. Results 4312 nurses working in community care services and 2421 nurses at in‐patient wards at hospitals responded. Both groups were predominantly female (94%), and nearly 90% of Norway's 428 municipalities were included in the study. Compared to hospital nurses, the nurses working in community care experienced lower quality of patient transitions and were less satisfied with the information exchange on patients' condition and needs. Further, when comparing groups of community nurses, we found that nurses in home nursing were more dissatisfied with the quality of transitions and information exchange than nurses in nursing homes. Conclusion We conclude that hospital nurses should have more face‐to‐face or telephone contact with community nurses, and specifically with home nurses. Further, we suggest promoting a mutual understanding of the older patients' pathway from one service to the other, and to improve co‐ordination across the services. We suggest that one means to achieve such improvements is to use multi‐disciplinary discharge teams, while another is to develop case management or care navigator roles specific to the discharge process. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T11:51:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-30fcaafe47484eb9b60806f93734464a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2398-8835 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T11:51:33Z |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Health Science Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-30fcaafe47484eb9b60806f93734464a2022-12-21T22:32:41ZengWileyHealth Science Reports2398-88352020-09-0133n/an/a10.1002/hsr2.174Nurses' experiences of transitions of older patients from hospitals to community care. A nation‐wide survey in NorwayHeidi Gautun0Christopher Bratt1Jenny Billings2Norwegian Social Research (NOVA) Oslo Metropolitan University Oslo NorwaySchool of Psychology – Keynes College University of Kent Canterbury UKIntegrated Care Research Unit, Centre for Health Service Studies University of Kent Canterbury UKAbstract Background and Aims Moving older patients from hospitals to community services is a critical phase of integrated care. Yet, large‐scale research on the quality of these transitions has been missing. Consequently, it has been difficult to assess to what extent and how patient transitions need to be improved. The purpose of this research was to gather the perspective of nurses involved in the transition of older patients (defined as patients 65 years or older) in Norway. Methods Data were collected in 2017 among Norwegian nurses with two nationwide web‐based surveys, one among nurses working at in‐patient wards in acute hospitals, and another among nurses in home nursing and nursing homes in the community. We sent emails to all nurses who were members of the Norwegian Nurses Organisation (NSS), where most Norwegian nurses are organised. The email included a recommendation by the NSS. Instructions in the email and the online questionnaire ensured that only nurses involved in the transition of older patients participated. The online questionnaire assessed nurses' evaluations of the quality of patient transitions and information exchange between the services involved in patient transitions. Results 4312 nurses working in community care services and 2421 nurses at in‐patient wards at hospitals responded. Both groups were predominantly female (94%), and nearly 90% of Norway's 428 municipalities were included in the study. Compared to hospital nurses, the nurses working in community care experienced lower quality of patient transitions and were less satisfied with the information exchange on patients' condition and needs. Further, when comparing groups of community nurses, we found that nurses in home nursing were more dissatisfied with the quality of transitions and information exchange than nurses in nursing homes. Conclusion We conclude that hospital nurses should have more face‐to‐face or telephone contact with community nurses, and specifically with home nurses. Further, we suggest promoting a mutual understanding of the older patients' pathway from one service to the other, and to improve co‐ordination across the services. We suggest that one means to achieve such improvements is to use multi‐disciplinary discharge teams, while another is to develop case management or care navigator roles specific to the discharge process.https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.174community carehospitalsintegrated careolder patientsquality of transition |
| spellingShingle | Heidi Gautun Christopher Bratt Jenny Billings Nurses' experiences of transitions of older patients from hospitals to community care. A nation‐wide survey in Norway Health Science Reports community care hospitals integrated care older patients quality of transition |
| title | Nurses' experiences of transitions of older patients from hospitals to community care. A nation‐wide survey in Norway |
| title_full | Nurses' experiences of transitions of older patients from hospitals to community care. A nation‐wide survey in Norway |
| title_fullStr | Nurses' experiences of transitions of older patients from hospitals to community care. A nation‐wide survey in Norway |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nurses' experiences of transitions of older patients from hospitals to community care. A nation‐wide survey in Norway |
| title_short | Nurses' experiences of transitions of older patients from hospitals to community care. A nation‐wide survey in Norway |
| title_sort | nurses experiences of transitions of older patients from hospitals to community care a nation wide survey in norway |
| topic | community care hospitals integrated care older patients quality of transition |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.174 |
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