title: Caregiver presence and patient completion of a transitional care intervention.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the association between family caregiver presence and patient completion of the Care Transitions Intervention (CTI), a patient activation model that provides transitional care coaching for 30 days following hospital discharge.
  
  
  METHODS
  A convenience sample of 2747 fee-for-service Medicare patients recruited for the CTI during inpatient medical hospitalizations at 6 hospitals in Rhode Island between January 1, 2009 and June 31, 2011.
  
  
  METHODS
  As part of an effectiveness trial of the CTI, Transitions Coaches recruited patients prior to hospital discharge. When a family caregiver was present during recruitment, the patient and family caregiver were coached together or the family caregiver was coached independently.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We hypothesized that CTI participation would be equivalent for the 2265 coached patients without a family caregiver present at recruitment, versus the 482 patients with a family caregiver. After adjusting for significant covariates, patients with family caregivers were more than 5 times as likely to complete the intervention as patients without family caregivers (AOR = 5.48; 95% CI = 4.22-7.12). Men with family caregivers were nearly 8 times as likely to complete the intervention as men without family caregivers (AOR = 7.94; 95% CI = 5.26-11.98).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The inclusion of a family caregiver is associated with a greater rate of completing the CTI for post discharge coaching, particularly among men; the inclusion of a family caregiver is a feasible modification to the CTI program.
authors.affiliation: Psychosocial Research Program, Butler Hospital, 345 Blackstone Blvd, Providence, RI 02906. E-mail: Gary_Epstein-Lubow_MD@Brown.edu.
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Epstein-Lubow
authors.forename: Rosa R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Baier
authors.forename: Kristen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Butterfield
authors.forename: Rebekah
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gardner
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Babalola
authors.forename: Eric A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Coleman
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gravenstein
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017028:Caregivers; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010351:Patient Discharge; D010358:Patient Participation / Q000379:methods; D015397:Program Evaluation; D000069341:Transitional Care / Q000458:organization & administration