title: Nursing discharge planning for older medical inpatients in Switzerland: A cross-sectional study.
abstract: Nursing discharge planning for elderly medical inpatients is an essential element of care to ensure optimal transition to home and to reduce post-discharge adverse events. The objectives of this cross-sectional study were to investigate the association between nursing discharge planning components in older medical inpatients, patients' readiness for hospital discharge and unplanned health care utilization during the following 30 days. Results indicated that no patients benefited from comprehensive discharge planning but most benefited from less than half of the discharge planning components. The most frequent intervention recorded was coordination, and the least common was patients' participation in decisions regarding discharge. Patients who received more nursing discharge components felt significantly less ready to go home and had significantly more readmissions during the 30-day follow-up period. This study highlights large gaps in the nursing discharge planning process in older medical inpatients and identifies specific areas where improvements are most needed.
authors.affiliation: University of Health Sciences (HESAV), Avenue de Beaumont 21, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland. Electronic address: cedric.mabire@hesav.ch.
authors.forename: Cedric
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mabire
authors.affiliation: Service of Geriatric Medicine and Geriatric Rehabilitation, Lausanne University Hospital Center (CHUV), Avenue de Bugnon 46, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Büla
authors.affiliation: Institute of Higher Education and Nursing Research, Lausanne University, Biopôle 2, Route de la Corniche 10, 1010 Lausanne, Switzerland; Faculty of Nursing, Université Laval, Canada.
authors.forename: Diane
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Morin
authors.affiliation: Institute of Higher Education and Nursing Research, Lausanne University, Biopôle 2, Route de la Corniche 10, 1010 Lausanne, Switzerland; Faculty of Nursing, University of Montreal, Canada.
authors.forename: Celine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Goulet
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D024802:Nurse's Role; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010351:Patient Discharge / Q000592:standards*; D010359:Patient Readmission; D013557:Switzerland
keywords: Aged; Discharge planning; Hospitalization; Readiness for discharge