title: Telephone follow-up calls for older patients after hospital discharge.
abstract: Population ageing poses many challenges. Recurrent readmission to hospital by frail older people places a strain on health systems and the individual. Registered nurses with experience in emergency department, ICU and aged care conducted telephone follow-up calls to patients or bereaved family members after an acute hospital admission. During follow-up calls, many patients reported feelings of loneliness and social isolation post-discharge. It was also found that patients may not be aware of support services available in the community. Telephone follow-up calls after discharge is a potentially cost-effective strategy to identify these patients and potentially provide comfort and timely referrals where needed.
authors.affiliation: The Simpson Centre for Health Services Research, the University of New South Wales, SWS Clinical School and the Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Ebony
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.affiliation: The Simpson Centre for Health Services Research, the University of New South Wales, SWS Clinical School and the Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Samperi
authors.affiliation: The Simpson Centre for Health Services Research, the University of New South Wales, SWS Clinical School and the Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Boyd-Skinner
mesh_terms: D000359:Aftercare / Q000379:methods*; D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D000073496:Frailty / Q000523:psychology; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008132:Loneliness; D010351:Patient Discharge; D000072858:Psychosocial Support Systems; D011788:Quality of Life; D012934:Social Isolation; D013689:Telephone; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: emergency department; loneliness; older people; social isolation; telephone follow-up