Effects of a hospital-community partnership transitional program in patients with coronary heart disease in Chengdu, China: A randomized controlled trial.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effects of a hospital-community partnership transitional program among patients with coronary heart disease.


METHODS
This was a randomized controlled trial with 236 patients who were randomized into two groups. The patients in the control group received the usual care. In contrast, the patients in the study group received the transitional care program. The data were collected at the baseline, 30 days, and 90 days after discharge. The primary outcomes were the 30 and 90 day readmission rates after discharge. The secondary outcomes included the quality-of-care transitions, medicine adherence, and chronic disease self-efficacy.


RESULTS
The findings indicated that: (i) the patients in the study group reported significantly lower 30 and 90 day readmission rates after their discharge than those in the control group; (ii) statistically significant differences were found in the quality-of-care transitions at 30 days postdischarge between the two groups as the patients in the study group reported significantly higher quality-of-care transitions, compared to those in the control group; and (iii) the patients in the study group reported significantly higher scores in medication adherence and chronic disease self-efficacy at 30 and 90 days after discharge than those in the control group.


CONCLUSIONS
This study is an original effort to establish and evaluate a hospital-community partnership transitional care program in patients with coronary heart disease in China and the findings have demonstrated its effects.
Hemodialysis Center, Department of Nephrology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Xiao-Yi
XY
Cao
Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sichuan Cancer Hospital, Chengdu, China.
Lang
L
Tian
Hemodialysis Center, Department of Nephrology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Lin
L
Chen
Department of Nursing, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Xiao-Lian
XL
Jiang
D000368:Aged; D002681:China; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010351:Patient Discharge / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010359:Patient Readmission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D020377:Self Efficacy; D000069341:Transitional Care
coronary heart disease; patient readmission; randomized controlled trial; transitional care