Discharge planning from emergency department to home; professionals and informal caregivers perspective.
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Date
OCTOBER, 2019
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Abstract
Discharge planning is a series of activities employed to aid in smooth transition of patients
from hospital. It includes assessment, education of patients and relatives, and informal
caregivers’ involvement. Emergency department discharge planning promotes patient and
family satisfaction and reduces the rate at which patient are readmitted. The study aimed at
exploring discharge planning from the perspectives of professionals and informal caregivers.
The study used qualitative method approach with convenience sampling method to select 10
healthcare professionals and 12 informal caregivers to participate in the research. A semi
structured interview guide was used to acquire the right responses from the participants. The
results from the study proved that health care professionals have some knowledge on
discharge planning but did not practice it. There was also absence of protocols and guidelines
to guide discharge planning at the emergency department. The professionals educated only
patients with diabetes and hypertensive cases. Interaction and communication flow between
healthcare professionals and informal caregiver did not seem to be adequate. Informal
caregivers therefore felt left out of discharge planning. Inadequate number of staff and
limited facility with their attendant overcrowding and heavy workloads served as barriers to
effective discharge planning at the department. The consensus between the professionals and
informal caregivers on the presence of patient related, staff related and hospital related
barriers to discharge planning is a worrying situation. This needs to be addressed as a matter
of urgency if stakeholders wish to have effective healthcare delivery at the emergency
department. It is therefore imperative for discharge planning to be regarded as a daily activity
at the ward. Protocols and guidelines on discharge planning also need to be designed and
made available to staff to enhance effective health care delivery at the department. In
designing discharge planning, professionals need to regard informal caregivers’ involvement
as relevant.
Description
Thesis submitted to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Award of Mphil Nursing Degree.
Keywords
Discharge, Emergency, Planning, Caregivers perspective