Nurses' perception about the transition of care at hospital discharge

Abstract

There is a clear gap in the transition between Hospital Care (HC) and Primary Health Care (PHC). The effectiveness of the Care Transition (TC) depends on an excellent communication ability between professionals and services, with hospital discharge being a critical moment. The objective of this study was to investigate the perceptions of HC and PHC nurses on aspects of hospital discharge. This is a cross-sectional and quantitative study carried out with data from nurses working in HC and PHC in the state of Santa Catarina. Data was collected between December 2020 and January 2021, using an electronic form. Descriptive and inferential analysis were performed. Pearson's chi-square test was used for comparison between groups. There are some overlapping positions in the perceptions of HC and PHC nurses on the subject, considering that patient follow-up after hospital discharge is important (54; 91.5%), they understand that there is little and weak communication between health services (52; 88%). Also, verbal guidelines are given to patients and family members at discharge (32; 54.2%), little information is understood by patients (47; 79.7%) and the discharge plan is not individualized (30; 50.8%), in most cases. Communication is a major weakness in hospital discharge, which is expressed in this study, by the nurses' perception of poor communication between HC and PHC, by the fragility of the discharge plan and verbally given guidelines. Improving the care transition process, especially hospital discharge, allows for more integrated, safe and patient-centered healthcare. Investment in strategies that improve this process is essential for the quality of care.

Keywords

• care transition
• primary health care
• hospital care
• health communication
• nursing