Dementia informal caregivers’ experience with hospital discharge planning post-discharge
Date
2018-03-01
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Abstract
Little is known about dementia informal caregivers’ experience with discharge planning,
and whether the discharge planning hospital team, including the physician, nurse
practitioner (NP), social worker (SW), and other allied health practitioners, meet the
needs of caregivers both in- and post-hospital. This interpretative phenomenological study
examines dementia informal caregivers’ experience with hospital discharge planning
post-discharge from an Ontario urban hospital. Five informal caregivers were interviewed
using semi-structured telephone interviews, and data was analyzed using Benner’s
interpretative analysis process (1985; 1994). Research findings suggest that dementia
informal caregivers consider their role as challenging due to many stressors and demands
and poor discharge planning. Informal caregivers reveal that information sharing and the
arrangement of community resources during the discharge planning process was
inconsistent. They felt abandoned and unsupported throughout the discharge plan, as
defined by lack of communication and dissemination of caregiver resources. As a result,
caregivers had difficulty understanding and managing their loved ones’ health care needs
after hospital discharge. Research findings can help inform discharge planning practices
and standards as it pertains to dementia informal caregivers.
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Keywords
dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, cognitive impairment, elderly, seniors, informal caregiver, lay caregiver, dementia caregiver, hospital discharge, discharge planning, discharge process, care planning