Dementia informal caregivers’ experience with hospital discharge planning post-discharge

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.