Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia
Corso di laurea in infermieristica - Sede di Modena
| Thesis Title | Nursing discharge letter-a tool for continuity of care and hospital readmissions in the Medical Area: a retrospective study of possible causes and cor |
|---|---|
| Name | Rossi Chiara |
| Supervisor(s) | Rovesti Sergio, Greco Giusta |
| Academic Year | 2018/19 |
| Thesis type | Research thesis |
Abstract
Objectives: to measure the problem of re-hospitalization in the care context of the Medical Area, Carpi Hospital, by checking whether the letter of nursing discharge is used as a means of care continuity; to identify common elements related to the assisted, social context, identification of need, activation of discharge process and care continuity, in order to outline a "profile" to identify the assisted person at re-hospitalization risk.
Materials and methods: single centre retrospective study on repeated hospitalizations in the Medical Area, Carpi Hospital. Survivors are selected with re-admission within 30 days from the first discharge, year 2018, after approval of the Ethics Committee and Health Directorate – Carpi’s Hospital. Data are provided by: AUSL Modena Computerized Systems, Management Control, Clinical Files Office.
Results: the re-admissions within 30 days from the first discharge, in the Medical Area, represent 8.6% of all the admissions made and 15.9% of the re-admissions. "Ordinary discharge" is the most frequent mode of discharge. 10.3% of the sample re-enters more than one after first discharge; 17.5% of the sample hesitates in death on the first re-hospitalization. More than half the sample is not reported to Social Services. The nursing discharge letter is completed for more than half of the sample in both shelters.
Conclusion: the patient who return to the hospital within 30 days, you are an elderly person who lives at home, has a contact person and is not known to the Social Services. The letter of dismissal, even if recognized by the nurses as a means of continuity of care, does not appear to cover this function, for contained information and discrepancies in the compilation. The study suggests that the adoption of M. Gordon’s models and NNN taxonomies, for welfare planning, may lead to a revision of the current nursing discharge letter, thus becoming an effective tool for continuity of care.