141st APHA Annual Meeting

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282882
Hospital to home care-transitions : Qualitative study of stakeholders' priorities and challenges

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Maryaline Catillon, MPH Student , School Pasteur-CNAM of Public Health, PARIS, France
Cary Reid, MD , Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY
Care transitions (CT's) are a public health issue, especially for the elderly, because they are a prevalent, possibly epidemic cause of medical errors impacting patient morbidity, mortality, and costs. Yet different stakeholders lack common definitions concerning central aspects of CT's. This study examined how varied groups define the process itself, how their definitions of problems converge and differ and the implications of the situation.

A snowball sample of stakeholders chosen by type underwent a semi-structured interview which was qualitatively analyzed for themes and intergroup differences. Stakeholders interviewed included 8 administrators, 13 physicians, 7 nurses, 4 social workers, 6 patients, and 7 experts.

CT's definitions differed by stakeholder group. Hospital administrators focused on organizational problems and financial incentives, physicians on communication failures and team management, nurses on discharge, social workers on insurance coverage and psycho-social issues, patients on difficulty understanding the many different jargon-laden languages.

Common problems and barriers included communication, discharge process, psycho-social issues and insurance coverage. No global shared analysis about principal reasons of poor transitions emerged even among the same team.

Limitations : This was a heuristic study with a limited sample.

Care transitions are a key area to focus on to improve public health outcomes related to care processes. Stakeholders differing definitions and perceptions may limit their ability to use quick fixes to fix CT's. All agree on that communication, discharge process and money isses contribute to the current chaos. Future needs include standards for research, meta-analyses, and an indexed warehouse of current projects.

Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Program planning
Provision of health care to the public
Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines

Learning Objectives:
Name the impacts of care transitions on public health of the elderly Differentiate perception of care transitions by stakeholder type Identify common problems and barriers to care transitions Develop a transitional care project taking into account the impact of different perceptions of care transitions between stakeholders

Keywords: Elderly, Challenges and Opportunities

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: As a Hospital Director Student in France, I've conducted projects about finances, human resources, quality improvement and costs in hospitals. As part of my MPH Program at School Pasteur-CNAM of Public Health, I'm particularly interested in management and organization of health systems.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.