Running Head: OBSTACLES TO EFFECTIVE DISCHARGE PLANNING
Factors that Limit Effective Discharge Planning for Chronically ill Patients in ICU
Student’s Name: Yaniel Lopez
Curse: NGR 5110 Nursing Research
Date: 02/302020
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OBSTACLES TO EFFECTIVE DISCHARGE PLANNING
Table of Contents
Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3
Statement of the Problem …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4
Purpose of the Study …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4
Approach …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4
Research Question ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 5
Expected Outcomes ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 5
Significance of the Study …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5
Methodology ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 6
Research Design……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 6
Sample Population and Sampling Method ………………………………………………………………….. 6
Data Collection ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 6
Data Analysis …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 6
References …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 8
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OBSTACLES TO EFFECTIVE DISCHARGE PLANNING
Introduction
According to Naylor et al. (2011), the goal of transitional care is to prevent
hospitalizations and health complications of chronically ill patients when they leave hospital
settings. It is a process that requires a comprehensive home-follow-up and discharge
planning. Effective discharge planning is meant to link the treatment that a patient receives at
the hospital and the post-discharge care that the patient receives from the community
(Shepperd et al., 2013). When patients arrive at the hospital, nurses should: i)
comprehensively assess the health status of the patient, ii) develop comprehensive care plans
for every patient using evidence-based guidelines, and in collaboration with other health
professionals and the families of the patients, and iii) daily visit and asses the patient and start
working on a care plan upon discharge. When a patient gets discharged from the hospital, a
nurse should visit the patient periodically at home or schedule phone calls with the patient.
Numerous studies such as Behzadian and Kapelan (2015), Mazloum et al. (2016), and
Kisely et al. (2017) .indicate that patient satisfaction and health outcomes increase with
effective discharge planning, while other studies indicate that it reduces readmission rates and
the length of stay at the hospital. Discharge nursing is an essential component in nursing
because it has significant impacts on how the family copes when chronically ill patients leave
the hospital. Discharge planning follows the following steps: i) identifying patients that will
need help with discharge planning, ii) working together with the patient’s family and other
healthcare professionals in planning the discharge, iii) recommending continued care options,
or referring the patient to services or programs that meet their preferences and needs, and iv)
encouraging and supporting the patients and their families during the care periods. But
despite the importance of discharge planning, Wong et al. (2011) argues that most hospitals
discharge their patients without proper panning. This research will explore the experiences
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