Transition of care for women in the puerperal period at hospital discharge

Abstract

Objective to describe nurses’ activities in transition of care for puerperal women from hospital care to other services in the health care network. Method exploratory-descriptive research, developed in the rooming-in of a federal university hospital in southern Brazil. Data were collected remotely, between November and December 2020, through a semi-structured questionnaire via the SurveyMonkey electronic platform with five nurses and four resident nurses. Analysis followed Bardin’s content structure with the support of Qualitative Data Analysis Miner software. Results the activities carried out by nurses in transition of care for puerperal women included discharge guidelines and educational actions for puerperal women. Elements such as lack of communication between rooming-in professionals and other services in the Health Care Network and nurses’ workload were considered barriers to transition of care to puerperal women. Conclusion and implications for practice although nurses undertake efforts in transition of care to puerperal women through guidance and education for discharge, it is essential to outline management strategies in order to implement a set of systematized actions to ensure continuity of care for puerperal women.