Healthcare professionals’ perceptions of the implementation of the transitional discharge model for community integration of psychiatric clients

Abstract

Research has demonstrated the benefits of mental healthcare interventions that ensure a safe transition of clients throughout the discharge and community integration process. This paper reports on qualitative data from focus groups with health professionals collected as part of a larger a mixed method study designed to examine the effectiveness and sustainability of implementing the transitional discharge model. Data collection involved two sets of focus groups, which were held at six months and one-year post-implementation. There were 216 health professional participants from nine (9) hospitals across the Province of Ontario, Canada. Data analysis used a four-step ethnographic framework by Leininger (1985) to identify descriptors and recurrent and major themes. The study identified four major themes, including healthcare professionals' roles and positive experiences in implementing the transitional discharge model; perceived benefits of the model; challenges to implementing the model; and suggestions for sustaining the model's implementation. Healthcare professionals felt that the implementation of the transitional discharge model has the potential for increasing their awareness of the process of clients' integration, serving as a framework for discharge planning, and reducing hospital readmissions. The study findings may provide healthcare providers with information on pragmatic ways to plan clients' discharge, to bridge the gap between hospital and community care, and to positively impact client health outcomes.

Healthcare Professionals Perspectives on Discharge Planning for Patients with Mental Illness

“…In particular, healthcare professionals their experience that the quality of information exchange from hospital to community is very poor, which creates challenges in implementing effective discharge planning. There are barriers to implementing effective discharge planning, such as breakdowns in communication between health professionals (Forchuk et al, 2020). Similar findings from the study also showed that poor professional collaboration and a lack of awareness of community service providers posed barriers to care coordination between internal hospitals and the community.…”

“…Discharge planning begins with developing education and skills, where this information must be provided to patients and families to reduce the possibility of relapse (Stuart et al, 2023). Related research on the experiences of mental healthcare professionals in implementing the transitional discharge model for the discharge of patients with mental illness from hospitals to the community resulted in four themes, namely the role and positive experiences of healthcare professionals, the perceived benefits of implementing the model, challenges in implementing the model, and suggestions for maintaining model implementation (Forchuk et al, 2020). These results are consistent with the research theme, which is the healthcare' role in assisting patients get ready for discharge by sharing their experiences and helping patients get ready for discharge.…”

“…This procedure is part of the psychiatric rehabilitation process and the transfer process to another level of care (Boyd, 2018). Discharge planning is planned for the patient from the moment of admission to minimize treatment duration, decrease readmissions (Potter & Perry, 2017), improve the continuity of care from hospitals to the community (Tyler et al, 2019), and provide an achievable strategy to bridge the gap between hospital and community care while also improving patient outcomes (Forchuk et al, 2020).…”

Family expectations of inpatient mental health services for adults with suicidal ideation: a qualitative study

“…Such insights are significant as discharge from inpatient MHS is associated with an increased risk of suicide (Walter et al 2019). Clearly, there is a need for well-coordinated care pathways that encourage accessibility of MHS and support families in seeking help, attaining discharge readiness and providing care in their natural setting (Forchuk et al 2020;Hom et al 2015).…”

“…Clearly, there is a need for well‐coordinated care pathways that encourage accessibility of MHS and support families in seeking help, attaining discharge readiness and providing care in their natural setting (Forchuk et al . 2020; Hom et al . 2015).…”