Transitional care to caregivers of dependent older people: an integrative literature review

Abstract

Objective: To identify the needs of caregivers of dependent older people related to self-care in the transition from hospital to home. Methods: Integrative literature review that followed a predefined protocol, carried out from March to May 2019 in the platforms EBSCO, B-On, Scopus, Web of Science, and Joanna Briggs Institute. Descriptors and eligibility criteria were defined for the bibliographic sample, which was ten articles. The search was limited to articles published between 2015 and 2019 to guarantee evidence topicality. Results: The needs of caregivers related to transitional care can be grouped into five categories: needs in the transition into the role of caregiver; needs related to self-care of caregivers themselves; health needs; economic needs; and social and collective needs. Final considerations: The work developed by nurses regarding transitional care of caregivers must have two focuses: managing care provided to dependent older people and managing the needs of caregivers and the care offered to them.

Algorithm for transitional care for caregivers of dependent older adults: a validation study

“…Charts 1 and 2 present the intervention of caregivers organized in terms of timing (before discharge, at discharge, and 48 hours to 30 days post-discharge) (14)(15) and the decision-making flowchart, which was assessed by the expert panel.…”

“…The literature review allowed the researchers to identify a set of difficulties faced by caregivers in the hospital-community transition, and pointed to the need for transitional care interventions for a group which is often seen as a resource and not as the target of nursing care. The needs of ICs were grouped into five categories: needs in the transition into the role of caregiver; self-care needs; healthcare needs; economic needs; and social and community needs (14)(15) .…”

“…Based on the recommendations found in the literature, the researchers considered that the hospital-community transitional care interventions included three different stages: before leaving the hospital; at discharge; and between the first 48 hours and 30 days after discharge (14)(15) . For the present study, dependence was defined as being dependent on someone or something for help and support (16) and caregiver as the one who meets the needs of someone who is dependent (16) .…”

Transitional Care Management from Emergency Services to Communities: An Action Research Study

“…Changes in the epidemiological profile of people who resort to hospital care draw attention to the need to apply different care models to guarantee individualization of care of sick elderly people, as well as of their caregivers. This implies ensuring proper care transition to informal caregivers and deploying social and community resources [2,3] that contribute to care integration, thus preventing care discontinuity, especially after hospital discharge in cases in which patients are dependent [3][4][5][6] and need to have access to health care and support by primary healthcare (PHC) teams guaranteed [5].…”

“…There is a consensus that care provided to this population, which shows increased vulnerability, and to its caregivers, still focuses on the solutions of specific problems. It is characterized by being immediate, that is, it does not include delivery of long-term care [4][5][6], especially when patients resort to emergency services (ES) and do not become inpatients.…”