A cross-sectional study of readiness for discharge, chronic illness resources and postdischarge outcomes in patients with diabetic foot ulcer.
Mingzhu Wang, Lixue Lv, Zhaohong Yu and 4 others
PMID 33730433WHAT IT FOUND
24.02% of diabetic foot patients reported low discharge readiness, and coping at home scored lowest.
Self-care ability and chronic illness resources were associated with readiness, but readiness did not differ between those readmitted and not readmitted within 30 days.
Key findings
0124.02% of participants reported low discharge readiness, and coping ability was the lowest-scoring dimension.
02Better self-care ability, higher resource scores, not living alone and wound care plans other than returning to a local hospital were associated with better discharge readiness.
03Discharge readiness scores did not differ between patients readmitted within 30 days and those not readmitted.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample was a convenience sample from two hospitals in Guangdong, so it may not represent diabetic foot patients elsewhere. 30-day readmission and emergency department visits were retrieved from patient recall during telephone interviews, which may be inaccurate. Self-care ability was not verified with a basic daily living scale, so it may be misclassified. The interview only asked whether readmission was for foot ulcers, not for other causes such as weakness or functional impairment. The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that resources, self-care ability or wound care plans caused better readiness.
Declared interests
No conflict of interest was declared by the authors.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that improving self-care ability or resources will raise discharge readiness or reduce readmission. The study was cross-sectional and showed associations; it did not test an intervention, and readiness scores did not differ between patients readmitted within 30 days and those not readmitted.