How Do Older People Experience Hospital to Home Discharge? An Overview of Qualitative Reviews.
Úna Kerin, Judith Dyson, Fiona Cowdell
PMID 41709104WHAT IT FOUND
Older people wanted to go home but often felt uninvolved, rushed and poorly prepared.
They reported jargon, not being listened to, unclear responsibility and poor recall, so discharge talks need time, plain language and clarity about who is responsible.
Key findings
01Across six reviews covering 98 primary studies, older people wanted to be at home but often felt uninvolved in discharge planning and poorly prepared.
02Communication problems were common: older people reported jargon, not being listened to, unclear responsibility and poor recall even when information was given.
03The included research often did not report age, gender, ethnicity, health conditions or reason for admission, so experiences of specific groups are not well described.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only six reviews were included, and the search was limited to English-language papers, so other settings and languages may differ. The reviews showed geographic bias towards high-income countries, especially the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Canada and Australia, so findings may not transfer to other health systems. Many primary studies did not report age, gender or ethnicity, and health conditions and reason for admission were often generic, so it is unclear whether experiences differed by group. Because this is a review of reviews, details from individual studies may have been lost or diluted. Some included reviews also reported informal carers' and healthcare practitioners' views, which may not be the same as older people's own views. Quality appraisal did not exclude reviews based on score, and some appraisal items were answered cannot tell.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that a particular discharge intervention works. It synthesises older people's experiences of discharge; it does not test whether person-centred discharge planning improves outcomes or reduces readmission.