Implementing Transitional Care Interventions for Surgical Patients: A Scoping Review.
G Tobiano, B M Gillespie, K Turner and 5 others
PMID 40692278WHAT IT FOUND
Across 27 studies, hospitals implementing transitional care for surgical patients relied on staff training, role changes, electronic systems, and change management.
Few reported who led these steps or how well they were followed, limiting what other teams can copy.
Key findings
01The most common implementation strategies were staff education and training, changes to staffing and roles, changes to electronic systems, and implementation process strategies such as assessing context, monitoring, and using change management approaches.
02Intervention fidelity was not reported in 16 of 27 studies, and the person responsible for enacting strategies was often not reported.
03Included studies were conducted mainly in Asia and the USA and involved patients having colorectal, complex abdominal, or cardiac surgery.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Only studies with at least one nurse-delivered component were included, so the findings may not represent transitional care programmes run by other staff. Quality improvement projects were included alongside research, and the authors note these may be of lower quality. The authors changed their framework from ERIC to Leeman's five classes during the review. Studies came mainly from Asia and the USA and focused on colorectal, abdominal and cardiac surgery, so the strategies may not transfer to other settings or surgical groups. Intervention fidelity was not reported in 16 of 27 studies, making it hard to know how faithfully the programmes were delivered.
Declared interests
No funding source or conflict-of-interest statement is included in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that these implementation strategies improve patient outcomes. The review reports which strategies hospitals used, not whether they worked, and most included studies did not report intervention fidelity.