Reducing Hospital Readmissions for Injection Drug Use-Related Infections: A Rapid Qualitative Analysis of Health Care...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Services Research
• Addiction Medicine

Background:

• People who inject drugs (PWID) experience high rates of hospitalization and readmission due to injection-related infections.
• Existing evidence-based interventions to prevent readmissions among PWID are limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore factors contributing to rehospitalization among PWID.
• To identify potential strategies for preventing readmissions.
• To assess the acceptability and implementation considerations of two proposed interventions: integrated care and patient navigation.

Main Methods:

• Conducted 22 semistructured interviews with 36 healthcare providers and staff across four study sites.
• Purposive sampling ensured diverse representation of roles in PWID care.
• Employed rapid qualitative analysis informed by framework and thematic approaches.

Main Results:

• Key rehospitalization factors include unaddressed structural/social determinants, health system gaps, inadequate addiction care training, and poor continuity of care.
• Healthcare providers expressed high acceptability for both integrated care and patient navigation interventions.
• Implementation recommendations focus on organizational capacity, resource leveraging, and patient engagement/retention.

Conclusions:

• Reducing readmissions for PWID necessitates addressing provider training, care fragmentation, and structural barriers.
• Integrated care and patient navigation interventions are acceptable to healthcare teams.
• Successful implementation hinges on organizational capacity, resource optimization, and person-centered patient engagement.