Hospital discharge preparation for homeward bound elderly

The purpose of this study was to explore hospital discharge preparation for elderly patients returning to their homes, and to examine knowledge and satisfaction outcomes. A descriptive correlational design was used in an urban health maintenance organization medical center. The convenience sample included 140 English-speaking patients with medical diagnoses. Knowledge scores were obtained for those patients who went home with a regime change, and the majority were discharged with changes in diet, medications, treatments, or activities. Medication knowledge was identified as an area that needed improvement; low scorers for medication knowledge tended to be older, less ambulatory, and had more secondary diagnoses. Patients were satisfied with the instruction that they received and perceived themselves to be prepared to continue their care at home. The ability of elderly patients to learn instruction for their continued health care is still unclear. Patients may have been too ill to learn, or length of stay may have been too short, or patients may not have had the need to learn what health care providers considered essential.