Congestive heart failure readmission

Multiple hospital readmissions average between 21% and 27% in the United States yearly. Little is understood about what causes this rate and, more importantly, how readmission can be prevented. An integrative review examined 13 research articles in an attempt to identify specific factors that lead to readmission. Risk factors continually researched were dependency, patient age, stage of illness, hospital length of stay (LOS), prior hospitalization, care after discharge, and mobility status. Congestive heart failure (CHF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were the medical conditions responsible for most readmissions. No single factor was found to universally predict readmission, but several were statistically significant. Because of the results of this review, a study was conducted to determine whether clients with a primary or secondary diagnosis of CHF who receive home health care and a systematic education program would be less likely to be readmitted to the hospital or have a shorter LOS if readmitted than home health clients who did not receive the education program.