Abstract
Following hip fracture surgery, patients often experience multiple transitions through different care settings, with resultant challenges to the quality and continuity of patient care. Family caregivers can play a key role in these transitions, but are often poorly engaged in the process. We aimed to: (1) examine the characteristics of the family caregivers' experience of communication and information sharing and (2) identify facilitators and barriers of effective information sharing among patients, family caregivers and health care providers. Using an ethnographic approach, we followed 11 post-surgical hip fracture patients through subsequent care transitions in rural Ontario; in-depth interviews were conducted with patients, family caregivers (n = 8) and health care providers (n = 24). Priority areas for improved information sharing relate to trust and respect, involvement, and information needs and expectations; facilitators and barriers included prior health care experience, trusting relationships and the rural setting. As with knowledge translation, effective strategies to improve information sharing and care continuity for older patients with chronic illness may be those that involve active facilitation of an on-going partnership that respects the knowledge of all those involved.
Highlights
Following hip fracture surgery, patients often experience multiple transitions through different care settings, with resultant challenges to the quality and continuity of patient care
Caregivers have a key role in supporting care transitions, but are often poorly engaged in the process – either as sources or as recipients of important information [12]
We aimed to enhance our understanding of the role caregivers play during care transitions for hip fracture patients, including: (1) caregivers’ experiences of information sharing during care transitions and (2) facilitators and barriers of effective information sharing and communication
Summary
Patients often experience multiple transitions through different care settings, with resultant challenges to the quality and continuity of patient care. Methods: Using an ethnographic approach, we followed 11 post-surgical hip fracture patients through subsequent care transitions in rural Ontario; in-depth interviews were conducted with patients, family caregivers (n = 8) and health care providers (n = 24). Patients often experience multiple transitions through different care settings; these transitions present challenges to the quality and continuity of patient care, and to patient safety [5,6,7]. Caregivers have a key role in supporting care transitions, but are often poorly engaged in the process – either as sources or as recipients of important information [12]. Little is known about family caregivers’ experiences during care transitions and the factors that facilitate or hinder the effective sharing of information
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