Abstract
PurposeThe acute geriatric community hospital (AGCH) in an intermediate care facility is an alternative to conventional hospitalization. A comprehensive geriatric assessment and rehabilitation are integrated into acute medical care for older patients. This study aims to evaluate patient experience and satisfaction with the AGCH.Design/methodology/approachThis is a mixed method observational study including a satisfaction questionnaire and qualitative interviews with AGCH patients or informal caregivers.FindingsA total of 152 participants filled in the questionnaire, and thirteen semi-structured interviews were conducted. Twelve categories and four overarching themes emerged in the analysis. In general, study participants experience the admission to the AGCH as positive and are satisfied with the care they received; there were also suggestions for improvement.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations of this study include possible participation bias. The results show that patients value this type of care indicating that it should be implemented elsewhere. Further research will focus on health outcomes, readmission rates and cost effectiveness of the AGCH.Originality/valueThis is the first study to evaluate care satisfaction with the AGCH. It shows that hospitalized older adults positively value the AGCH as an alternative to hospitalization.
Highlights
Hospital admission is a stressful event for older adults and their families
The acute geriatric community hospital (AGCH) focuses on family and informal caregiver involvement (Pearson et al, 2015) and transitional care (Verhaegh et al, 2014); patients and their informal caregivers are involved in treatment and discharge planning
During the initiation phase of this research, we developed a conceptual framework of the patient experience within the AGCH
Summary
Hospital admission is a stressful event for older adults and their families. It is associated with deconditioning, functional decline, hospital readmissions and increased mortality (Boyd et al, 2008; Buurman et al, 2011). An example is hospital at home where a patient receives hospital treatment at home (Shepperd et al, 2008) Another alternative that was recently developed and opened in 2018 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is admission to a specialized acute geriatric unit in an intermediate care facility: the acute geriatric community hospital (AGCH) (Ribbink et al, 2020). The patient care goals of the AGCH are firstly to improve self-efficacy (Boltz et al, 2014) and prevent functional decline (Boyd et al, 2008) It has an adapted environment with single rooms and open hallways that allow for mobilization during the day. A prospective cohort study is underway to evaluate if the AGCH improves clinical and economic outcomes (Ribbink et al, 2020)
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