Safe and effective person- and family-centered care practices during transitions from hospital to home-A web-based Delphi technique.

Rosemary Frey,Chantal Backman,Sharon Johnston,Wendy Gifford,Alan J Forster,Linda Hughes,Nelly D Oelke,Jeanie Lacroix,Katharina Kovacs Burns

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0211024

Abstract

BackgroundResearch has shown that adverse events during care transitions from hospital to home can have a significant impact on patients’ outcomes, leading to readmission, delayed healing or even death. Gaps exist in the ways of monitoring care during transition periods and there is a need to help organizations better implement and monitor safe person-and family-centered care. Value statements are a way to obtain narratives in lay terms about how well care, treatment and support is organized to meet the needs and preferences of patients/families. The purpose of this study was to identify the value statements that are perceived by decision-makers and patients/families to best signify safe person- and family-centered care during transitions from hospital to home.MethodsBetween January and September 2017, a web-based Delphi was used to survey key stakeholders in acute care and home care organizations across Canada.ResultsDecision-makers (n = 22) and patients/families (n = 24) from five provinces participated in the Delphi. Following Round 1, 45 perceived value statements were identified. In Round 2, consensus was received on 33/45 (73.3%) by decision-makers, and 30/45 (66.7%) by patients/families. In Round 3, additional value statements reached consensus in the decision-makers’ survey (3) and in the patients/families’ survey (2). A total of 30 high priority value statements achieved consensus derived from both the decision-makers’ and patients/families’ perspectives.ConclusionThis study was an important first step in identifying key consensus-based priority value statements for monitoring care transitions from the perspective of both decision-makers and patients/families. Future research is needed to test their usability and to determine whether these value statements are actually suggestive of safe person-and family-centered care transition interventions from hospital to home.

Highlights

Research has shown that adverse events during care transitions from hospital to home can have a significant impact on patients’ outcomes, leading to readmission, delayed healing or even death
Future research is needed to test their usability and to determine whether these value statements are suggestive of safe person-and family-centered care transition interventions from hospital to home
Person- and-family-centered care (PFCC) allows the planning, delivery, and evaluation of health care to be grounded in mutually beneficial partnerships among health care providers, patients, and families[1]

Summary

Introduction

Research has shown that adverse events during care transitions from hospital to home can have a significant impact on patients’ outcomes, leading to readmission, delayed healing or even death. Gaps exist in the ways of monitoring care during transition periods and there is a need to help organizations better implement and monitor safe person-and family-centered care. Value statements are a way to obtain narratives in lay terms about how well care, treatment and support is organized to meet the needs and preferences of patients/families. The purpose of this study was to identify the value statements that are perceived by decisionmakers and patients/families to best signify safe person- and family-centered care during transitions from hospital to home

Objectives

Results

Discussion

Conclusion