Why is hospital discharge so difficult? Reconsidering patient trajectories in theory and practice: Insights from an ethnographic study of transitions in hip fracture care

Abstract

This paper combines translational mobilisation theory and assemblage thinking to elaborate the patient trajectory concept. Deploying ethnographic research on transitions in hip fracture care in Wales (2014–2016), it describes and explains the structures and logics that condition transition interfaces, how transition infrastructures enact patients and with what effects. Comparative analysis of transition in three distinctive assemblages offers new insights into the challenges of hospital discharge and opportunities for research and improvement.