2016 Volume 21 Issue 1 Pages 50-58
This study aimed to clarify issues related to the transfer of post-acute elderly individuals to long-term care wards. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four nurses working on long-term care wards. The nurses were interviewed regarding situations in which they experienced difficulties related to the transfer of post-acute elderly individuals and the solutions they currently use to address these difficulties. Interview data were subjected to qualitative descriptive analysis. The results of the analysis revealed the following six situational categories: “family’s discontent and lack of understanding regarding long-term care wards”, “lack of support to family for the future in acute-care wards and family’s discontent”, “transferring patients in a debilitated state of health”, “persistence of physical restrictions that seem unnecessary in acute-care wards”, “lack of communication with acute-care ward staff”, and “requirement of unexpected treatment due to lack of prior information”. Furthermore, the following four treatment categories were identified: “discovery of and coping with the family’s understanding and dissatisfaction during the early period of transition”, “supporting recovery in accordance with the patient’s condition at transfer”, “resourceful adjustment and conformity with the patient’s condition at transfer”, and “promotion of information sharing with acute care wards in cooperation with other professionals”.
For continued care and to facilitate a smooth recuperation for post-acute elderly individuals, it is necessary to promote an understanding of long-term care beds, share information for continuing care, and examine care methods to support recovery.
