Theme | Information needs and communication problems | Frequency (%) | Impact (%) |
---|---|---|---|
Medications | 1. Post-discharge changes/medication reconciliation (new drugs, dose/schedule changes, discontinuation of prior drugs) | 50.4 | 23.5 |
2. Reason for taking | 51.3 | 17.7 | |
3. Side effects | 49.6 | 18.5 | |
4. Costs | 67.2 | 36.1 | |
5. When to contact doctor regarding abnormal reactions | 42.9 | 26.9 | |
6. Confusion regarding brand vs generic | 55.5 | 32.8 | |
7. How to take medications | 30.2 | 19.3 | |
8. When to take medications | 28.6 | 14.3 | |
9. Which medications to take | 30.3 | 21.9 | |
10. Risks of noncompliance | 47.1 | 41.2 | |
Disease/condition | 11. Diagnosed diseases/conditions | 27.7 | 23.5 |
12. Disease/condition progression | 51.3 | 39.5 | |
13. Symptoms of worsening condition | 29.4 | 39.5 | |
14. Disease severity | 50.4 | 31.9 | |
Non-medication | 15. How to use/manage home medical equipment | 40.3 | 18.5 |
Care/treatment/safety | 16. Wound care | 41.2 | 16 |
17. Home safety | 44.5 | 15.1 | |
18. Prescribed diet | 32.8 | 19.3 | |
Functional limitations | 19. Understanding of functional limitations | 22.6 | 17.7 |
20. Underestimation of need for caregiver/nursing care | 30.3 | 20.2 | |
21. Understanding home-care nurses’ role | 63 | 24.4 | |
Communication problems | 22. Understanding doctors (accents, hearing difficulty, literacy, health literacy) | 31.9 | 11.8 |
23. Miscommunication between clinicians | 17.7 | 6.7 | |
24. Miscommunication between patient and clinicians | 19.3 | 10.1 | |
25. Incorrect/misunderstood discharge instructions (rushed, skipped, confusing, health literacy problems) | 47.9 | 31.9 | |
26. Follow-up instructions (labs, testing, specialists, check-ups) | 24.4 | 15.1 | |
27. Conflicting information from clinicians | 26.9 | 12.6 | |
28. Information overload | 48.7 | 31.1 |
The scores are the percentage of respondents (total=119) who rated each information need as either ‘often’ or ‘almost always’ occurring (frequency) and when it occurs, as ‘often’ or ‘almost always’ resulting in a readmission (impact).