Early hospital readmission in the perspective of chronically ill patients

Abstract

Objective : learn, from the perspective of chronically ill patients, the reasons for rehospitalization. Methods : qualitative study with 19 patients in a general hospital. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, submitted to content analysis and grouped into two categories. Results : the first category revealed that patients attributed the occurrence of rehospitalization to the living conditions and social determinants. The second category showed that patients believed that, by following medical advice and taking the prescribed medicines they could prevent rehospitalizations, but they did not associate these actions with other actions of self-care. Conclusion : the discharge planning is an opportunity to add new self-care actions that must be based on the real needs of individual, in order to avoid further rehospitalizations.