Abstract
Frail older adults are vulnerable to hospitalization and transitional care is needed to maintain care continuity; however, there exists no review regarding transitional care focusing on frailty. This study aimed to investigate transitional care for frail older adults and its effectiveness. Search terms were (P) frail older adults; (I) transitional care initiated before discharge; (C) usual care; (O) all health outcomes. Fourteen trials were identified. The most measured outcome was readmission (n = 13), followed by mortality (n = 9), function (n = 7), quality of life (n = 5), and self-rated health (n = 5). Statistical significance effects were reported in the followings: n = 6, readmission; n = 0, mortality; n = 3, function; n = 2, quality of life; and n = 4, self-rated health. The meta-analysis demonstrated that transitional care reduced readmission at six months but not other time points nor mortality or quality of life. The intervention effectiveness was inconclusive; therefore, an evidence-based yet novel approach is necessary to establish an adequate transitional care intervention for frail older adults.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 64-76 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Geriatric Nursing |
| Volume | 43 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2022 Jan 1 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This research was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (No. 2020R1A6A3A1306913111 ) and Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (No. 2020R1A6A1A03041989 ). Funding sources have no involvement in research design, data analysis and interpretation, and writing the manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Author(s)
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Gerontology