Care Transitions for People with Acquired Neurological Disability in the First 12 Months following Inpatient Rehabilitation: Health Service Use and Obstacles.

Published 3rd May 2024

Transfers between different types or levels of healthcare (aka care transitions) are well known points of risk and vulnerability for people with acquired brain injury (ABI) or spinal cord injury (SCI). This study, which was part of the TRaCE 2.0 research program, examines system-level care transitions and the obstacles and barriers the faced by individuals with ABI or SCI during the first 12 months post-discharge from inpatient rehabilitation.

Data linkage methods captured care transitions between primary, specialist, and emergency levels of healthcare care for 93 participants with ABI (44%) or SCI (56%). Overall, the median number of care transitions was 8 (range: 0–47), with the most frequent transition care pattern involving all levels of care: primary, specialist, and emergency (n = 51/93, 54.8%). However, the frequency, direction, and sequence of transitions between different levels of care varied greatly between participants. Obstacles related to transport were found to be marginally associated with the number of care transitions. More research is needed into the circumstances and patterns of the multiple care transitions to inform personalised rehabilitation pathways and minimise transition risks.

 

Citation

Xie, Y., Nielsen, M., Kendall, M. Jones, R., Ownsworth, T., & Geraghty, T. "Care Transitions for People with Acquired Neurological Disability in the First 12 Months following Inpatient Rehabilitation: Health Service Use and Obstacles", Health & Social Care in the Community, vol. 2023, Article ID 2894552, 16 pages, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/2894552

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