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A telephone survey of medical patients 1 week after discharge from hospital
Author(s) -
BOWMAN GERALD S.,
HOWDEN JANE,
ALLEN SUSAN,
WEBSTER ROSEMARY A.,
THOMPSON DAVID R.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
journal of clinical nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.94
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1365-2702
pISSN - 0962-1067
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2702.1994.tb00414.x
Subject(s) - medicine , telephone survey , discharge planning , hospital discharge , telephone interview , medical advice , against medical advice , family medicine , public health , social support , patient discharge , medical emergency , nursing , medline , psychology , pediatrics , intensive care medicine , business , law , psychotherapist , marketing , social science , sociology , political science
Summary• The telephone is an effective means of communication and its use is growing as a means of offering members of the public access to health‐care agencies for advice and support. • Acute hospital beds are at a premium and as lengths of stay in hospital continue to fall there is an increasing need for effective discharge planning and post‐discharge support. • Eighty‐five patients (58 men and 27 women) were interviewed over the telephone 1 week after discharge from a medical ward. • Over half of the patients reported health problems and one‐fifth reported social problems. • Almost half of the patients sought advice. • Telephone follow‐up would appear to be a useful means of monitoring a patient's progress and providing an opportunity for patients seeking, or nurses offering, advice and support.