From the crisis in acute care to postdischarge resilience – The communication experience of Geriatric patients: A qualitative study

Background Hospital readmissions due to illness among geriatric patients result in human suffering and psychological trauma. Resilience in chronic illness protects geriatric patients from outcomes of trauma leads to psychological and physical well‐being and enables bouncing back to life. While communication has been linked to improved health outcomes, little is known about communication pathways in the context of postdischarge resilience. Aim and objective To explore the role of communication pathways that acute‐care clinicians used with geriatric patients in postdischarge resilience. Methodological design and justification Participants were ten geriatric patients who were readmitted several times in the past year. Twenty narrative interviews were conducted, one upon discharge and the other a month thereafter. Data for each phase of interviews were analysed using methods of selection mechanisms and Bricolage. Ethical issues The ethics committee approved the study. Participants signed an informed‐consent form for participation and publication. Findings Communication in acute care that enhanced health literacy, perceived control and reflection, contributed to higher comprehensibility and manageability during the hospitalisation and postdischarge meaningfulness postdischarge, contributing resilience. Participants who experienced other forms of communication demonstrated anxiety and helplessness with lingering psychological trauma postdischarge. Conclusions Acute care may provide clinicians with opportunities to alleviate the suffering of geriatric patients and contribute to their postdischarge resilience. The suggested T.E.R model delineates communication pathways to fuel the trajectory from psychological trauma to postdischarge resilience in practice.