What Transitional Care Interventions are Used in the Care of Burn Patients? An Integrative Review
Year: 2019
Type: article
Study design: Systematic Review
Abstract: Patients with burn wounds present complex and long-term challenges to healthcare providers. A recent study revealed burn patients experience 30-day readmission rates as high as 25% (Mandell, Pham, Klein, 2013). Readmission rates represent a costly challenge. In the recent past, transitional care has been offered as a possible solution for high readmission rates, unexpected ED visits, elevated mortality rates, and high costs. The purpose of this integrative literature review is to identify the potential need for transitional care in patients with burn injuries by pinpointing key elements of seminal works in transitional care and analyzing discharge planning in the burn patient population within this context. Cooper’s 5-stage method (1998) was used to systematically searched the literature. Search terms included transitional care, discharge planning, home care planning and burn patients/wounds/injuries. After applying exclusion criteria, 10 articles covering 8 transitional care frameworks were selected, revealing 14 common transitional care interventions. Discharge and home care planning articles were also reviewed for studies predating the body of transitional care research. Six discharge/home care planning articles also met study criteria. These works, all descriptive in nature, shared 16 common interventions. The 6 home care and discharge planning articles for burn patients represent a lineage predating the transitional care frameworks currently used in healthcare. Burn units have a strong history of preparing for patient transitions from hospital care. However, the lack of current research examining the implementation of transitional care protocols in burn units combined with high readmission rates indicate a need for further development and investigation.
DOI: 10.17615/662a-n960
Author: Cromeens, Martha Grace
Institution: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Language: English
Subfield: Emergency Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2976563149