Patient and caregiver preparedness for discharge from the internal medicine wards of the University of the Philippines – Philippine General Hospital

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND@#Preparedness before discharge correlates with good clinical outcomes.@*OBJECTIVE@#The study described the perception, attitudes, and perceived preparedness of patients and caregivers for discharge from the Internal Medicine wards of the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH).@*METHODS@#A cross-sectional survey among 142 patients about to be discharged from the Internal Medicine wards of the Philippine General Hospital and/or their caregivers from May to June 2017 was done using a validated Filipino version of B-PREPARED, an 11-item self-administered questionnaire that measures patient preparedness for home. The questionnaire has three domains: self-care information, equipment/services, and confidence. The highest possible B-PREPARED score is 22 with higher scores indicating better discharge preparedness. Mean B-PREPARED scores were calculated. Post-hoc linear regression analysis between the scores and characteristics was performed.@*RESULTS@#The Filipino translation of the B-PREPARED questionnaire had good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha 0.8). One hundred forty-two patients and caregivers participated. The mean B-PREPARED score was 14.57 ± 4.34, with a median of 15. The lowest scores were for information on available community services (1.20 ± 0.76), arranged equipment (0.83 ± 0.88), information on side effects of medications (1.19 ± 0.85), and additional information sought (0.61 ± 0.92). There was no significant correlation between preparedness and age, employment status, educational attainment, diagnosis, length of hospitalization, the number of admissions one year prior, or whether the respondent was a patient or caregiver.@*CONCLUSION@#The Filipino translation of the B-PREPARED questionnaire had good internal consistency. Although most participants reported being confident and prepared for discharge, most felt they did not receive sufficient information on side effects and available community services, and assistance in arranging for the necessary equipment for home care.