Condicionantes para transição do cuidado hospital-domicílio da pessoa idosa à luz da teoria de Afaf Meleis

Abstract

To analyze the enabling and inhibiting conditions in the transition process of hospital-home care for the elderly in the light of Afaf Meleis' theory. Method: This is a qualitative, descriptive research, carried out with family caregivers of elderly people who participated in the Research and Extension Project entitled Transition Care at the Federal University of Bahia School of Nursing in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. The inclusion criteria were being a family caregiver and answering the telephone call after returning home. Exclusion criteria were: family caregiver in which the elderly person died, wrong or non-existent contacts, not responding to telephone contact attempts, they were unable to respond.Data collection occurred between January and May 2021, through telephone contact via mobile phone device, where a semi-structured interview was conducted, guided by open questions, which were audio-recorded and transcribed in the integration for further analysis. Nine family caregivers of elderly people who had already been discharged from the hospital were interviewed. Data analysis was carried out through content analysis, considering the assumptions of Afaf Meleis' Theory of Transitions. Results: The facilitating conditions for the hospital-home transition of the elderly were the positive meaning for returning home after hospitalization, spirituality/religiosity to face the established health/disease condition, financial stability, preparation for care management in the home and available social and community support network. The inhibiting conditions for the hospital-home transition were the negative meaning for the return to the home, the elderly person's deficit for self-care, financial insecurity, the lack of preparation for care at home and the absence of the social support network and community. Conclusion: The study data allow us to conclude that the hospital-home transition process for the elderly is complex and subjective. Therefore, nurses must direct their attention to conditions with an interest in promoting interventions that enhance facilitators and mitigate inhibitors, thus contributing to achieving the healthy transition for the elderly.