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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| A critical ethnography of the process of discharge decision-making for elderly patients | | Author(s) | Donna L Wells |
| Journal title | Canadian Journal on Aging, vol 16, no 4, Winter 1997 |
| Pages | pp 682-699 |
| Keywords | Discharge [hospitals] ; Aftercare ; Planning [admin] ; Personnel ; Canada. |
| Annotation | In the last decade, diminishing health care resources in Canada has resulted in an emphasis on shorter lengths of stay in hospitals and early discharge planning. In this study, a critical ethnography of the process of discharge decision-making for older patients was conducted to examine the nature of the process over the total course of patients' hospital stays. The focus was on describing the timing and conditions of decision-making, the related activities of professionals, professionals' perceptions of the process, and the effects of the process on those involved and on the hospital organisation. Data analysis demonstrated that the process was not intricately linked with patients' clinical process, that often inaccurate assumptions about the importance of patient-related clinical and social factors and organisational parameters affected decisions, and that professionals' perceptions of the process were shaped by organisational imperatives. In this process, resources were used inefficiently and humanitarian and ethical consequences arose for participants. (AKM). |
| Accession Number | CPA-980720218 A |
| Classmark | LD:QKJ: LN: QA6: QM: 7S |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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