Aim: The aim of this study was to visualize vulnerabilities and explore the dynamics of inter-professional collaboration and organizational adaptability in the context of care transitions for patients with complex care needs.

Design: An ethnographic design using multiple convergent data collection techniques.

Methods: Data collection involved document review, participant observations and interviews with healthcare and social care professionals (HSCPs). Narrative analysis was employed to construct two illustrative patient scenarios, which were then examined using the Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM). Thematic analysis was subsequently applied to synthesize the findings.

Results: Inconsistencies in timing and precision during care transitions pose risks for patients with complex care needs as they force healthcare systems to prioritize structural constraints over individualized care, especially during unforeseen events outside regular hours. Such systemic inflexibility can compromise patient safety, increase the workload for HSCPs and strain resources. Organizational adaptability is crucial to managing the inherent variability of patient needs. Our proposed ‘safe care transition pathway’ addresses these issues, providing proactive strategies such as sharing knowledge and increasing patient participation, and strengthening the capacity of professionals to meet dynamic care needs, promoting safer care transitions.

Conclusion: To promote patient safety in care transitions, strategies must go beyond inter-professional collaboration, incorporating adaptability and flexible resource planning. The implementation of standardized safe care transition pathways, coupled with the active participation of patients and families, is crucial. These measures aim to create a resilient, person-centred approach that may effectively manage the complexities in care transitions.

Implications: The recommendations of this study span the spectrum from policy-level changes aimed at strategic resource allocation and fostering inter-professional collaboration to practical measures like effective communication, information technology  integration, patient participation and family involvement. Together, the recommendations offer a holistic approach to enhance care transitions and, ultimately, patient outcomes.

Background The growing number of older adults with chronic diseases challenges already strained healthcare systems. Fragmented systems make transitions between healthcare settings demanding, posing risks during transitions from in-patient care to home. Despite efforts to make healthcare person-centered during care transitions, previous research indicates that these ambitions are not yet achieved. Therefore, there is a need to examine whether recent initiatives have positively influenced older adults' experiences of transitions from in-patient care to home. This study aimed to describe older adults' experiences of being discharged from in-patient care to home.Methods This study had a qualitative descriptive design. Individual interviews were conducted in January-June 2022 with 17 older Swedish adults with chronic diseases and needing coordinated care transitions from in-patient care to home. Data were analyzed using inductive qualitative content analysis.Results The findings indicate that despite being the supposed main character, the older adult is not always involved in the planning and decision-making of their own care transition, often having poor insight and involvement in, and impact on, these aspects. This leads to an experience of mismatch between actual needs and the expectations of planned support after discharge.Conclusions The study reveals a notable disparity between the assumed central role of older adults in care transitions and their insight and involvement in planning and decision-making.

Background: Although coordination of care and integrated care models aim to enhance patient satisfaction and perceived care quality, evidence regarding their practical implementation remains scarce. Understanding the nuances of collaboration across care providers to achieve effective coordination of care is imperative for seamless care integration. The aim of this study was to construct a grounded theory of how inter-organizational collaboration is performed to support coordination of care for patients with complex care needs.

Methods: A qualitative design with a constructivist grounded theory approach was applied. In total, 86 participants with diverse backgrounds were recruited across multiple care settings, including hospitals, ambulance services, primary care centers, municipal home healthcare and home care services. The grounded theory was developed iteratively, based on a combination of observations and interviews, and using constant comparative analysis.

Results: Coordination of care, a complex process that occurs across interconnected healthcare organizations, is manifested as “Negotiating care in organizational borderlands.” Care coordination evolves through a spectrum of inter-organizational collaboration, ranging from “Dividing care by disease-specific expertise” to “Establishing paths for collaboration” and ultimately “Co-constructing a comprehensive whole.” These categories highlight the challenges of coordinating care across both professional and organizational boundaries. In the multifaceted healthcare landscape, effective care coordination occurs when healthcare professionals actively bridge the divides, leveraging their collective expertise. Importantly, organizational boundaries may serve a purpose and should not be dissolved to facilitate effective care coordination.

Conclusions: The key to effective care coordination lies in robust inter-organizational collaboration. Even when patients receive integrated care, healthcare professionals may have fragmented roles. This research emphasizes the importance of clearly defined lines of accountability, reinforcing mutual responsibility and facilitating bridging of professional and organizational boundaries. Healthcare professionals and policymakers can use these insights to effectively utilize inter-organizational collaboration in supporting care coordination for patients with complex care needs.

Background: The growing number of older adults worldwide coupled with chronic disease challenges already strained healthcare systems. Healthcare and social care is obliged to coordinate care and support upon discharge. In addition, individuals have a legal right and willingness to participate in the planning for support. Despite efforts to make healthcare person-centered and improve the interaction between different healthcare providers in clinical practice, previous research indicates that healthcare systems remain fragmented, having poor coordination when delivering care.

Aim: To describe older adults' experiences of being discharged from in-patient care to home.

Methods: This study had a qualitative descriptive design, enabling straight descriptions of older adults' experiences of being discharged from in-patient care to home. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 older adults (aged 65 years, or older) living in the south of Sweden, with chronic diseases and in need of coordinated care transitions. Data were analyzed using inductive qualitative content analysis.

Results: The analysis yielded four generic categories and the main category “Being the main character but not always involved in one's own care transition”. This indicates that older adults are not always involved in the planning and decision-making regarding their care transition leading to a mismatch between actual needs and the expectations of planned support after discharge.

Conclusions: The study reveals a notable disparity between the assumed central role of older adults in care transitions and their insight and involvement in planning and decision-making. The findings are significant in the context of person-centered care, which emphasizes the importance of tailoring healthcare services to the individual's unique needs and preferences.

Background

Navigating care transitions for patients with complex care needs represent a formidable challenge, where resilience becomes a crucial benchmark for quality and safety. There is a need to develop a healthcare infrastructure that not only reacts to disruptions but also proactively strengthens its capacity for continuity and patient safety. By addressing vulnerabilities and enhancing systemic responsiveness, the study illustrates how a coordinated, patient-centered approach is pivotal in building a healthcare infrastructure that can effectively navigate and adapt to challenges, thereby embodying the essence of resilient healthcare.

Objective

The aim of the study was to visualize vulnerabilities inherent in care transitions and to demonstrate how resilience—manifested through interprofessional collaboration and organizational adaptability—can fortify these critical junctures for patients with complex care needs.

Methods

Employing an ethnographic methodology, we engaged in document review, participant observations, and interviews with an array of healthcare and social care professionals involved in the care trajectory of patients with complex care needs. Narrative analysis was employed to construct two illustrative patient scenarios, which were then examined using the Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM). Thematic analysis was subsequently applied to synthesize the findings.

Results

Our findings reveal that timing and precision variability during care transitions not only exacerbate vulnerabilities but also jeopardize patient safety. The inherent systemic rigidity, particularly during non-standard hours, amplifies the strain on resources and escalates the demands placed on care providers. In the face of patient needs' inherent unpredictability, the capacity of an organization to adapt is not just advantageous but essential. The crux of resilience in this context is interprofessional collaboration, which empowers healthcare teams to manage care proactively and navigate transitions more securely. Through collaborative practices, professionals are equipped to pool knowledge, predict fluctuations in patient conditions, and proactively coordinate responses to unexpected situations.

Conclusions

We advocate for a resilient model of care transition that is anchored in the collaborative synergy of healthcare teams, strategic resource management, and robust communication infrastructures. This model advocates for the vital contributions of frontline workers, patients, and their families, suggesting that their involvement is key in overcoming systemic obstacles and championing integrated, person-centered care. Our proposed pathway seeks to foster a healthcare environment where resilience is ingrained in the culture and practices, thereby ensuring safe, continuous, and responsive care transitions for all patients, particularly those with complex care needs.

Objective

This study described the experiences and perceptions of how primary health care professionals (PHCPs) support patients with venous leg ulcers (VLUs) in self-care monitoring.

Design

A qualitative approach with reflexive thematic analysis was used, with 24 individual qualitative open interviews.

Setting

Primary health care clinics and community health care in four southern regions in Sweden.

Subjects

Registered nurses, district nurses and nurse assistants who had experience of caring for patients with VLUs. In total, 24 interviews were conducted with PHCPs in Sweden.

Results

PHCPs have a vital role in promoting patient independence and responsibility, identifying needs and adapting care strategies, while also recognising unmet needs in patients with VLUs.

Conclusion

PHCPs actively monitor patients’ self-care and establish caring relationships. They see a need for a structured primary health care work routine for ulcer management.

Aim

To delineate and clarify the meaning of the concept of self-care monitoring from a patient perspective.

Methods

A systematic search was performed in the databases ASSIA, CINAHL, PsycInfo, and PubMed (January 2016–September 2021). A selection of 46 peer-reviewed articles was included in the study and analysed using Rodgers’ Evolutionary Method for Concept Analysis.

Results

The following four attributes were identified: Tracking symptoms, signs, and actions, Paying attention, Being confident, and Needing routines, creating a descriptive definition: “Self-care monitoring is an activity that means a person has to pay attention and be confident and needs routines for tracking symptoms, signs, and action.” The antecedents of the concept were shown to be Increased knowledge, Wish for independence, and Commitment. The concepts’ consequences were identified as Increased interaction, Perceived burden, and Enhanced well-being.

Conclusions

This concept analysis provides extensive understanding of self-care monitoring from a patient perspective. It was shown that the concept occurs when a person practices self-care monitoring at home either with or without devices. A descriptive definition was constructed and presented with exemplars to encourage practice of the concept in various healthcare settings and could be of relevance to people with chronic illnesses or other long-term conditions.

Background:

Contemporary healthcare systems are based on a reductionist, biomedical paradigm maladapted to meet the needs of an aging population with multimorbidity. Integrated care and interprofessional collaboration are suggested to connect the different parts of healthcare. However, how this can be realised is less understood.

The aim of the study was to develop a deeper understanding of how interprofessional collaboration across care providers in transitional care is conducted to achieve integrated care for older people with complex care needs.

Method:

Using constructivist grounded theory, observations and interviews were conducted with healthcare and social care professionals (n=86) from a multidisciplinary and cross-stakeholder perspective in a region in Sweden.

Results:

Interprofessional collaboration in transitional care emerges as a continuum of "Moving from fragmentation to coupling and integration through collaborative efforts". On the lowest level of integration, professionals are working in organisational “silos” that are difficult to cross, as each specialist's expert knowledge is necessary for the vulnerable patient´s wellbeing. Patients´ perception of seamless care is facilitated by the mutual sharing of patient data across organizations through integrated information systems. The highest level of integration is consolidated as the interprofessional team collaborates on a pronounced common ground with a shared mental map of the goals of care, constructing unity for the older person and their family.

Conclusion:

To achieve seamless transitional care for older people with complex care needs, clear boundaries and liability areas are necessary, and actors in interprofessional teams are required to assume responsibility across conceivable gaps across organizations.

Aim: The aim of this paper was to reflect on global ethical challenges for nurses in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine and to discuss 'Nurses and Global Health', a new element in the revised ICN Code of Ethics for Nurses, 2021, and its implications for nurses.Background: The authors participated in the latest revision of the Code. When we were revising the ICN Code of Ethics, there was neither an ongoing pandemic nor a war in Europe.Sources of evidence: Relevant scientific articles and other academic literature, documents from international organisations, and authors' views.Discussion: The discussion emanated from our reflections on how to actually apply the ICN Code of Ethics, i.e., moving the words from the document itself into everyday practice, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. In the Code, the nurse's responsibility is highlighted, but there is little or no instruction on how to undertake it.Conclusion and implications for nurses: The ICN Code of Ethics needs to be operationalised through ethical reflection and discussion in all contexts where nurses work, from policy level to the care environment.

Background The international development of health care, an ageing population and rapid technical development mean that more care is being performed in patient homes. This care environment is often unpredictable and involves both formal and informal caregivers, making it potentially unsafe. There is sparse knowledge about how patient safety is protected in home health care in Sweden and how registered nurses work to prevent risks and promote safe care. Aim The aim of the study was to explore registered nurses' efforts to reduce perceived risks for home-dwelling older patients and ensure safe home health care. Method We used a qualitative design with individual interviews with 13 registered nurses working in municipalities in southeast Sweden. The narratives were analysed with inductive content analysis. Findings The findings showed that the registered nurses tried to secure a safe care environment and took an active role in care, striving to stay one step ahead of the patient. These three types of efforts are likely interdependent, suggesting they are all needed to reduce perceived risks for home-dwelling older patients and ensure patient safety in home health care. Conclusions It is a challenge for registered nurses to maintain patient safety when performing care in patient homes. Continuity of care is required and must be based not only on self-reliance among registered nurses but also on trusting relationships with patients, next of kin, colleagues and other personnel, as well as on the development of organisational conditions adapted to patient needs.