Discharge planning is a crucial element in bridging the transitions between acute medical care and long-terms care (LTC). Patients with progressive chronic conditions left hospitals without a discharging planning is more likely to be re-admitted in a short period, which increases the overall medical expenditure dramatically. Staff nurses are responsible in this area and their understanding of patient discharging planning is the key to a successful discharging planning.
The purpose of this study was to investigate nurse’ knowledge, attitude and behavior regarding patient discharge planning. A cross-sectional design was used. A structured questionnaire was administered to 470 staff nurses in a Community Teaching Hospital and 409 responded. Response rate was 87.02%.
Results showed that most of the respondents’ knowledge, attitude and behavior about patient discharge planning were around medium level. Higher levels of knowledge, attitude and behavior were found among those who had received training and those who had experience in patient discharging planning. Significant correlations were also found between respondents’ seniority, age and attitude Multiple regression analysis revealed that nurses’ serving unit, previous training and caring experience were significant variables in predicting nurses’ knowledge and behavior of patient discharging planning, while nursing degree , previous training and caring experience were significant variables in predicting nurses’ attitude towards patient discharging planning. Finally, the levels of knowledge about discharge planning were positively correlated with their attitude, and behavior among the respondents. These findings indicate that, if we wish to further promote patient discharging planning, more on-job training on this topic is needed.
