Assessing Family Caregiver Readiness for Hospital Discharge of Patients With Serious or Life‐Limiting Illness Using Electronic Health Record and Self‐Reported Data
本研究基于随机对照试验数据，分析患者和照护者因素对姑息治疗患者家属出院准备度的影响，发现照护者抑郁症状、关系质量和照护时长比患者数据更能解释准备度差异，有助于识别需要额外支持的照护者。
ABSTRACT Objective To assess how patient and caregiver factors influence caregiver readiness for hospital discharge in palliative care patients. Study Setting and Design This transitional care study uses cross‐sectional data from a randomized controlled trial conducted from 2018 to 2023 testing an intervention for caregivers of hospitalized adult patients with a serious or life‐limiting illness who received a palliative care consult prior to transitioning out of the hospital. Data Sources and Analytical Sample Caregiver readiness was measured with the Family Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale ( n = 231). Caregiver demographic, intra‐ and interpersonal factors were self‐reported. Patient demographic, comorbidity score, and risk score for complicated discharge planning were extracted from electronic health records. Stepwise regression models estimated variance explained ( r 2 ) in caregiver readiness for patient hospital discharge. Principal Findings Patient demographics and complexity were not statistically associated with caregiver readiness for discharge. Caregiver depressive symptoms, poor caregiver‐patient relationship quality, and fewer hours spent caregiving prior to hospitalization explained 29% of the variance in caregiver readiness. Conclusions Reliance on patient data may not be sufficient for explaining caregiver readiness for discharge. Assessing caregiver factors may be a better alternative for identifying caregivers at risk for low discharge readiness and those in need of additional support. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov on November 13, 2017, (No. NCT03339271)