The Older Person in Transition: Implications for Pathways of Transitions of Care

Older adults face many care transitions and often have difficulty navigating a complex, fragmented health care system. Health care providers, older adults, and their caregivers face challenges in communicating effectively during care transitions. Suboptimal care during transitions can lead to poor p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annual review of gerontology & geriatrics 2011-01, Vol.31 (1), p.15-30
Main Authors: Arbaje, Alicia I., Boonyasai, Romsai T., Dilworth-Anderson, Peggye
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cardiovascular disease
Caregivers
Chronic illnesses
Fixed incomes
Gravity
Health care
Health education
Health services
Hispanic people
Hospitals
Mens health
Older people
Patient satisfaction
Quality of life
Race
Womens health
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Summary:Older adults face many care transitions and often have difficulty navigating a complex, fragmented health care system. Health care providers, older adults, and their caregivers face challenges in communicating effectively during care transitions. Suboptimal care during transitions can lead to poor patient satisfaction, clinical deterioration, and unplanned use of health services such as return to the acute care setting shortly after discharge from the hospital. This chapter highlights characteristics older adults bring to the health care experience, with special attention given to those characteristics that make them more vulnerable to transitions of care problems in contrast to other age groups. This chapter also discusses issues that lead to care fragmentation and increased numbers of care transitions among older adults. Lastly, this chapter makes recommendations to address and reduce the fragmentation in care delivery for older adults. Ultimately, the implications for pathways of transitions of care are addressed in this chapter. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:0198-8794
1944-4036
DOI:10.1891/0198-8794.31.15