Returning to everyday life after discharge from a short-stay unit at the Emergency Department—a qualitative study of elderly patients’ experiences

Introduction: Elderly patients often receive care and rehabilitation from different providers across healthcare settings. Collaboration between hospital and primary care providers is therefore essential to ensure that the discharge and transition of rehabilitation is coherent. However, research that focuses on elderly patients’ experiences of the discharge, and their everyday lives after, has attracted little attention. Purpose: This study explores elderly patients’ experiences of being discharged and returning to everyday lives after discharge from a short-stay unit at the Emergency Department. Methods: Eleven qualitative interviews with elderly patients were conducted two weeks after their discharge. The transcribed interviews were analysed using systematic text condensation. Results: The study identified four themes related to the participants experiences. In the participants perspective it was difficult, due to fatigue and pain, to perform daily activities after discharge. Participants who experienced not being prepared and clarified in relation to their discharge continued to have concerns for the future. They also experienced some challenges related to lack of being involved and lack of receiving the information needed. Conclusion: The findings contribute with impotant knowledge about elderly patients' experiences and concerns which should be taken into consideration in the discharge planning process .