Post-hospital caregiving experiences: An exploratory, longitudinal mixed-methods study

Recent changes in the healthcare sector saw an increased emphasis on the use of community-based intermediate and long-term care services following post-hospital discharge. In 2017, the Hospital-to-Home programme was launched. The aim was to help patients with multiple medical conditions to reduce their risk of readmission through services such as home medical, nursing and psychosocial support. This chapter focuses on the experiences of family caregivers in their caregiving journey, when their sick, older family member transited from acute to post-acute-care services. It examines the profile of family caregivers, the care pathways journeyed by them together with the elderly patients and factors that influenced the caregiving experience. The quality of coordination and continuum of care as patients transferred between different locations was an issue of concern among many of the caregivers.