La Manna JB, et al. – This study contemplated self–described hospital–to–home transition challenges encountered by older adults with a diagnosis of diabetes, within the first 30 days following discharge. The findings revealed that the current system–level metrics, for instance, readmission rates failed to capture the complex and dynamic interplay of personal, family and social factors which complicated hospital–to–home transitions of older adults with pre–existing diabetes.

Methods

• The qualitative responses were yielded from a larger mixed methods study (n = 96).
• The candidates provided free responses specifying transition challenges during follow-up telephone interviews on the 7th day (n = 67) and 30th day (n = 55) post-discharge.

Results

• The inductive content analysis techniques was used during this study.
• Four major themes emerged: a) “The daily stuff is difficult”; b) engineering care at home is complex; c) “life is very difficult”; and d) managing complex health problems is difficult.