Date of Completion
3-13-2020
Embargo Period
3-11-2030
Keywords
dementia, family caregiver, healthcare personnel, hospital discharge, long-term care, transition of care, end-of-life, metasynthesis, metaethnography, qualitative analysis, mixed methods
Major Advisor
Angela Starkweather
Associate Advisor
Deborah McDonald
Associate Advisor
Richard Fortinsky
Field of Study
Nursing
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Open Access
Open Access
Abstract
There are currently no clinical protocols or standards to aid in transitions of care for persons with dementia across stages of the disease or different healthcare settings. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation was to generate new knowledge on priority aspects of transitional care for persons with dementia and their family caregivers by assimilating perspectives from the person with dementia, caregivers and healthcare clinicians. The chapters of this dissertation are as follows: chapter one is an introduction to key concepts and the theoretical underpinnings of the dissertation; chapter two is an integrative review on transitions of care focusing on the acute care setting to the long-term care setting; chapter three is a metaethnography of family caregivers’ perspectives on caring for a loved one with dementia at the end-of-life. These chapters provide critical insight on priority aspects of transitions in care as well as present ways to improve the quality of care that persons with dementia receive across healthcare transitions from the hospital to the long-term care setting. Chapter four is an original study that used a mixed methods design to produce knowledge on priority aspects of care to facilitate the initial transition from hospital to the long-term care setting for persons with dementia. Chapter five concludes with the implications of the dissertation findings for practice and research. Together, the chapters provide a comprehensive understanding of the relevance of optimal transitions of care for persons with dementia from multiple perspectives and the impact it has on their quality of life.
Recommended Citation
Walton, Nayomi, "Improving Transitions of Care for Persons with Dementia from the Hospital to the Long-term Care Setting: A Mixed Methods Study" (2020). Doctoral Dissertations. 2429.
https://digitalcommons.lib.uconn.edu/dissertations/2429