Hospital discharge of patients with disabling neurological injury: necessary referrals to rehabilitation

Abstract

The present qualitative study was conducted in the second semester of 2014 via interviews with 12 doctors and 13 nurses working as managers at a large hospital that serves as a reference center for urgent and emergent care in the Zona da Mata region of Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The study sought to identify the criteria that doctors and nurses use to discharge individuals with disabling neurological injury with instructions related to accessing physical rehabilitation programs. Thematic content analysis was used to examine data. The results show that the participating hospital managers still have difficulties providing adequate referrals to specialized rehabilitation services and that their patients' autonomy and independence for self-care are impaired as a result. We concluded that in addition to involving relatives and other caregivers in the discharge of patients with a neurological injury that impairs their self-care abilities, managers should assess the accessibility of the patient's home and make adequate referrals to rehabilitation services in the community in light of the poor dispersal of information about what is available within the Care for People with Disability Network.