TY - THES ID - 135057543 TI - Experiences of senior citizens and informal caregivers in transitional care decision-making: a narrative review AU - Holtzheimer, Emilie AU - van Achterberg, Matheus AU - Kraun, Lotan AU - KU Leuven. Faculteit Geneeskunde. Opleiding Master in de verpleegkunde en de vroedkunde (nieuw programma vanaf 2017-2018) (Leuven) PY - 2020 PB - Leuven KU Leuven. Faculteit Geneeskunde DB - UniCat UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:135057543 AB - Background: As they grow older, many senior citizens often face multiple hospital admissions. Involvement in healthcare decision-making during transitions from hospital to home has been recognized as an important aspect of care. Discharges from hospital to home occur daily and are potential moments of crisis for senior citizens and their informal caregivers. Objective/aim: The aim of this review was to provide an overview of experiences of the senior citizens and their informal caregivers in decision-making regarding transitions from hospital to home. Design: A narrative review was conducted. Methodology: This review reported on qualitative empirical reports published between inception of the databases used and April 2020. The search strategy was based on five main concepts: ‘old age’, ‘informal caregivers’, ‘empowerment’, ‘transitional care’ and ‘home’ as a destination or point of departure for care transitions. Five databases were used for the search: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, PsycINFO and CINAHL. All articles were screened double blind, following specific eligibility criteria. Two independent reviewers performed the data extraction, and the quality of studies was assessed. Findings: This review included a total of 16 articles. From the experiences of senior citizens, the most relevant themes were: ‘independence and autonomy’, ‘involvement in the decision- making process’, ‘caring relationships with health care providers’ and ‘satisfaction with the discharge planning and process’. From the experiences of the informal caregivers, the most relevant themes were: ‘involvement in the decision-making process’ and ‘information provision to informal caregivers’. Overall, the experiences of senior citizens and their informal caregivers with these themes were varying and often contradictory across cases. Conclusion: This research demonstrated many different experiences expressed by senior citizens and their informal caregivers in decision-making regarding transitions from hospital to home. Involvement of informal caregivers seemed to be appreciated by their relatives and may contribute in the decision-making processes of senior citizens. Interventions may be useful to improve senior citizens’ and informal caregivers’ experiences and satisfaction. This needs to be investigated in further research. Relevance for practice: This review contributes to providing insight into the different experiences of senior citizens and their informal carers when making decisions about discharge. Health care providers should try to engage senior citizens and their informal caregivers, based on their experiences, needs, wishes and expectations. Providing information, communication and education by health care providers, based on the needs and wishes of senior citizens and their informal caregivers, is elementary in transitional care decision-making. ER -