Abstract

Background: Not only system but also personal and family factors lead to unexpected readmission after hospital discharge, and how to support old patients staying at home is an important clinical issue. Telephone follow-up interventions are frequently employed to address this problem. This study sought to determine whether telephone follow-up intervention after discharge reduces the unplanned readmission rate of older patients within 14 days and what factors are related to unplanned readmission.

Methods: This study adopted a quasi-experimental design. Participants were patients who were 65 years or older, had been discharged, and had care needs. The intervention group received two times telephone follow-up calls at 3-5 days and at 6-12 days after discharge, whereas the control group received conventional care. Data collections included long-term care service needs, treatment reported during telephone interviews, and whether patients were unexpectedly readmitted within 14 days of discharge.

Results: The unplanned readmission rates of the intervention group (n = 216) and control group (n = 145) were 5.1% and 2.1%, respectively. No significant difference was observed between the groups (chi-square = 2.1, p = 0.145). Patients who lived alone (adjusted odds ratio = 5.2, p = 0.020) and did not receive physical care services (adjusted odds ratio = 0.2, p = 0.035) had higher risks of readmission.

Discussion: Telephone follow-up intervention alone cannot reduce the risk of readmission; other interventions must also be used. During clinical care, special attention should be paid to the patients who lived alone and had unmet physical care needs.