A recent study found that screening the health literacy of pediatric patients’ caregivers improved discharge education and reduced 30-day readmission rates.
The study, published April 1 in Critical Care Nurse, screened 150 pediatric patients’ caregivers within 24 hours of admission to a cardiothoracic intensive care unit at an academic children’s hospital over 12 months. Patients were admitted into a pediatric cardiovascular intensive care unit after biventricular and single-ventricle repairs.
Before the screening, the hospital had caregiver satisfaction with understanding discharge education below the national benchmark of 80%. Its 30-day readmission rates following surgical repair were above the national benchmark of 10%.
After implementing the screening, the study found that 64% of caregivers demonstrated adequate literacy, 23% had limited literacy and 13% had low literacy. The survey results were then used to improve how discharge education was presented to caregivers and equipped caregivers with tools to make informed care decisions.
By implementing a tailored approach, researchers found that satisfaction with discharge education increased to 100% and caregivers said they were confident in performing posthospitalization tasks. The 30-day readmission rates following surgical repair also decreased by 1.8%.
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