Transitional Care In Schizophrenia: A Concept Analysis

Abstract

Little is known about the transitional care for patients with mental illness, particularly schizophrenia. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the concept of transitional care which is applied to schizophrenia patients. Walker and Avant’s concept analysis were used to analyze the concept of transition care in schizophrenia patient. Data were collected from a review of Web of Knowledge, Pub Med, CINAHL, Cohcrane, and Google scholar databases using “transitional care”, “transitional care in schizophrenia”, “transitional care in mental illness” , and “transitional care in psychiatric” as keywords. Articles written in the English language, with an abstract, published between 1998 and 2012 were considered. The search yielded 8 articles. Data were synthesized to identify attributes, antecedents and consequences of transitional care. The transitional care described as a smooth process moving patient from one level of care to another and involved the health care providers in each of the levels. The defining attributes of transitional care separate in period in hospital and post hospitalization. The primary antecedent of transitional care is readmission, which is caused by psychotic symptom and inadequate planning of the patient’s discharge. Consequences of transitional care include decreasing the length of stay and reducing the readmission, improving quality of care and satisfaction with health care providers. The empirical referent of the concept is the Care Transitions Measure (CTM). Providing explanation about transitional care in schizophrenia will allow completion in the delivery of transitional care for schizophrenia people in hospital. These findings are useful for nursing intervention program, research, and making policy.