The transition from hospital to home is a critical period of health risk for family caregivers and elderly persons for whom they provide care. Following discharge, there are frequently changes in routines as a result of the changes in the elderly persons' self-care abilities and treatment plan. These changes potentially increase caregiver stress and could result in caregiver illness or injury. Intervention by nurses during this critical period could reduce risks and promote health and well-being for family caregivers and care recipients. The long term objective of this study is to obtain background information to develop an intervention to promote health and well-being for family caregivers during the critical transition period from hospital to home. The proposed study will provide information about the timing and nature of the risks to caregivers' health during the transition from hospital to home which can be used to develop an intervention.
The specific aims are to: 1) test a model of factors influencing family caregiver response and caregiver health outcomes during the transition from hospital to home; 2) use caregiver descriptors to confirm the nature of health risks and nature of supports received during the transition from hospital to home; and 3). describe changes In family caregiver's coping behaviors and physical and mental health during the transition from hospital to home. In addition, descriptive data will be collected regarding length of time in caregiving role, relationship to recipient, and community resources utilized. A repeated measures design with 340 caregiver/recipient dyads will be used for this study. Data will be collected prior to hospital discharge, at two weeks and two months post discharge. LISREL VI and analysis of variance-will be used in analyzing the quantitative data. Qualitative data from the interviews with family caregivers at two weeks and two months post discharge will provide valuable information to develop an intervention. Information about the experiences of family caregivers and care recipients during the transition from hospital to home is essential as a basis for developing interventions that promote the health of family caregivers.
