No abstract

The authors aimed to identify health care providers' and staff's perceived barriers to effective discharge planning for tracheostomy patients in a Veterans Administration hospital and suggest solutions for overcoming these barriers. The study involved a qualitative approach using a free listing technique to elicit responses to a single open-ended survey question. Salience analysis was performed, and 3 broad themes from participants (N ¼ 50) were identified as barriers. Participants discussed challenges related to care coordination (S ¼ 0.256), communication (S ¼ 0.247), and patient and family education (S ¼ 0.183). Results from the study can serve as a conceptual framework allowing practitioners to develop solutions to improve the discharge process.