Scoping review: Social support impacts hospital readmission rates

Abstract

Aims and objectives: To review and synthesise the current literature on social support and hospital readmission rates.Background: Hospital readmission rates have not declined significantly since 2010 despite efforts to identify and implement strategies to reduce readmissions. After discharge, patients often report the need for help at home with personal care, medical care and/or transportation. Social factors can positively or negatively affect the transition from hospital to home and the extended recovery period experienced by patients.Methods: Published primary studies in peer-reviewed journals, written in English, assessing the adult medical/surgical population and discussing social support and hospital readmission rates were included. A Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) was completed for this scoping review. Results:The search resulted in 2919 articles. After removing duplicates and reviewing content for the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 23 articles were selected for review.Social support is provided by those within one's social circle. There are several types of social support and depending on the needs to the patient, the type of social required and provided is different. Conclusions:The most common form of social support needed at home for people recovering after a hospitalisation was instrumental support, tangible care in the form of assistance with daily personal and medical care, and transportation. Patients who lacked adequate social support after discharge were at an increased risk of hospital readmission.Relevance to clinical practice: Identifying factors, such as social support, that may impact hospital readmission rates is important for quality hospital to home care transitions. Assessing patients' needs and available social support to meet those needs may be an essential part of the discharge planning process to decrease the risk of hospital readmission.

Development and validation of a social vulnerabilities survey for medical inpatients

“…Therefore, the relevance and representativeness of these social vulnerabilities remains unclear. While it is possible that the SVS does not capture other important social vulnerabilities in our patient population, the domains that are included likely remain relevant, with increasing evidence demonstrating their prevalence and/or their associations with hospital readmissions in heterogeneous, broad, populations 60–63. We also note that in our study, we asked specifically about social vulnerabilities that may be missing from the SVS—no patients felt that additional questions in additional domains were needed.…”

Barriers and facilitators of readiness for hospital discharge in patients with myocardial infarction: a qualitative study: quality improvement study

“…The concept of social support deals with receiving support from the environment and relationships with others. Social support can reduce the incidence of adverse physiological effects and have a positive effect on a person’s physical performance 44 . But there were circumstances in the study that some factors indicated the absence of a suitable support platform.…”

Instruments Measuring Self-Care and Self-Management of Chronic Conditions by Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Scoping Review

“…A brief screening instrument might prove more practical to implement within busy primary care settings to identify individuals with reduced capacity to self-manage who would benefit from accessing additional resources and supports. Screening is a common practice in a variety of medical settings, such as mental health screening ( Lee et al, 2018 ) and social support screening ( Schultz et al, 2022 ). Screening tools can also be used to identify risk factors such as frailty using simple measures such as assessment of gait speed, timed-up-and-go tests, or the PRISMA-7 questionnaire ( Ambagtsheer et al, 2020 ; NICE, 2016 ).…”