Patients with chronic diseases usually face severe challenges during their transition from hospital to home, such as poor discharge preparation, the increased incidence of medical errors, insufficient self-care capability, and poor participation in healthcare decision, which can result in increased readmission and poor patient safety. This paper reviews the definition of transitional care, single-element transitional care intervention strategy, and multiple-element transitional care intervention strategy, in order to provide new insights into the development of effective and safe transitional care strategies in China.
ObjectiveTo examine the prevalence of fatigue and analyze its related factors in patients undertaking maintenance hemodialysis. MethodsA total of 235 patients undertaking maintenance hemodialysis in West China Hospital were investigated from January to February 2013. The measures used in the study included Piper Fatigue Scale Revised and socio-demographic questionnaire. ResultsThe prevalence of fatigue in hemodialysis patients was 83.4%. The rates of severe fatigue, moderate fatigue and low fatigue were 10.2%, 43.0% and 30.2%, respectively. The findings of univariate analysis indicated that patients with different age and sleep situation, with or without complications, with or without fatigue after dialysis reported different total fatigue scores. ConclusionThe prevalence of fatigue is high in hemodialysis patients. Aged 60 years and above, with complications, poor sleep quality were significant factors related to fatigue in patients with hemodialysis.