Carepartner experiences with hospital care

OBJECTIVES. Family members and other "carepartners" often play an important role in the care and support of patients during and after hospitalization, yet little is known about how they assess their hospital experience or the factors that may influence their perceptions. METHODS. A nationwide telephone survey of 1,800 recently discharged patient s and their carepartners about their hospital experience was conducted. Car epartner responses in six domains of care were summarized, and multivariabl e regression analysis was used to detect independent predictors of more fre quent problem reports by carepartners. RESULTS. Carepartners reported problems most frequently in the domains of e motional support (23.9%), discharge planning (20.3%), and family participat ion (17.6%). Independent predictors of more frequent carepartner problem re ports included poor subjective patient health status, emergency hospitaliza tion, nonsurgical admission, carepartner income less than $7,500/year, youn ger carepartner age, noninvolvement of the patient's regular doctor, less f requent carepartner visits during the hospitalization, and less time spent with the patient after discharge. CONCLUSIONS. Better awareness of the problems carepartners experience and a ttention to improving quality in these areas may facilitate family involvem ent in patient care and enhance carepartner and patient satisfaction.