The Practice of Written Discharge Communication Practices in General Surgery Wards at The Kenyatta National Hospital

Abstract

Purpose: The current study sought to investigate the practice of written discharge communication practices in general surgery wards at the Kenyatta National Hospital

Methodology: The study used the descriptive research design approach. A stratified sampling technique was used to recruit 180 patients who had been discharged in the last one month prior to the study from surgical wards namely the General surgery ward, Urology ward and Neurology ward. A -semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect both qualitative and quantitative data. A statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 25) was used in the data analysis.

Results: The findings revealed that there is a positive and significant association between written discharge communication practices and patient health outcomes at KNH (r=0.587**, p=0.000). It was further noted that 77 of the respondents in the Neurology unit (mean = 2.07) and 52 of them in the general unit (mean = 2.65) agreed with the statements regarding the written discharge communication practices affecting patient health outcomes. However, 51 of them in the general unit (mean = 3.19) were of neutral opinion. There was also a significant difference between the mean responses of the patients in the Neurology ward and General surgery ward (.312*, P=0.011). Likewise, there was a significant difference between the mean responses of the patients in the Urology ward and General surgery ward (-.538*, P=0.000). This was supported by the regression findings that indicated that written discharge communication practices have a positive and significant effect on patient health outcomes at KNH (β= 0.373, p=0.000). This implies that improvement in 1 unit of written discharge communication practices leads to an improvement in patient health outcomes at KNH by 0.373 units.

Unique contributions to theory, policy and practice: Based on the study findings, the current study, therefore, recommends an urgent demand for the widespread application of standardized procedures, paperwork, and training to enhance crucial discharge information exchanged between healthcare providers and between Health care providers and discharged patients