Planning the hospital discharge of patients with diabetes: the construction of a proposal

Abstract

The acute and chronic complications that patients with diabetes and their families have to deal with after hospital discharge may be a consequence of the deficiencies in the educational process across hospitalization and the formal preparation for discharge. The objective of this study is to present a proposal of the plan for hospital discharge of adult patients with diabetes. A literature review on the hospital discharge of the assessed population was performed, including articles published between 2004 and February 2009. Taking the literature into consideration, a flier was created to guide the discharge process. The flier lists the information that should be collected and worked with the patient during the first four days of hospitalization, considering their individual needs and the Ineffective self health management. The discharge must be inserted in the Nursing Process, as nurses have an essential role in identifying the needs of patients and their families. The flier helps to identify the patient's needs and the actions to be performed by the team.