Experiences of Patients and Their Caregivers Admitted to a Hospital-at-Home Program in Singapore: a Descriptive Qualitative Study.

BACKGROUND: Hospital at Home (HaH) programs have been shown to improve clinical outcomes, quality of care, and patient satisfaction. However, how Asian patients experience HaH remained underexplored. OBJECTIVE: To explore the perceptions and experiences of patients and caregivers admitted to a hospital-at-home program in Singapore. DESIGN: Descriptive qualitative study design. PARTICIPANTS: Purposive sampling was used to conduct 36 interviews with 13 patients, nine Legally Acceptable Representatives (LARs), and 14 caregivers until data saturation was achieved. INTERVENTIONS: NUHS@Home is a HaH program providing care through a multi-disciplinary team, enabled by remote vital signs monitoring through a tablet and wireless blood pressure and oxygen meters. APPROACH: This study used in-depth semi-structured individual interviews. Interviews were transcribed and thematically analyzed using Braun and Clark's six-step inductive approach. KEY RESULTS: The overarching theme identified was "Enablers, difficulties, and improvements to the HaH experiences" which was supported by three key themes: (1) Perceived better care at home, (2) Importance of social support, and (3) Organizational structures required to support HaH. Participants described overall HaH experiences around factors contributing to their impeding engagement, overall satisfaction, and quality of care. CONCLUSIONS: Although HaH is unfamiliar to the Singapore population, most of the participants in this study had an overall positive experience. The key challenges found in this paper were the stress and inconvenience caused to caregivers. The enablers for positive HaH experiences were (1) consideration of patient's family members as key participants in the patients' therapeutic alliance; (2) the HaH care team must be accessible, approachable, and reassuring, and communicate frequently and timely with patients and their families; and (3) financing strategies to ensure HaH out-of-pockets costs remain affordable which are critical to keeping HaH as an option for patients and families.

Perceptions of Stakeholders Toward "Hospital at Home" Program in Singapore: A Descriptive Qualitative Study.

OBJECTIVE: Hospital at Home (HaH) programs have been shown to improve quality of care and patient satisfaction, and reduce bed occupancy rate in hospitals. Despite the prevalence of HaH in Western countries, studies in Asia are limited and the perception of HaH remains underexplored in Asian context. Understanding the perceptions of stakeholders is vital before implementing HaH in any new settings. Thus, the aim of this study is to explore the perceptions of referring physicians, care providers, patients, and caregivers on HaH programs in a multiracial country such as in Singapore. METHODS: This study used a descriptive qualitative design. Participants from 2 tertiary hospitals in Singapore, including 13 referring physicians, 10 care providers, 15 patients, and 3 caregivers, were interviewed between June 2020 and September 2020. Data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. RESULTS: The overarching theme titled "The stakeholders' perception on HaH" was pillared by 4 main themes: (1) patients suitable for HaH; (2) perceived advantages and benefits of HaH; (3) perceived risks, anxiety, and concerns about HaH; and (4) potential enablers of HaH. Overall, the findings reported that most of the stakeholders embraced HaH. Timely medical interventions and support from care providers were reportedly important factors to maintain patient safety and quality of care. The importance of having adequate resources and sound financing mechanisms to develop a successful HaH program was also highlighted. CONCLUSIONS: This study offered insights into HaH from the perspectives of stakeholders in Singapore and facilitate the planning of future HaH pilot programs in multiracial Singapore and other Asian countries.

Perceptions of Hospital-at-Home Among Stakeholders: a Meta-synthesis.

BACKGROUND: Hospital-at-home (HaH) provides acute healthcare in patients' homes as an alternative to traditional hospital inpatient care. HaH has been shown to improve clinical outcomes, increase patient satisfaction, and reduce hospitalization costs. Despite its effectiveness, the uptake of HaH remains slow and little is known about factors that impact the quality and transferability of HaH. This review aimed to qualitatively synthesize existing literature to examine the perspectives of stakeholders to identify areas of improvement in this model of care. METHODOLOGY: Six electronic databases (Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PubMed, Embase, PsychINFO, Scopus, and Mednar) were searched from inception date until 3 February 2021. The included studies were assessed for quality using the Critical Appraisal Skills Program tool. This review was registered on the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews. The meta-synthesis was completed according to Sandelowski and Barroso's guidelines. RESULTS: Sixteen articles met the inclusion criteria. The overarching synthesized theme was "the intricacies of developing HaH," and the four main themes were (1) factors influencing patient selection, (2) advantages of HaH, (3) challenges of HaH, and (4) enablers for HaH development. CONCLUSION: Overall, high levels of satisfaction were expressed by various stakeholders. Continuity of care remains an important factor for patient-centeredness in HaH. Caregivers should be involved in the decision-making process and supported throughout the HaH duration to prevent caregiver burnout. Collaboration and coordination among healthcare professionals are vital and can be strengthened through training and technological advancements of remote patient monitoring. Institutional and organizational support for stakeholders may make HaH a viable solution to modern healthcare challenges.