Nurses' role in patients' discharge planning at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Pakistan.

This descriptive cross-sectional study was designed to assess nurses' knowledge, perceptions, and actual practice with relation to patient discharge. Two separate semistructured questionnaires were used. A convenience sample of 15 nurses and 15 patients was taken from four medical-surgical units. Fifteen patients' records were also studied. Analysis of the findings revealed that nurses lacked knowledge regarding discharge planning which also had an impact on their current discharge planning practices. Recommendations are provided to improve this knowledge deficit.