Patients' status at home care discharge.

This study describes patients' status following home care nursing discharge, and explores the relationship of sociodemographic characteristics, medical conditions and nursing needs to patients' status at discharge. The sample consisted of 367 adult patients receiving nursing services from a certified home health agency. The majority (61 percent) of patients could manage independently or only with the help of family providers at home care nursing discharge. The rest (39 percent) required at least some help from community service providers, were institutionalized or had died. Patients' discharge status was more closely related to nursing needs such as nursing problems, functional status and coping ability than to medical conditions.