The Development and Validation of an Instrument to Assess the Communicative Quality of Discharge Reports in Patients with Heart Failure

Abstract

Background. The hospital discharge report is a reference to provide the patient with heart failure and/or their caregivers with information to guarantee the necessary care. Goals. Design the construction and validation of an instrument that evaluates the communications quality of hospital discharge reports in patients with heart failure and apply it in hospital clinical practice in patients with heart failure. Method. Descriptive, qualitative-quantitative research carried out in three stages. Work was done with experts and a focus group was held. Results. An analysis of Kendall's W agreement is carried out of 0.85, for internal validity, the CVI was 1.00. All criteria obtained a mean ≥ 4, which considers them relevant. Through the focus group, the comments were categorized into general aspects (AG); positive (AP) and improvement (AM). More than half of the experts, 61.5%, considered the reports insufficient and 15.3% invalid. Patient/caregiver orientations and communication and coordination were the worst evaluated dimensions. Conclusions. The proposed instrument covers key aspects such as patient information, clinical information, the treatment and follow-up plan, and communication and coordination that ensure continuity of care and adequate follow-up of patients with heart failure while guaranteeing an effective transition. between the hospital and primary care. The application of the instrument in clinical practice showed the feasibility of its use to improve the quality of care provided to patients with heart failure.