Abstract
Objective
to understand the practices of nurses from a university hospital in the continuity of care for primary care.
Method
an exploratory, descriptive, and qualitative study, conducted between August and November 2019, in a university hospital in Southern Brazil, with 21 nurses and the director of Nursing, applying, respectively, an online instrument in the Survey Monkey platform and a semi-structured interview. The data collected was submitted to Content Analysis according to Minayo.
Results
three categories emerged: nurses’ practices; strengths and weaknesses, and competencies for continuity of care. On admission and discharge, nurses interview and physically examine the patient. The positive aspects were communication and knowledge of the family context by the multiprofessional hospital team, and the negative aspects were the lack of a computerized system, the integration of hospital professionals with primary care, the nurse discharge manager and the counter-reference protocol. Continuity of care requires from nurses professional experience, knowledge about the care network, communication skills, leadership, and decision making.
Conclusion and implications for practice
nurses understand the importance of continuity of care, however, some weaknesses found in the institution make it difficult to carry out these practices.
Keywords:
Continuity of Patient Care; Transitional Care; Patient Discharge; Hospitals; Primary Health Care