Understanding the transition to community living after discharge from an acute care hospital: an exploratory study.

OBJECTIVES This study was conducted to obtain patients' experiences in making the transition from an acute care hospital to their homes in the community. METHOD Data were gathered through group and telephone interviews with a volunteer sample of 27 discharged patients. Analysis involved two stages: categorization of shared themes and interpretation of individual occupational experiences. RESULTS Informants described their experiences of transition in terms that were analytically categorized as Perceived Self-Efficacy, Resources, Dimensions of Occupation, and Environmental Constraints and Opportunities. Analysis of individual patient transcripts suggests the presence of an hierarchical ordering of desired occupations. CONCLUSION Understanding patients' perceptions of enabling and disabling experiences has implications for predischarge and postdischarge practice in occupational therapy.