Nurse Caring and Readiness to Transition From the Hospital to Other Care Settings

This descriptive correlational research study aimed to explore the relationship between patients’ experience of nurse caring and patients’ readiness to transition from the hospital to home or other care settings in a large acute care hospital in South Florida. In addition, the predictors among the patients’ characteristics of patients’ readiness to care transition were examined. The study was grounded in Duffy’s Quality Caring Model. A convenience sample of 103 medical-surgical patients was recruited for the study. The participants completed the demographic data survey, the Caring Assessment Tool-V, and the Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale-Adult Form. The results of the study showed a strong positive correlation between patients’ experience of nurse caring and patients’ readiness to care transition ( r = .243, p < .05). Furthermore, marital status could predict patients’ readiness to care transition based on perceived knowledge, coping ability, and expected support ( f = .0625, p < .05). The study highlights the importance of nurse caring in enhancing patients’ readiness to care transition and valuing the patients’ support systems.