Effectiveness of facility‐based transition care on health‐related outcomes for older adults: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Background Although Transition Care Programmes (TCP) are designed to assist older adults to regain functional ability after hospitalisation, it is unclear whether TCP improve older adults’ health‐related outcomes. Objectives The objective of the review was to synthesise the best available evidence for the effectiveness of TCP on health‐related outcomes for older adults admitted to a transition care facility after hospitalisation. Methods Searches were conducted using the databases PubMed, AMED (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), PscyINFO (Ovid) and CINAHL (Full text) and grey literature from January 2000 to May 2020 in English only. Studies that reported health‐related outcomes of older adults (aged 65 and above) who received TCP in a facility setting were deemed eligible for inclusion following critical appraisal by two reviewers. Data were pooled in meta‐analysis where possible, or reported narratively. Results A total of 21 studies from seven countries [(n = 5 RCT, n = 16 observational cohort studies) participants’ mean age 80.2 (±8.3)] were included. Pooled analysis (2069 participants, 7 studies) demonstrated that 80% of older adults undertaking TCP were discharged home [95% CI (0.78–0.82, p < 0.001), I2 = 21.99%, very low GRADE evidence]. Proportions of older adults discharged home varied widely between countries (33.3%–86.4%). There was a significant improvement in ability to perform activities of daily living (2001 participants, 7 studies) as measured by the Modified Barthel Index [17.65 points (95% CI 5.68–29.62, p = 0.004), I2 = 0.00%, very low GRADE evidence]. Conclusions The proportion of older adults discharged home from TCP compared to other discharge destinations differs between countries. This could be due to the intensity of the rehabilitation delivered and the maximum length of stay allowed prior to discharge. Implications for Practice Future studies that comprehensively evaluate the efficacy of TCP on health‐related outcomes including quality of life are required. Further investigation is required to identify which aspects of TCP affect successful discharge home.