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Researching Continuity of Care: Can Quality of Life Outcomes be Linked to Nursing Care?
Anne McMurray
Peel Health Campus, Murdoch University, Perth WA
Karen Theobald
Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove QLD
Wendy Chaboyer
Director, Research Centre for Clinical and Community Practice Innovation (RCCCPI), Griffith University, Nerang QLD; Adjunct Professor Patient Safety Centre, Queensland Health, Brisbane QLD
Abstract
Research that informs nursing interventions across the care continuum is vital, especially with shortened hospital stays.
Measuring Quality of Life (QOL) and Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) helps identify health status improvements, but fails to provide insight into the effectiveness of nursing interventions aimed at continuity of care. Four research examples illustrate the need for complementary, qualitative studies of what patients and their families think, feel, need and want.
These indicate a need to reconceptualise the research agenda in terms of the complexity and settings of nursing practice, and the need for informational as well as statistical significance.
Keywords
quality of life, health-related quality of life, continuity of care, patient experiences, illness and recovery, home and community care, health transitions
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